Tonight I saw a solo cello concert at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Colin Carr playing a program of J.S. Bach--2 unaccompanied suites (#3 in C & #6 in D) and a transcription of the Chaconne from Violin Partita #2.
I walked into the recital hall and there was a single chair on stage. He walked out with his 18th-century Italian cello and filled the hall with so much beauty. Lovely colors and tone and phrasing, nearly flawless intonation, internal voices cleanly articulated through double- and triple-stops, amazing thumb position and some super-fast passages--technically awesome and musically rich, some really exquisite moments. So prodigiously talented, almost effortless. Some of the most beautiful music I've heard.
If I had to pick just one composer to be able to listen to for the rest of my life, it would probably be Beethoven. But Bach has always been at the top of the list, too, and nights like tonight remind me about the experience of art, beauty, truth, goodness, joy breaking into my life in moments where I can just sit and receive it. I've heard that he signed his manuscripts "SDG"--Soli Deo Gloria: Only to God be the glory.
I think when people think about pillars of the faith, first thoughts might tend toward great preachers and theologians of the past, laboring for the Kingdom and leaving a legacy of sermons and writings that continue to shape Christians in the present day. Bach likewise labored so diligently and created so much beauty, reflecting that truth into the world of his day with works of music that continue to speak into ours.
Tonight I had a chance to hear it again for myself and to know the restorative power of art in a fallen world. Beauty, truth, goodness, joy.
Glory.
