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Views from the Choir Loft

Stravinsky on Tradition

Richard J. Clark · June 14, 2013

S WE CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) the genius of Igor Stravinsky comes to mind. By the way, who knew that Stravinsky was a liturgist? Well, not quite, but he certainly had a profound grasp of the living connection between tradition and its indispensable role in our everyday lives:

“Tradition is entirely different from habit, even from an excellent habit, since habit is by definition an unconscious acquisition and tends to become mechanical, whereas tradition results from a conscious and deliberate acceptance. A real tradition is not the relic of a past that is irretrievably gone; it is a living force that animates and informs the present….Far from implying the repetition of what has been, tradition presupposes the reality of what endures. It appears as an heirloom, a heritage that one receives on condition of making it bear fruit before passing it on to one’s descendants.”

—Igor Stravinsky

Stavinsky understood that tradition tells us a great deal about ourselves. It is as necessary as food and water—nourishment that sustains us and keeps us alive. Otherwise we are dead and do not understand our faith, nor ourselves.

In the Julibee Year of 2000, I was fortunate to be invited to perform an organ recital in Bolzano, Italy. I took advantage of the trip to travel to Rome, walk through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, and pray where so many have prayed who came before us.

Also quite revelatory, I had opportunity to visit my grandmother’s sister and my mother’s cousin in Tuscany. I also visited my grandmother’s birthplace. What I discovered was something extraordinary: the love, faith, the cooking, the smells, the sounds of the Tuscan dialect all brought me back home to my grandparent’s fifth floor walkup apartment on Leroy Street in Greenwich Village. (My grandfather came to the USA in 1927.) Yet, this rustic setting was all so familiar. Seeing where they grew their food, where and how they prayed, and how they lived, the two households seemed to have been right next door to each other, even though they were a world apart, New and Old. I experienced an extraordinary familiarity in another world. I experienced a better knowledge of where I came from, especially in faith—a living faith passed on to their descendants—to my mother and my sisters.

Tradition lives on in our own lives. Nourish it. Live it. Pass it on!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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“Now we are aware of the fact that during recent years some artists, gravely offending against Christian piety, have dared to bring into churches works devoid of any religious inspiration and completely at variance with the right rules of art.”

— Ven. Pope Pius XII (25 December 1955)

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