Like many of us “of a certain age,” music in contemporary church services doesn’t lift my spirits. Rather, I imagine God, as he listens to these contemporary hymns, muttering, “I gave you Bach, for heaven’s sake!” Still, many younger people find it fills their souls. Each unto his own, I guess.
When I shared that observation with my pastor, he declared with great authority, “No one came to faith because of Bach!” I beg to differ. I suspect several did. This Lutheran composer wrote many a Mass in his day.
Which brings me to the subject of music and God’s plan for each of us.
God’s Great Opus Number One
God didn’t need to compose an Opus Number Two because Number One was, well as with all things of God, perfect. Like Bach’s compositions, there is not a superfluous note in his Opus, nor does his Opus lack a rest or dynamic mark. And each of us has a place on his treble or bass clef.
His Opus is his grand plan for each of us who live, did live, or ever will live. It covers the birth of every planet and star in the Universe, every living thing that ever was. Even what we deride, like rats and lice, has a purpose, even though it may be hidden right now.
We marvel at science and all our discoveries and inventions. Yet God must smirk and say, “You figured that out, did you? There’s oh, so much more. So many more notes.”
Back to Bach
Much music theory owes its development to J.S. Bach. He helped perfect the major and minor scales of today in his Preludes and Fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier (precursor of the piano). His rules of harmony and our present tuning system owe much to him.
As a kid, I bit the edge of the keyboard cover on my mother’s baby grand piano out of frustration while trying to master one of his fugues. A fugue blends several melody lines at the same time while one of those lines is dominant. Kind of like Row, Row, Row Your Boat on a massive dose of steroids.
I learned despite my vandalism, that every note was important, and none were unnecessary. Every note had purpose, even if it only sounded for a sixteenth of a beat. Like each of us in God’s Great Opus, everyone has inestimable value, and no one exists or existed by a fluke. We are all part of his Grand Opus, and the Opus wouldn’t be the same without you.
Rhythm of Life
Many of Bach’s compositions move with a propulsive rhythm, like a train chugging along non-stop to its destination. There are no notes held for any length of time to rest the phrase or section.
Some musicians choose to slow the composition at the end for a final note or chord. Personally, I prefer to chug along and come to a dead stop, kind of like living to the hilt and dying with your boots on.
Some feel retirement is a time to stop, relax, and just be. Sounds nice. For me, that would last a day or two. In fact, I don’t believe in retiring. Why should I? There’s more notes God may want me to sound in his Opus, and at my age, I don’t have time to slow down.
World Without Bach
It’s been said that the best jazz musicians know Bach because he was the master of moving from one key to another – like modern chord progressions. His contribution to music as we know it today is immense, and it’s a shame if students today don’t learn about old J.S.
On a lighter side, there is a book available on Amazon, “The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q Bach” (as in “Pretty Damn Quick”). If you know Bach, you will laugh out loud at the drawings and short narratives. Maybe a good Christmas gift for a budding musician in your life?
