Ruht wohl

Remember when ... St. Norbert & UWGB performed the St. John Passion, J. S. Bach?

I have to say that it was on of those first choral works for me that really helped grow as a singer. The second last Chorus, Ruht wohl, No. 67, is perhaps one of my favorite pieces ever. It means, Rest well. It's a lullaby to Jesus as he is laid in his tomb. It has long sweeping lines and the melody is haunting. It's in c minor and Bach does something truly astounding musically with the violin melody in measures 8 - 11 (this theme repeats often throughout). The melody is haunting because Bach goes from the tonic to the V and then rips open the iv chord (iv with a lowered 6th), like one of the wounds of Christ, and then slowly back down using vii and vii diminished.

The point of this whole complicated musical explanation is that from a theoretical standpoint it takes hours to truly understand how Bach put together what is really something quite whimsical. My question is whether or not Bach was truly conscious of how he put together this melody, or whether or not it was just such a talent and strength of his that it just sort of happened naturally and logically as he moved along on the keyboard.

Even if from a theoretical standpoint, Bach consciously understood the nuts and bolts behind his melody, then it is an even greater testimony to his strengths, both as a person and a musician. Bach created a melody that sticks with me because he realized that you can't lay Christ to rest with just anything, it has to sound like the heavens from which it came.

Remembering Betty Rose Meyer

Saturday, January 19th, 2008, 11:00 a.m., I had the honor of being chosen to sing at funeral of Betty Meyer, who had recently passed away. She was just shy of 95. Betty had requested a baritone to sing the show tunes that she had selected to be sung at her funeral. Our Choir director called me because she knew I would be just the one to do it. The music selections were all in all quite, "unforgetable." Betty had chosen as a reflection the song "I believe," for the Offertory "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel, and as a recessional, "Unforgettable," by Irving Gordon.

I have to say that since the funeral I have not been able to get the melody and words from "Unforgettable" out of my head. I think it has even been tormenting me in my sleep. Betty, I have you to blame. Truy, Betty, "Never before has someone been more.....Unforgetable...." The real clincher is that she was wheeled out of church to this song. You can imagine the image that comes to me. It's true, I'll never forget it as long as I live.

However, the other music selections seem to give a little more insight into the person that her family and friends knew so well. Three very different, and very insightful reflections were given by Steve Swan, UWGB, Mary Jane Herber, Friend, and Robert Meyer, Nephew.

Steve Swan spoke about Betty's generosity to the community, most notably the scholarship funds that she helped establish at UWGB. What touched me inside about this gift she gave was that she had said that she wanted the scholarships to go to regular students; people who maybe didn't have the highest grades, but had to work hard. She wanted them to go to people who exihbited leadership in their communities. That's a very profound observation Betty made; support the people who keep it all going in everyday life.

Mary Jane Herber told us very much about Betty as a person. She told the story of how at a dinner party she was introduced as being a bit "peppery." We were told how Betty was a very direct person who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Mary Jane Herber told us about Betty's humility and that while she generously supported almost every major project in Green Bay, she really didn't want the recognition for it.

Finally Robert Meyer, nephew, spoke on Betty's behalf. I don't recall how exactly it was worked in, but I did appreciate that Robert stated that she was "one classy broad." You got a huge sense of Betty's love for her family and her hospitality from Robert. Robert let us know that his "Milwaukee" side of the family was always received with openness and warmness whenever they would visit Green Bay. Also, He told a cheeky story that, as he accepted his Aunt's invitation to stay over in Green Bay when he was on business, she offered him her bed. He was elated of coarse because hers was much more confortable than the other option. Only to find, that along with her bed came her husband, who snored like a locomotive.

So really Betty, I have to hand it to you, I've been to a lot of funerals, and yours was quite...Unforgetable...

Yours Truly,

LastManOut

Read more about Betty Rose Meyer at:



http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/logarchive/logarchive39/2008jan15.htm



http://www.meyertheatre.org/about/index.html

Recitals

This afternoon Jerad and I attended his very first organ recital at the Abbey. The series is put on by an endowment from the late Canon John O. Bruce. The organist is British performer Christopher Herrick and this is his third time playing at the Abbey. The concert was splendid aside from a few small technical difficulties. The final encore was Ueber Fantastisch. He played 'Festival Musik,' well at least I think that is how it is spelled. The piece was composed by a Norwiegen. If any one knows who, I certainaly would appreciate it as I lost the name. Anyway, the experience was just what I needed and Jerad is still spinning from the excitment.

Yesterday evening we also went to Lynn Griebling's receital at St. Norbert. Lynn is formerly my voice professor and currently is organist at St Anne's, where Jerad and I go to church. The recital was entitled 'Songs my Teachers Taught Me.' The program was a wonderful collection of songs that she has learned from her various teachers through the years and even around the world. What facinates me is that you wouldn't think that Lynn is so well versed simply in meeting her. Her natural charm stems from the loving and caring attitude that she greets you with. Her recital had much the same character. The attendants were most all people that she knew. A huge crowd of us had gathered from church and as is usually the case it was more of a family event than a prim and proper affair. I think it is wonderful how almost everyone we are in choir with at church was there to support Lynn. We have such a wonderful connection. What I enjoyed most this evening was getting to know my teacher a little bit better. There is something to be said about her program notes. She divided the recital up into phases of her life. And I do mean phases more than periods. There is in Lynn's life a reliaztion that music and singing is who she is and where she should be. Obviously there were side paths that took her away from music at some points notably right before she came to St Norbert. I was one of her first students at SNC, we were freshmen together. She had a way of welcoming me to SNC that I now know is unusual for someone who is also new. There have been more difficult times in our "relationship." Lynn has a very strong sense of will. As most people will tell you, so do I. The few confrontations we've had are perhaps the most life changing for me. Lynn has taught me the value of being yourself. The value of being yourself is so much different than "being yourself." While many people have tried to teach me that it is ok to be yourself, no one has lived it out like my dear friend Lynn.

Many Congratulations!

Lastmanout

Hymnody

Hymnody, for the benefit of non-musicians, is the art of either composing or singing hymns or also the entirety of the genre itself. Hymnody is perhaps my very most favorite genre. Hymnology, the study and classification of hymns, is my most tireless pastime. In fact, there are few hymns that I ever tire of.

Let us examine what is and what is not a hymn, strictly speaking. In the liturgical setting it is common to call any religious song a hymn. This is not the case. A hymn traditionally speaking is a four part setting of a poetic text usually based on scripture and other elements of tradition. Protestant hymns tend to be based more exclusively on the Bible. However, "revival hymns" and Gospel as a whole do not necessarily dictate so. Catholics have few good hymns that they did not rip off from Protestants, namely Bach and Wesley. Some hymns are more common in certain denominations than others, and style varies greatly.

What is not a hymn? The harmonization of a hymn is essentially what distinguishes it from a song. Hymns' harmonic structure generally follows exact rules of voice leading and harmonization. There are of coarse numerous exceptions to this generalization and no one particular hymn is "perfect," even Bach's. The other key element of a hymn is that it is composed almost exclusively for choral singing. Songs, however popular and moving they may be, do not compare to hymns in terms of their musical creativity. Songs are generally, almost always, verse and refrain in form. There is an occasional ballad thrown in the mix, but generally these are not meant for congregational or choral singing. Songs often draw from folk traditions and are far less structured than the setting of a hymn.

So why do I have this superiority complex with regard to my liturgical music? I find it degrading as a musician to be asked to play and sing that which is rather uninteresting, mundane, and often over simplified in terms of its harmonic structure. While various songs may have untold spiritual value, they are decidedly trite with regards to how most of them approach harmony. I wish to be challenged and to challenge others to contemplate how many different voices, complex harmonies, and general musical continuity are the model for how Christendom is supposed to function. The degradation and disuse of the hymn, as it is frequently cast aside for something more new and showy, will inevitably leave us with a Church of little substance, depth, and meaning.

The hymn is in my humble opinion perhaps the greatest expression of the love of Christ in music. Hymns by design have an ordered plan and a loving creator. The words that we sing and the way that we sing them mean so very much, so very much even beyond ourselves. Hymns are a hopeful music, and it is this virtue to which we should direct our diremost attention.