Faith of a Japanese Musicologist
While researching for a class presentation on Bach's Cantata No. 4, I came across a set of CD liner notes that hit me right between the eyes. And I certainly wasn't expecting it.
In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of VJ-Day and the end of WWII, a group of reknown Japanese musicians released the first of a series of recordings of Bach's complete cantatas. Almost 200 of Bach's cantatas have survived, and each lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. This is a very large project.
Maybe you've already picked up on The Issue: the Japanese singers have to sing in flawless German. And if you know anything of the differences in Eastern and Western musical traditions, you know that it is difficult to grasp the nuances of the other when you have been trained and immersed in one tradition all your life.
Furthermore, these recordings are being hailed as the best ever. My curiosity was piqued. (Point of Grammar: that is the correct spelling of that idiom. If you have learned another spelling or have guessed at it with "peaked" or "peeked", please correct yourself. Pseudo-sorry for the aside. You might have missed my "grammar whore" post a while back. Not that I don't make grammar or spelling mistakes: I certainly do. But why not stop and smell the grammatical roses when they present themselves along the Path of Commonly Misused Idioms?)
Back to Bach.
So the director of this project (Masaaki Suzuki), who is also the conductor of the ensemble, addresses this concern right away in the liner notes: Why add a Japanese "complete cantata" series to the others that already exist?
And his response: "First and foremost in easing my hesitation and diffidence in approaching Bach's music was my eventual complete conviction that the God in whose service Bach laboured and the God I worship today are one and the same. In the sight of the God of Abraham, I believe that the two hundred years separating the time of Bach from my own day can be of little account. This conviction has brought the great composer very much closer to me. We are fellows in faith, and equally foreign in our parentage to the people of Israel, God's people of Biblical times. . . .
"All the same, I do not hold with those who say that non-Christians can never approach Bach's cantatas properly, nor do I believe that adherence to the Christian faith is necessary for the beautiful performance of the music. . . . Having said this, however, what is most important in infusing a Bach cantata score with real life in performance is a deep insight into the fundamental religious message each work carries."
Amen, and amen! Anyone familiar with the recordings of Robert Shaw will have heard this principle in action: music performed by Believers in honor of God is qualitatively different, especially when the music itself was composed to honor God.
I was deeply moved by Mr. Suzuki's boldness and motivation, and I agree with his statements about Bach, God, and performing Bach's music.
In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of VJ-Day and the end of WWII, a group of reknown Japanese musicians released the first of a series of recordings of Bach's complete cantatas. Almost 200 of Bach's cantatas have survived, and each lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. This is a very large project.
Maybe you've already picked up on The Issue: the Japanese singers have to sing in flawless German. And if you know anything of the differences in Eastern and Western musical traditions, you know that it is difficult to grasp the nuances of the other when you have been trained and immersed in one tradition all your life.
Furthermore, these recordings are being hailed as the best ever. My curiosity was piqued. (Point of Grammar: that is the correct spelling of that idiom. If you have learned another spelling or have guessed at it with "peaked" or "peeked", please correct yourself. Pseudo-sorry for the aside. You might have missed my "grammar whore" post a while back. Not that I don't make grammar or spelling mistakes: I certainly do. But why not stop and smell the grammatical roses when they present themselves along the Path of Commonly Misused Idioms?)
Back to Bach.
So the director of this project (Masaaki Suzuki), who is also the conductor of the ensemble, addresses this concern right away in the liner notes: Why add a Japanese "complete cantata" series to the others that already exist?
And his response: "First and foremost in easing my hesitation and diffidence in approaching Bach's music was my eventual complete conviction that the God in whose service Bach laboured and the God I worship today are one and the same. In the sight of the God of Abraham, I believe that the two hundred years separating the time of Bach from my own day can be of little account. This conviction has brought the great composer very much closer to me. We are fellows in faith, and equally foreign in our parentage to the people of Israel, God's people of Biblical times. . . .
"All the same, I do not hold with those who say that non-Christians can never approach Bach's cantatas properly, nor do I believe that adherence to the Christian faith is necessary for the beautiful performance of the music. . . . Having said this, however, what is most important in infusing a Bach cantata score with real life in performance is a deep insight into the fundamental religious message each work carries."
Amen, and amen! Anyone familiar with the recordings of Robert Shaw will have heard this principle in action: music performed by Believers in honor of God is qualitatively different, especially when the music itself was composed to honor God.
I was deeply moved by Mr. Suzuki's boldness and motivation, and I agree with his statements about Bach, God, and performing Bach's music.
posted by Jason at 12:52 AM
3 Comments:
Good call on "piqued." A lovely word, spelled correctly. I assume you just slipped on the keyboard in spelling "renowned" as "reknown."
Whoa. You rock. I have arrested the guilty neurons and executed them forthwith. (It seems I fixated on the "know" part of the meaning of "renowned" and let that infect my spelling. Thanks again.)
Now that's justice. If you ever write "between you and I," neurons will be drawn and quartered.
Post a Comment
<< Home