May 04, 2008
preaching [from] the choir
Last night I went to see the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College give their annual spring concert. Amid all the gospel music, spirituals, folk songs, dancing, colors, and laughter, it struck me how every single song was about God. Not some pantheistic force or distant deity, but the Christian God who is our "hero" who "came and saved the day" as the Kirk Franklin song goes (which they performed). This particular choir was formed to celebrate black creative expression, which has historically been informed and inspired by the Christian faith. When it comes to choral music, at least, black composers and performers have been unabashed about expressing their faith and their creativity together. I've been a part of a lot of discussions about how to engage the culture while keeping the faith. I've analyzed this issue a lot. I've read H. Richard Niebuhr's five relationships between the Christian and culture. I've struggled with these things in my own life. And yet, when I go to hear choir music such as I heard last night, it all comes together quite beautifully.
Why such beauty? To be sure, it's because faith has always been a huge part of black history in this country. But it must be more: of all the choir music I have sung in my life, the best music has been sacred. It doesn't matter whether it was black gospel, classical pieces, Renaissance music, or any other genre. I may have enjoyed singing "Someone to Watch Over Me" in high school choir, but only in the way I enjoy a piece of frozen pizza after I've forgotten what Mario Battali's pizza tastes like.
I'm reminded of a time in high school when my sisters and two brothers and I were asked to sing an ensemble piece at an interfaith fundraising dinner. There would be Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths there, as well as people of no faith, so we were asked to sing a non-sacred song. We had a difficult time finding anything good that wasn't sacred, ending up with a Josquin de Prez piece about a cricket's love story. It was pretty, but the subject matter was uninspiring and even cheesy.
The best choral songs to sing are the ones you want to believe while you're singing them. Group singing is a communal effort, and it's an added benefit when you have belief as well as music to bind you together.
| By heiders | 09:20 AM | Comments (3)
April 27, 2008
Quote of the week
"A taste for literature and a turn for business, united in the same person, never fails to make a great man."
-John Adams
| By heiders | 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
Mission Hill
After a misinformed trip to see Status Quo turned into a trip to get ice cream at JP Licks, I can now add Mission Hill to my list of Boston neighborhoods to which I've sojourned. I've driven through before, but never stopped to say hello. Centered at the corner of Tremont St and Huntington Ave, it's got a nice combination of brownstone apartments, small businesses, chain stores, pubs with names like The Squealing Pig, and the beautifully imposing Brigham & Women's Hospital. I'd like to go back sometime and go to Flann O' Brien's pub, if anyone wants to come along.
In other news, we cleaned up Ronan Park yesterday, followed by a barbecue with the neighbors. We ate burgers and hot dogs with dirt all over our faces and prickly burrs stuck to our shirts. Then a few of us dashed off to UMass Boston to drop off some of our old electronic devices at an e-recycling event they were having. The operations were squeaky-clean: all we had to do was drive through a line of volunteers who took our stuff out of the back and sorted it into different piles on the parking lot. Then it was off to our inaugural church ensemble practice. The ensemble consists of 2 sopranos, 2 altos, and 2 baritones. I love being in a grassroots choir! (I wonder if this term has ever been used before?)
Oh, and last night I played Guitar Hero for the first time. I can see why Detroit Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya got hurt playing this game. It is painfully addictive.
| By heiders | 08:10 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2008
Most of the time I'm halfway content
Last week was good and bad, long and short, all at the same time. It was bad because the weather was cold and rainy for a good portion of the time, and work was more stressful than usual. But now on to the good stuff.
I joked to some friends that it's a good week that starts with Jon Stewart, continues with Tim Keller, and ends with Easter. They were fake-shocked that I would lump Easter in there with the Daily Show. But it's true, it was a good seven days.
First, an attendance of The Daily Show with my partners in crime, Laura and Todd. Not as fun as The Colbert Report, but at least now I can say I've been there, done that. And the audience was bigger, louder, and much more diverse than Colbert's audience. Jon Stewart had some good jokes, but Larry Wilmore's take on Governor Paterson being both blind AND black hit the ball out of the park: it was worth the trip just to see him. (BTW, this show capped a weekend of fun visiting our family in Queens. We played basketball with the nephews, sang in the church choir, and checked out a couple restaurants, including Otto in Manhattan and a brand new cafe in Astoria.)
Midweek brought an event with Tim Keller at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He was talking about his new book, The Reason for God, which I just recently finished. While of course I enjoyed his talk, I knew I wasn't really the audience for it, and thankfully there were plenty of skeptics who asked some tough questions. I was glad when Keller answered one woman's question about Christianity and tolerance by explaining the concept of common grace! I silently pumped my fist, mentally thanking Dr. McClelland for his constant references to "CGI's" (common grace insights).
On Easter Sarah, Laura and I sang in the choir at the Lutheran church downtown. I didn't realize how much I missed singing in a real choir with a real orchestra until the first notes of the violins floated into the air at the beginning of Saturday practice. The whole day Sunday was filled with singing, eating, singing, more eating, and then more singing later at our Dorchester church. I wore a skirt and open-toed shoes in defiance of the chilly weather. The sun shone brilliantly and the day was full of celebration. Such a welcome end to the week and beginning of a new one.
In the middle of all this activity I managed to finish Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to know more about the Chicago gangs during the height of the crack epidemic in the early 90's. More to the point, this book is an insider's view of the Chicago projects because Venkatesh decided to live there for six years, rather than rely on cold data. The result is a truly personal story full of suspense, plot twists, character development, foolishness and heroism. It beats a lot of other nonfiction I've ever read. (Not that I've read very much nonfiction.)
This week promises to be a bit of a breather for me. Now I can tackle my next book (see sidebar) and wait in anticipation for my new bike to arrive in the mail.
| By heiders | 07:53 PM | Comments (2)
March 21, 2008
Quote of the week
"I myself was more shocked that Bear Stearns managed to last this long. I mean come on, it's an investment bank run by bears."
-Elliot Kalan
| By heiders | 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2008
Web beauty
Can I just take this moment to praise MIT's website?
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
culchah | By heiders | 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
