Dear Friends,
Prelude in C minor by Frédéric François Chopin
Performed by Ishmael Wallace
In a tiny prelude, the story of Holy Week: a journey to the limit of darkness, and a sudden passing through into light.
Our Lord crucified and buried, all we can do is wait. And then in the depths, something changes. That harmony, which felt so remote, which WAS so remote, leads into a cadence.
It is not that Chopin intended for his music to tell this story, but that the story is inscribed in the heart of music. Time is a set of variations on eternal themes; from every nook and cranny of time, eternity looks out.
Chopin’s genius is in listening to his material. The first three notes of the soprano, a traditional motif which tells of tragedy, suggest a movement into darkness. At first, the music draws back; with a flutter of feathers, it rises into light. But it remembers the darkness, and soon returns to it. Now, the darkness reveals its true nature; it is not an enemy, but the “narrow skiff” (Novalis) which takes us to “Heaven’s shore”.
Sehnsucht nach dem Tode (Hymnen an die Nacht #6)
Hinunter in der Erde Schooß,
Weg aus des Lichtes Reichen,
Der Schmerzen Wuth und wilder Stoß
Ist froher Abfahrt Zeichen.
Wir kommen in dem engen Kahn
Geschwind am Himmelsufer an.
Longing for Death (Hymns to the Night #6)
Down into the bosom of the earth,
Away from the realms of light —
This wild stab of raging pain
Is a glad sign of departure.
Quickly, in the narrow skiff,
We come to Heaven’s shore.
(translation by IW)
How beautiful that in Novalis, the “narrow skiff” is at once the narrow grave and the “narrow way”:
“…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life…” (Matthew 7:13 — 14, King James Version)
The narrow skiff is above all “Thy Will be done” — awareness that whatever comes is a messenger from my Beloved, that pleasure and pain alike are His touch. I still must fight, but no longer do I raise my fists at Heaven; no longer do I reproach God for placing me on earth.
I see that everything is a part of the tapestry — everything belongs.
Thank you so much.
With every good wish,
Ishmael
Novalis (Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, 1772 — 1801)
by Franz Gareis (1775–1803)
It is so wonderful to be able to play Chopin, and wonderful that you are listening. I often think that Chopin is a good influence: his music is so noble!
Beautiful performance, Ishmael. Chopin is one of my favorites and that piece, in particular, moves me every time I hear it.