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Views from the Choir Loft

Music Leads Us to Heaven

Fr. David Friel · January 20, 2019

Schubert CHUBERT was an extraordinary composer, not only for the beauty of his music, but also for the sheer magnitude of his corpus. Once a chorister in the Vienna Boys Choir, Schubert went on to compose more than 1500 works—and he died at age 31! These works span many genres, including Masses, symphonies, operas, chamber works, and overtures.

His largest group of works, of which he left us roughly 600 examples, is the category of Lieder, sometimes called art songs. These pieces, scored for piano and solo voice, set German-language poems to classical art music.

Recently, I heard a performance of several Schubert Lieder. Among them were several charming pieces, but one stood out for the beauty of its text. Entitled An die Musik (“To Music”), the text was written by Franz von Schober, a friend and roommate of Schubert. The composer set the poem to music in 1817, having barely entered his twenties.

The text of the piece is as follows:

Du holde Kunst, in wie viel grauen Stunden,
Wo mich das Lebens wilder Kreis umstrickt,
Hast du mein Herz zu warmer Lieb entzunden,
Hast mich in eine beßre Welt entrückt.

Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf entfloßen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir,
Den Himmel beßre Zeiten mir erschloßen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür.

An English translation:

Thou, lovely art, in how many gray hours
in which I have been ensnared by life’s wild circle,
hast thou inflamed my heart to warm love,
hast thou transported me to a better world?

Often has a sigh, flowing from your harp—
a sweet, holy chord from thee—
unlocked for me the heaven of better times.
Thou, lovely art, I thank thee for it!

HIS CHARMING art song, both in its melody and in its message, reminds us of the medicinal quality of music, which can provide a welcome salve in trying times.

Music, for most of our readers, is either a dear avocation or a full profession. It is good to be reminded, therefore, that music has the power to lead us on toward heaven.

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 Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Schola Director Posts ‘Live’ Recording
    As I explained in my article posted earlier today, Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland is actually a Catholic tune (in spite of what some have claimed). The volunteer choir I direct sang that beautiful ADVENT melody last Sunday, and I invite you to listen to the live recording. It will get better the more we sing it.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Message from the Vice-President!
    The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I'm used to when it comes from you. Bravo! Well done! Now, as a sequel, if you could write something for accompanying psalms in English that would be awesome.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Requesting Our Advent Eucharistic Hymn
    A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially in the ADVENT and CHRISTMAS seasons. Your recent article on Gregorian Psalm Tones is a great help to my organist brother, and reminds us of attending VESPERS years ago when we lived in California. Thank you so much for all the effort put into providing these wonderful resources!”   Agnes, if you are listening! Yes, the PDF file you desire can be downloaded for free at the Brébeuf Portal via this URL link. Thanks for writing to us!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Thus the priest-celebrant, putting on the person of Christ, alone offers sacrifice, and not the people, nor clerics, nor even priests who reverently assist. All, however, can and should take an active part in the Sacrifice. “The Christian people, though participating in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, do not thereby possess a priestly power,” We stated in the Encyclical Mediator Dei (AAS, vol 39, 1947, p. 553).

— Pope Pius XII (2 November 1954)

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