More of an Advent article than a Lenten one....Composer Morten Lauridsen explains how a 17th century still life inspired his musical composition of O Magnum Mysterium, in the Wall Street Journal of all places!
Excerpts:
"Francisco de Zurbarán's 'Still Life With Lemons, Oranges and a Rose' normally hangs on a back wall of one of the smaller rooms in the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena. Like a large black magnet, it draws its viewers from the entry into its space and deep into its mystical world.... The painting projects an aura of mystery, powerful in its unadorned simplicity, its mystical quality creating an atmosphere of deep contemplation. Its effect is immediate, transcendent and overpowering. Before it one tends to speak in hushed tones, if at all."
"...But it is much more than a still life."
"For Zurbarán (1598-1664) -- known primarily for his crisply executed and sharply, even starkly lit paintings of ascetics, angels, saints and the life of Christ -- the objects in this work are symbolic offerings to the Virgin Mary. Her love, purity and chastity are signified by the rose and the cup of water. The lemons are an Easter fruit that, along with the oranges with blossoms, indicate renewed life. The table is a symbolic altar. The objects on it are set off in sharp contrast to the dark, blurred backdrop and radiate with clarity and luminosity against the shadows."
"For 'O Magnum Mysterium,' I wanted to create, as Zurbarán had in paint, a deeply felt religious statement, at once uncomplicated and unadorned yet powerful and transformative in its effect upon the listener."
"I also wanted to convey a sense of the text's long history and theological importance by referencing the constant purity of sacred music found in High Renaissance polyphony, especially in works by Josquin des Prez and Palestrina. The harmonic palette I chose, therefore, is simpler and direct;.... Further, both the musical themes and phrase shapes in 'O Magnum Mysterium' have their roots in Gregorian chant, with a constant metric flow and ebb."
Sends chills up my spine! Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium is very lovely. It's transcendent for both the singers and the listeners. It has those powerful pauses that one finds in Gregorian chant, those rests that seem to stop the whole world for a moment. You can listen to it here or on this YouTube, as sung by the Robert Shaw singers.
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