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Monday, March 18, 2013

Praying with My Fingers

Several years ago during a visit from my son Dennis when he was on leave from Ft. Benning, we had an interesting conversation about music. Listening to some favorite music while cleaning some of his gear, I couldn't help but overhear from the kitchen. It was loud, wild, and made my bones rattle. Music a 20-something young sergeant would find cool and a classical musician mother, not so much.

At dinner I asked him what it was about that kind of music that appealed to him. I couldn't discern any melody, harmony ... anything of beauty. 

His answer stuck with me ...

"It's raw power, Mom. Like I imagine it sounded when God created the world."

Raw power. Creativity unleashed. Awesomeness unveiled. Power for good things.

I can't quite imagine bass guitars accompanying, "Let there be light" ... but I'll give my son that he made me think and I'm still thinking about it. I replied that much of the organ repertoire has the same type of effect.

I've been working on a piece this spring that brought that conversation back to mind. LITANIES by Jehan Alain has that kind of sustained energy and cataclysmic ending that makes you hope the building won't come crashing down around you while you hold the final chord.

From the genre of 20th century French organ music, this piece has been a partner with me for mining the depths of my soul in prayer this Lenten season. It is a powerful piece of music, but not necessarily a "pretty" piece.The composer includes this inscription on the first page:


Quand l’âme chrétienne ne trouve plus de mots nouveaux dans la détresse pour implorer la miséricorde de Dieu, elle répète sans cesse la même invocation avec une foi véhémente. La raison atteint sa limite. Seule la foi poursuit son ascension. 

(When, in its distress, the Christian soul can find no new words to implore God's mercy, it repeats the same plea with vehement faith. The limits of reason are reached, and only faith can pursue its ascension.)    
A reference, I think, to what Paul said in Romans 8the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 
Groanings too deep for words. Alain understood how to allude to that in music.

A litany is a form of prayer, often used in public worship that has a repeated phrase. Psalm 136 is perhaps the psalter prayer that established this form:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;    

        . . . continued through 26 verses

Here is another example from the Book of Common Prayer. The congregation says the recurring phrases in unison with the thanksgivings and petitions led by the pastor or other leader.


In LITANIES, the musical motif is repeated and woven with other "thanksgivings and petitions." Is this the story of a soul in anguish boldly running to God in prayer? Is the raw power a musical attempt at illustrating the greatness and power of God? Is it joy of a different language than we're used to? The inclusion of many keys, dissonances, massive layering of the organ's reed and foundation stops, the pulsating yet unmetered rhythm ... all these devices are used to create a prayer of a magnitude most of us rarely offer up. 

I'm thankful that Jehan Alain composed this wonderful organ work. It's stretched my prayer life in helpful ways this spring. I hope listening to this piece gives you pause to consider the freedom the Christian has to bring their fierce-faithed prayers to the One who understands prayers without words and has the wisdom and power to answer them.


Postscript:  My husband remarked a year or so ago after hearing this piece played for a postlude at Edenton Street UMC by Josh Dumbleton, that this was used in a work he knew from the rock band Renaissance in their piece called Running Hard. That's a very interesting connection. 


 ~ ~ ~ 

LITANIES - by Jehan Alain - an audio recording of me from a practice session today.

Here is Alain's sister, Marie-Claire, playing this piece. It is his most famous work, and after his untimely death as a soldier in WWII, she tirelessly promoted his works. A concert artist of the highest order, she died just this past February at the age of 86. More about her here.

Colorado Rockies - Photo by Jerry Begly
My brother Jerry posted this photo today on Facebook. It's a stunning illustration of the combination of rugged power and unspeakable beauty.

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