Veni, Iane

Well, another awful year is over. I speak generally: for me, in particular, it wasn't too bad. Upon some reflection I have hit upon the curious fact that all of my best memories from this year are associated with places (Vienna, Madison, South Bend), and that all of those places are not Home. Perhaps I have entered the journeyman phase of life, when I must wander (Ahasuerus-like) until I remember why I should look homewards. That's one explanation.

In any case, let me employ this web-log to wish you a better forthcoming year than the one we just finished. Things will probably get worse, yes, but such is the course of history.

The Left End of the Porch

For all the things the Front Porchers get correct, there certainly are a lot of stupid comments made there. (Environmentalism equals communism, for example. Or, Obama is Kenyan.) Every few weeks, upon becoming enraged by an assortment of asinine comments posted at FPR, I resolve to stop reading the site. And then I see something like this article, which reminds me why I started reading it to begin with.

All the same, I'd say there's a dangerous amount of teabag-level crazity present among certain commenters. It's my humble opinion that we need a few more people on the left side of the Porch (like Mr Russell Arben Fox, one of the few posters sane enough to admit that de gummint isn't intrinsically evil). I tire of the self-righteousness of those reactionary Front Porchers who assume a localist attitude must necessarily entail belief in the One True Church (whichever particular brand they prefer, be it Papist, Greek, or Calvinist), complete denial of the Democratic party (communiss, all of 'em!), and disdain for any culture beyond that of small-town America. I will not forsake Bach and Mahler, thank you.

"Don’t you want to earn Schrute bucks?"

The Office is one of the few television shows that is not entirely loathsome. (Others in this select group include Mythbusters and several PBS shows.) Now that it's in syndication I've been occasionally watching older episodes; from this it's evident that the show has changed quite a bit, especially in this past season. The thing we forget is just how unpleasant everything is in the first two seasons or so: the humor derived from the awkwardness of the interactions between characters, more than anything else. This is still true, to an extent, but it seems that the writers have become much more fond of the characters in recent years. The biggest change is the dynamic between Jim & Pam and the environment of the office: earlier, we rooted for them because they were the only two people who had not resigned themselves to a lifetime of drudgery and obscurity. By now they've given in. Is this because they've finally become adults? Or because they can no longer give up a stable source of money? (What's the difference?)

Natalis Domini

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

(That's from Isaiah, chapter nine. If you read the whole thing without thinking of G.F. Handel, then you've clearly never been involved in a performance of his sacred oratorio in three parts.)

Christmas is one of those times when it's especially obvious how far from the ideal we are. Instead of glory to God and on earth peace toward men of good will, we have, well, what we have. And yet if this God fellow is omnipotent, he foresaw even our continuing, exasperating and abundant imperfection when coming into the world.

If you know anything about children, or remember being one, you'll recall that certain gifts are easily broken. Against all sensible counsel, parents will give a child a gift, knowing that it will likely be destroyed. I suppose God's a bit like that.

Snow; Reincken

Nothing is quite so good at reminding you that you're alive as something that can kill you. Today's example is the blizzard that has struck Northern Indiana, which made my hebdomadal walk to the sandwich(e) shop(pe) especially worthwhile. One cannot mope in such weather; one cannot loiter. Cold has a way of focusing one's thoughts; cold with 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts more so. As I strode confidently in my boots through today's weather, I felt a sense of purpose that is distinctly lacking in the languid life of the academic. In this weather, I am Shackleton; I am Peary; I am, especially, Amundsen, for I like to think Norwegianness has something to do with it.

Ah, but now I have retreated to the (relative) warmth of my (drafty) room, as I prepare to write several pages about the organ music of Johann Adam Reincken, one of Bach's influënces. (I recommend it, incidentally.) It's gotten so that I simply cannot hear Baroque music as the unitiated do, which may be a sort of disadvantage in planning liturgical music. My sister, for example, says all Bach's cello suites sound the same; this is patently untrue, but I suppose I should take it into account if congregants cannot distinguish between a passepied and a passacaglia.

Phlegmatics, Unite

Freezing temperatures have finally settled in, here in South Bend. It is good, introspective, no-nonsense weather, and excellent for walks. It's the most phlegmatic time of the year: gone is the melancholia of the autumn, and I was never one for the unrealistic expectations of spring and summer, anyway. In weather like this the monastery starts looking like a viable option. It is thus entirely appropriate that this weather coïncides with the liturgical season of Advent. Consider, why don't you, a good listen to some of Bach's Advent cantatas. (BWV 61 and 62 are especially good.)

For Kirchenmusikers this is, of course, the season to put one's affairs in order for the upcoming festivities. As far as I know I'm only scheduled for two services. The Christmas Eve service should be an intimate affair (piano, keine Orgel), with lots of carols. For the Christmas Day Mass, the papists are planning some rather good choral music (incl. Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium). I just hope our choir is up to the task.