網誌
2006年10月31日 上午6點56分05秒A tribute to J.S. Bach
October 31, 2006 Tuesday
Washington, DC
This one is not about me, but about a master in western art music and a deeply spiritual Christian, Johanne Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), whom I truly revere.
The more I listened and played to his "monotonous", "boring", "too complex" and "all-sounds-like-the-same" music, the more I discovered his greatness, which is easily overlooked and neglected by the public who just want louder sound (this is what I hate the most about American rock-n-roll) and more sensual stimulation to their ear drums. His music is well-thought and well-planned. Listening and playing to these sublime polyphony requires the most attentive ears, the most humble heart, the most genuine self and the most engaging intellect and soul. It doesn't generates a crazy arousel or fanatic bravos or standing ovations from the pumped-up audience, like those in the later generations of romanticism. But for the audience who take it seriously, it doesn't make them fall asleep either. It transforms the space-time between the performers and the listeners, and humbles both sides of them. It manifests itself the nature of being just music: logical, purposeful, unadulterated, pure, aesthetic, life-constructing, redeeming...... and most of all, spiritual.
And Bach, who wrote "S.D.G", which means "Soli Deo Gloria" (Only to God be the glory), at the ends of cycles like Well-Tempered-Clavier and the eternal St. Matthew Passion, is just such a composer who dedicated himself, his life and everything, into writing good music that truly manifests itself, all for the glory of God. Not mentioning all the amazing modulations and harmonic progressions, and all those sublime BACH numerology and christological symbols, his music humbles me down. I must admit that all my musical training and performance record is nothing when I sit down quietly and started playing some of his most intricate preludes and fugues in WTC, let alone the Holy One who created the harmony of the universe and Bach's creativity to realize this into the physical realm. His music transformed my ideas about music, practice and performance unlike anything before.
J.S. Bach, I truly revere you. You must be enjoying every moment in heaven, where the unending worship with uncountable voices and instruments is prevailing. Indeed, you had been doing this throughout your passing-by on earth, and you would surely do it at home.