(April 4, 2015 at 3:45 am)Alex K Wrote: Ok so I went to a performance of the SMP yesterday, very nice soloists and period instruments.
It kills the suspense a bit that Jesus gives the whole ending away in the first sentence he utters in minute 7, but hey, I knew the story anyways. ...
I find it best if one is unable to understand the words in such music. I remember the first (and only) time I read a translation of the words to Mozart's Requiem while listening to it. Understanding the drivel that was sung greatly detracted from the experience. So I have never bothered with it since with that piece. As I recall, it was a lot of something like "oh God, please don't let us burn in hell!" and other such silly things, though it was many years ago that I made the mistake of reading a translation while hearing it, so perhaps I am misremembering it.
The power is in the music, not the words.
This also reminds me of silly stories in some operas. Sometimes, the story detracts from the overall impact, but the opera is still great if the music is great. It is better if the story is good (which can be silly in a comedy and still be good), but it is not essential. The essential part is the music. The music must be great for an opera to be great.
And so it is with religious music. To be great, the music must be great. The words are almost irrelevant.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
