I want to say as little as possible about today’s piece, only because I’m afraid that I’ll ruin it. Maybe you should listen first, then read:

Christian Zeal and Activity was written by John Adams, a living American composer. It’s very simple (most classify it as minimalist), but it has the ability to strike deep. This 10-minute piece is ONE verse of the hymn, “Onward, Christian Soldiers“, played excessively slow – about 1/12 of the normal tempo. The voice leading is also out of place – for example, the basses might move to the next note five seconds before the melody note gets there, etc. It feels as though time is standing still (or at least going very slowly). About halfway through, a speaking voice enters the music – it’s a recording of an evangelical preacher. Words, sentences are repeated for no particular purpose. Oddly, it is the speaking voice that becomes the melody (there is a melody present in good public speaking – just listen to any successful auctioneer!) while the hymn remains in pseudo-suspended animation.

I’m not really sure what to call this piece – I can’t exactly call it “sacred”. It’s not something you’d hear in church, even though the two major elements of the piece came right out of the Christian church (a preacher and a hymn.)

When I first heard this piece, it had a profound effect on me. I’d love to hear your response to the piece (please comment!), whether positive or negative (or something in between).

Not much to say about this one! Pour a cup of tea and draw yourself a musical bath – courtesy of Ralph Vaughan-Williams.

Some quick notes about Vaughan-Williams :

• He loved and collected English folk music; its influence can be heard in all his music
• He was the son of a priest, but was an atheist; later, a self-described “cheerful agnostic”
• Despite the above, he wrote a great deal of sacred music and practically defined the hymnody of the Anglican church for a century
• He volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in WWI; the experience affected him (and, by extension, his music) profoundly
• His remains are interred in Westminster Abbey, near those of Purcell and C.V. Stanford

Vaughan-Williams’ music might be conservative when compared to his contemporaries, but it really hits home. The Lark Ascending is simply transcendent.