The Magnificat, or Song of Mary, has been set by countless composers. This is  partly because this canticle is used in the daily office – fixed prayers said or sung throughout the day. It is also because the text is so potent and stirring – the song of a humble girl whom God had chosen for things beyond her imagination.

One of my favorites has to be Giovanni Gabrieli‘s Magnificat a 33. That is, for 33 musicians – 33 individual independent parts. These musicians were grouped into “choirs” and placed around St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, where Gabrieli was principal organist and composer. The effect was the various phrases of the text would come to you from different locations, with different musical colors. Sadly, a stereo recording loses this grand effect; to hear it in that massive cathedral must have been magnificent!

Music has been around for thousands of years. Actually, tens of thousands of years. Maybe it’s too bold of a statement to make in my first blog post, but I’d like to think that the ability and desire to organize sound – to make music – serves as one of the greatest milestones in human evolution.

This new blog, I suppose, is nothing new. We’ve been doing this for 40,000 + years. Amazing, though, that we are still fascinated by music – in fact, you could say we can’t get enough. Music is everywhere in our modern lives, from formal events like church or graduations, to casual things like shopping or even sports games.

Claudio Monteverdi‘s (1567-1643) opera “L’Orfeo” (1607) was not the first opera ever written, but it is the earliest opera written that is still performed today, 400 years later. (a mere 1/100th of 40,000 years – the dating of the earliest musical instrument found). The overture is pure rock-and-roll: 8 bars of loud music, all in the same key. No development. No tricks. Just rock, and repeat. After the overture, a sweet aria, in which a character called “La Musica” sings:

I am Music, who with sweet accents can make a troubled heart to be at peace;
I can set ablaze even the coldest of minds with noble anger or love.

A fitting beginning for the Fine Art of Listening. Thanks for visiting!

How about them Harry-Potter robes, eh?