In a world where most of the music we hear is over produced
and painstakingly processed for digital streaming it is a wonderful experience
to go to a concert of live music and hear a band or symphony play with a full
and glorious range of sound. It’s strangely compelling to hear the wispy sounds
of the piccolo or to allow one’s self to be assaulted by the power of a brass
section. It’s thrilling to hear an ensemble feel the takt of the music, not
driven by a metronome but by the sheer emotion of the composer. The
“legitimate” interpretation of the music gives way to the heart and soul of the
performers. The notes on the page serve as a guide for the conductor but as he
interacts with the music on a level that is impossible to notate the tempos
vary and the timbre of the phrases intensify. And when the performance is done
we, the audience, erupt in spontaneous applause. We leave the concert venue
trying to savor in our minds ear all that we have just heard. To turn on the
radio for the drive home would be a sacrilege. We want to allow those sounds to
linger as long as possible.
It is a wonderful thing to have an audience with the Master
Creator of the universe and have him gently lead our souls in the score that he
has predetermined for us. To watch for his cues as he increases the tempo and leads
us into the sweet discovery of what our life was meant to be. If only the score
could soar like this forever, but the passage that follows is a quiet and
pensive adagio that seems to plod even slower under the Great Conductor’s baton
until the sense of the beat is almost lost. The phrases seem too long to
sustain – the weight of the wait seems to crush the spirit. But just when hope
has been all but lost the score takes an upward turn – the notes come more
quickly, their range more extreme and their expression richer.
And in that moment, we recognize that the sweet song that we
sang at the beginning means nothing if it is not tempered with the melancholy.
The fast and thrilling passages mean little without their slow and deliberate
counterpart. And when our concert for One is complete we wait for the
acknowledgement of his approval. And in a stage whisper that is barely audible
he speaks, “Well done, good and faithful performer. In responding to me you
have beautifully played out the score that I have composed for your life.”
