Here is a very unofficial translation of comments by the Pope following a concert in honor of the third anniversary of his pontificate. The translation is from the comment box at The New Liturgical Movement and here is a sample.
We have had the joy of listening with attentive participation to difficult concert pieces of Luciano Berio, Johannes Brahms and Ludwig Beethoven. I am happy to underline how the music of Brahms has enriched with religious trust Holderlin’s ”Song of Destiny”. This leads us to consider the spiritual value of the musical arts, called in a unique way to fill the soul of man with hope, so marked and often wounded by his earthly condition. There is a mysterious and profound link between music and hope, between song and life eternal: it is not for nothing that the Christian tradition portrays the spirits of the blessed in the act of singing in choir, taken up in ecstasy by the beauty of God. But authentic art, like prayer, does not alienate us from the reality of every day, but rather directs us back to it to ”irrigate” and make it to blossom so that it may give place to the fruits of goodness and peace.
The magisterial interpretations that we have listened to remind us as well of the value and universal importance of artistic patrimony: I am thinking especially of the younger generations who in their exposure to such patrimony may be ever again inspired to build a world according to the designs of justice and solidarity at the service of man, valuing the diverse expressions of world culture. I am thinking also of the importance of an education to authentic beauty for the formation of the youth. As a whole, art contributes to the sharpening and orienting of the spirit towards the edification of a society open to the ideals of the spirit. Italy, with its exceptional artistic heritage, can undertaken in this regard an important role in the world: the quantity and quality of the monuments and works of art which she possesses make her a universal ”messenger” of all of those values which art expresses and at the same time promotes. The joyfulness of song and of music are likewise a constant invitation for believers and for men of goodwill to commit themselves to giving humanity a rich future of hope.
After last weeks extreme enjoyment of multiple papal speeches I was going into withdrawals, but his wonderful comments on the role of music, liturgical and otherwise, have giving me my fix.
Now if only the Vatican would do something about providing translations in a timely manner. The Church did a pretty good job of this on Pentecost and it has gone downhill ever since. Though I guess barring the Holy Spirit acting in such a manner again or a Trekian universal translator I would certainly settle for them simply hiring capable translators full time to provide this service.
7 comments
What a great reflection on this classical music. My own education, while excellent by contemporary American standards, is sorely lacking in the importance and interpretations of our “artistic patrimony.”
Are you saying that Fr. Z is from Star Trek?
A Babel fish would be convenient too.
I think Doug Adams got it backwards on the Babel Fish, thought I guess Pentecost Fish doesn’t sound the same.
It all means nothing unless and until the Vatican acts to halt the mess we are constantly subjected to. How likely is that? Not likely. Politics.
These results are nice of course, but it’ s good to realise that the research was very small- scaled. Seven schools were observed, two of which as a control- group, and the other five were the schools that had a good music program. The author is also not very clear about the nature of the music educational programs that were offered. It seems rather plausible that learning to read music from paper will stimulate the abbillity to think abstractly, so would making music without learning to read notes have the…
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