"We see that it is
not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every
question,
but to make us progressively aware of a mystery.
God is not so much the object of our
knowledge as the cause
of our wonder."[Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, p.16]
"How in the end did
they not perceive that to try to spiritualize religion to
the point
where it subsists devoid of all external manifestation
is tanamount to claiming a reform
of the work of God, the
great and sublime artist who in creating the universe and
mankind
revealed himself as the omniptotent, eternal and
infinite
poet, architect, musician,
and
sculptor."
[Liszt,
quoted in
Paul Merrick's Revolution and Religion in the Music
of Liszt.
p 25]
"Art is heaven on
earth, to which one never appeals in vain when faced with
the
oppressions
of the world."
[Liszt, quoted in Alan Walker,
Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years, p.391]
"The icon is a song
of triumph, and a revelation, and an enduring monument to
the
victory of the saints the the disgrace of the demons."
[St. John of Damascus, On the Divine Images]
"I have always been inspired by the mystical
interplay between music and theology.
Similar to Liszt's understanding of music as sacramental bridge, both the physical
and the spiritual worlds are uniquely encountered through the mediation of
music.
I've had the privilege of performing my lecture recitals on religious symbolism
in music
in a wide variety of contexts. From the predominantly Jewish audience
at the Rubin
Academy of Music in Jerusalem to Demetrios, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of
America,
Liszt and the Cross has truly crossed many ecumenical boundaries. One of my
most
memorable performances was in Atlanta where the Orthodox Catholic and Episcopal
cathedrals co-sponsored my trip to the Prostestant Candler School of Theology
at
Emory University. It is my fervent belief that recovering the ancient understanding
of
the penetration of the spiritual into the physical would at least be one step
in overcoming
a desacralized and compartmentalized world-view so prevalent in today's world."
(Paul
Barnes)
For additional information on Liszt and his
sacramental view of music, please visit
Dr. Barnes article posted at the Music and Theology link on his website
www.paulbarnes.net
Return
to LD101
Franz
Liszt
LISZT
and the CROSS
Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata
a lecture recital by
PAUL BARNES
™