Musical Notes

It was an unusual week for beautiful music. Last weekend, our family headed to Chicago for a recital with the Chinese pianist Lang Lang at Symphony Center. The place was packed for an unforgettable afternoon of Bartok, Debussy, Schumann, and an unbelievable rendition of Chopin’s Polinaise in A flat Major which brought the crowd to its feet. If you’ve ever been to hear Lang Lang, you’ve seen the crowd response he generates. There was an 8-minute ovation, followed by another Chopin piece, followed by a ten-minute ovation. It was a truly wonderful concert. It was heartening to see so many young faces in the audience. Young, exciting performers like Lang Lang are good for classical music.

Although not planned this way when the tickets were bought months before, Wednesday found our family returning to Chicago to hear the choir from King’s College, Cambridge at an old Presbyterian church across from the Hancock Building on Michigan Avenue. We stood in line for half an hour with the cold wind blowing off Lake Michigan, but it was worth it to hear this historic choir that dates back to the reign of King Henry the VI. We entered the wonderfully warm church at 7:15pm when the doors opened, and were rewarded for our wait by getting seats near the front. The huge church grew so packed that a vigorous, if subdued, argument broke out behind us over how many could fit in the pew. In the end, it was crowded, but that was forgotten when the door opened and the choir entered. 16 young boy trebles came out, then 14 young adult male choral scholars followed. Looking at the darling young boys, several as young as 8, with their rosy cheeks and mischievous smiles, it was hard to believe they sing some of the most complicated choral music ever written. One adorable little choir boy had a hard time holding his sizable music book and his black scholar’s cape kept falling off his right shoulder. The moment the music began, these were not children any longer but professionals whose voices soared into the rafters. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Here is the music that we enjoyed.

Weelkes - I heard a voice
Tomkins - When David heard
Gibbons - O clap your hands
Dean - Now comes the dawn
Poulenc - Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël
Bach - Komm, Jesu, komm
Berkeley - The Lord is my shepherd
Howells - Take him, earth, for cherishing
Vaughan Williams - Valiant for Truth

There were also two organ pieces by two of the organ scholars from Cambridge.

At the end there was a long ovation followed by an encore, William Walton’s Set me as a seal upon thine heart from Song of Songs.

Watching the boy trebles in the choir, it struck me how children are so often patronized by adults. Here were children who had not even reached the age of 10 on a world tour, in front of audiences comprised of many musically sophisticated people, yet able to sing this vastly complicated music. I heard a BBC interview with Stephen Cleobury, Director of music at King’s, discuss how he brings the best out of these ordinary little boys who come to the choir school. He takes their raw, undeveloped talent and over the course of many months, works tirelessly with them, encouraging them to do their best. These boys grow musically and personally disciplined and accomplish great things as a result. So often things are dumbed down for children. There is an assumption that children can only relate to music that has them bouncing off the walls, or theology that is pablum-ized and turned into cartoon-style entertainment. With love and encouragement, children can do truly amazing things with the gifts God has given them. Never patronize children but help them reach for high goals.

I saw this recently when I discovered my 11-year-old William half way through one of my books entitled, Regeneration and Justification. It surprised me, and I asked him why he had chosen that particular book. “It looked interesting,” was his response. Carry on, Will, carry on. There’s more where that one came from!

All in all, it was an unforgettable week for music. There are certain concerts I have attended that will always stay with me in my heart and mind. My husband and I have a large hatbox for keepsakes into which we put all of our tickets, programs and other momentos of the music we have enjoyed throughout the years. When you open it, it’s like a sweet fragrance comes out. I’m so glad the Lord gave us music. Despite all that sin has destroyed in the world, the beauty of great music is still with us, and reminds us of the great glory of our Creator, the author of all that is beautiful and good and true.

Here is a radio interview from Minnesota Public Radio featuring Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at King’s College. He talks about the choir boys and their daily schedules, and his philosophy of teaching.

Here you can hear some of the first song performed at the concert thanks to YouTube.