Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
All Capital Letters are considered rude. But the headline for this Sunday’s walk together might sound similarly cross or dictatorial. Let that just underscore the difficulty of finding a brief few words to capture the topic suggested for our conversation by the past week’s events. Take it that this observer of Street Seens has lately been a sort of semi-shut-in continuing the daunting task of liberating her home from the tyranny of papers and all the other things that have, over the years, disguised themselves and crept in to files and folders naively labeled “Keepers.” Join me in affirming that since there are no coincidences in life these fragments that floated to the surface last week could have the potential to enrich kindly readers as much as they have me.
The happy news is that I stumbled upon, found or resurrected some marvelous jewels that I will now share with you and hope you find them soul-nourishing, or laugh provoking, eloquent, renewing or just plain great to come upon as second chances to savor something worth remembering.
Think of what Proust made out of the remembered fragrance of madeleines! And speaking of Proust, that’s as good a place as any from which to start. Once upon a time, now nearly three years past, I sat across the aisle on a Southwest flight to Chicago and when, towards the end of our flight, I could no longer restrain my amazement, said to the man sitting across the aisle that I could not help but note that he was reading Proust. “Have you seen Alain de Botton’s wonderful book on How Proust Can Change Your Life?, I asked. He had not, and so I resolved to get the book to him.
Then life intervened, and I could not safely send the book to Tom Post who had moved on from his office at Forbes. Next, in a notable non-coincidence I stumbled upon news of this amazing person on LinkedIn and learned that he is an Author and SVP Content Strategist for a firm that offers counselling to client executives on the art of “storytelling” that lies at the very heart of successful marketing. Now, I need to find a bricks and mortar bookstore that will set up what I hope will begin an alliance between two champions of highly imaginative insight captured in the pages of a book that qualifies as a definite “keeper.” I even found the handwritten note from Mr. Post that recommended how I might take some next steps in my own pursuit of writing.
This mixed bag of sayings and observations came via radio waves, file folders, television interviews, pulpits and sources as varied as they are unsurprising to this person who becomes surer by the moment that there are no coincidences.
Hudson, Ohio is a singular place and it was a reference from Hudson-born Farrell Fitch-Cosmas that made me take a second look at a print-out I requested her to find about her childhood neighbor from Hudson. The New Yorker “Double Take” that (again no coincidence!) was entitled, Magnificent Jewels featured a multi-carat square cut sapphire (making it in my estimation, a double-barreled “no-coincidence”) signaled the magazine’s offering of “Eighty-Five from the Archive: Ian Frazier.” And so, I rescued for the real “Keepers” file an addition to the many “Shouts and Murmurs” written by Frazier that have given me so many laughs courtesy of one described as a master of “the tough representation of Idiocy.” That same humorist also said, “Words are charms…It’s like a song you didn’t know you knew.”
Writing in a different vein of the death of Crazy Horse, Frazier told of the Chief’s refusal to lie on an army cot when he breathed his last. Lying on the floor of an Army office, Ian Frazier described him and the scene in these words,” With his body he demonstrated that the floor of an Army office was part of the land, and that the land was still his.” It fortified my own conviction regarding the proposal by the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to rescind President Obama’s order to protect Native Americans’ sacred lands and instead “return them to the states.” That, I think, goes what might be paraphrased as “a bridge not far enough.” Wouldn’t it be far better to return them to their original occupants?
On the positive side of the ledger during the semi-imprisonment imposed by the work of “clearing” was the chance to hear a video interview with Walter Isaacson. The iconic media executive and biographer of giants such as Einstein and Steve Jobs ended a conversation with an encouraging observation that is especially consoling in our turbulent times. He expressed his belief that in the worst of times (and he cited the period of McCarthyism, when lies were the rule of the day) that there seems to be a saving “gyroscope” at the heart of our brave adventure of democracy, that somehow rights our nation and resets it on its path to achieving its Founders’ hopes. I think I remember that Isaacson told his readers that the last word of Steve Jobs, was “Wow.” I choose to believe that that leaves us realizing that the great inventor, at the end, came face to face with the Supreme Creator. And was in awe.
Last Sunday was observed as “Good Shepherd Sunday” and so in the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the gathered community heard the following words from the Gospel of John. They came as the climax of a description of the contrast of a true shepherd committed to the safety of the sheep, “I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” That is the motto of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, who since 1849 have been dedicated to going wherever there is need, from the streets of Beziers France, to classrooms, court rooms, community centers, hospitals, even the United Nations offices for NGOs. I don’t need files or papers to have those words be a permanent part of my life.
Some of the words I found written or recurring in memory during this period of winnowing through the records and memories embodied in the “too much paper masquerading as things I need to keep” evokes smiles, and even laughter. For example, the brilliant James Agee’s observation in his novel, A Death in the Family. There, the central figure characterizes the difficulties of speaking with his brother in these words, “It’s like putting socks on an octopus.” Every bit as memorable as his script for African Queen!
So, the challenge of “socking” the octopus of 8+ years of excessive “saving” continues. I celebrate the validated “keepers” and promise myself that I will use them as the litmus test of future “data storage.” And I remember the innocent remark of a young man struggling under the weight of the too many books a friend had hired him to remove from the fourth-floor walk-up he was leaving, “You know, Mister, all this information would weigh a lot less if it were in your head (or I might add, in your heart), and not in books.”
With all due respect to actual librarians, archivists and the Library of Congress, I think he got it right. Stay tuned, and wish me well…preferably, verbally or via mental telepathy.
Here’s what I learned this past week in our “urban village” at a piano concert on April 7, 2016. The President Emeritus and Professor of Music at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota returned to the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer to revisit the Dominican community where he lived three years ago while on sabbatical in New York City.
On both occasions his lavish thank you gift to the wider world of his adopted community (i.e. “urban village”) was a concert of piano music that filled the body of the historic landmark Church with resonances that left no doubt as to the genius of the composers and the musician interpreting them. The sidewalk easel on Lexington Avenue announced a concert by pianist-educator Father Robert “Bob” Koopmann, OSB. I can only hope that any passerby who had a moment of skepticism when seeing the title “The Transforming Power of Music” returned to have that doubt swept away by performances that challenged the intellect, engaged the heart and evoked the sense of wonder that are all vital ingredients of transformation.
The concert spoke for itself. But in a fortunate chance to speak with Father Bob I was given a gift that left me with a question. Should I tell first of what I heard on Thursday night along with the scores of people who listened with me; or of the insights into the person that occurred in a Friday morning conversation that spoke as eloquently as the masterful performance the night before.
Happily, “Transforming” comes in a variety of shades. I should have known. In the setting of that entirely remarkable church I have been privileged to see heights of art and architecture; know people who minister the Word and who share it in very human exchanges. There I have heard astounding preaching; shared conversations with those who like me, are gifted with the discoveries we can only hope never to take for granted. Why would I be surprised to have received another gift?
Father Koopmann told me the next day, “As I play I invoke Beethoven when I perform his music. I invoke my parents and offer my gratitude for all they did for me to bring me to this moment.”
Music with Power to Transform
The concert was performed in and as a tribute to the Church and community that have been home to Father Bob when his travels bring him back to New York. He did his post doctoral study at Julliard. His visits to the city have been a recurring part of his work as President Emeritus of St John’s University (SJU) in Collegeville, Minnesota, Professor of Music at SJU and St. Benedict’s College, development executive for SJU and of course, performer/ classical pianist.
Performing throughout the United States and around the world, his recent concert engagements have taken him from New York and Madison, Wisconsin to Tokyo and five other Japanese locations for a 2013 series of “wish concerts” benefiting victims of the 2011 tsunami and dedicated to providing comfort and inspiration to all whose lives were affected by the tragedy. He will leave in late April for another such Japanese tour. After a concert in Tokyo’s Sunny Hall, he will visit Hiroshima where he will lecture on Music and Religion and perform a concert at the University of Elizabeth Conservatory of Music, considered the “Julliard of Japan.”
Listening to the Music
The program Thursday began with a multifaceted Bach Partita that suggested how formal structure could, in the hands of a genius, open a window into the transcendent. Then Sonata Number 30 in e major, born in the later years of Beethoven’s challenges of deafness, broke the heart with its six powerful variations giving his audience a glimpse into the life of a genius that struggled against the brutality of life by creating beauty that is a gift to those who can hear it as he never did.
The next selection was two piano pieces by Debussy. The first was his impression of the spirit of the Minstrel shows that were popular at the time. The next was his classic Claire de Lune. It was introduced with a comment that reminded the audience that like impressionist paintings, the music was created to capture the composer’s very personal impression of moonlight. For me, it called to mind the idea of what Saint Augustine referred to as “Beauty ever ancient, ever new.” It was a sound portrait of moonlight that was personal and fleeting, a recollection of beauty that can be observed but never literally captured.
Next, a muscular, powerful Samuel Barber Sonata for Piano included the very challenging Fuga that led the listener to a new understanding of how this 20th Century composer invited his listeners to fresh hearing of music popular and classical.
At the hands of “Father Bob” America’s music is simultaneously reflected and elevated in a new idiom of the musical languages. Finally that night on Lexington Avenue concluded with an invitation to hear improvisations on traditional hymns and sacred music. That reminded us to expand our awareness to embrace the many accents in which praise can be expressed, from blues to jazz to traditional chant.
Listening to the performer
One lasting impression was of the raw power of the performance. At times I had to remind myself that the force that seemed almost to rock the formidable structure was the touch of a single pianist, performing on a single instrument
At the next day’s conversation I learned, in the performer’s words, “I take the composer’s notes very seriously, but as the years of relationship to the music continue I find that the notes also embrace the lived experience of the performer.” Since this performer’s lived experience includes the role of professor to 18 talented young student musicians, some reflections of the Professor enrich the picture. “I continually learn from my students, through their responses to whatever material we are studying. At the same time, I work at finding more and different pedagogies to help all of us bring our text to life. We all learn in slightly or sometimes vastly different ways: some learn better by writing; others by discussion; some by looking first at the big picture; others by beginning with the details. I wish to give my students every opportunity to connect with our material and to discover the ways they learn best. Some musicians first need to find ways to get the piano keys down and up in a relaxed and efficient way; others have more need to hear more attentively what they are playing; still others need to study the score more critically; and some need to work first at performing in front of a group. The pedagogies for teaching an effective First Year Symposium, Senior Seminar or Music Literature class are similar. Whatever the course, I hope to teach my students how to think, how to listen, how to understand the ideas of others, how to develop discipline in study and practice, and how to interact with others around particular musical or intellectual material. Above all, I want students to know that a life lived with the materials and skills I teach is a richer, fuller existence.”
For a vicarious experience of Father Bob as professor and performer his performance CDs are available at sjmarket.com and can be downloaded in MP3 format. These include “Lead Kindly Light,” improvisations on sacred melodies and “Live in Japan,” He is also in the process of enriching a Facebook Artist Page. This is the young boy from Iowa who found his way to SJU because it was the best music faculty in this Midwest, North Central area. On graduation he focused on one of the region’s finest symphony orchestras and within two years had become staff pianist of the Milwaukee Symphony. When his life was transformed by recognition of his vocation to become a Benedictine Monk, he was already well aware of the power of music to transform. All his varied constituencies and audiences are the better for that insight.
The Transforming Power of Music
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 7:00 PM
Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer
New York City
Robert Koopmann, O.S.B., Pianist
Partita Number 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 J. S. Bach
Prelude (1685-1750)
Sarabande
Gigue
Sonata Number 30 in E Major, Opus 109 Ludwig van Beethoven
Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressive (1770-1827)
Prestissimo
Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung- Andante molto-cantabile ed espressivo
Theme
Variation I- Molto espressivo
Variation II- Leggiermente
Variation III- Allegro vivace
Variation IV- Etwas langasmer als das Thema
Variation V- Allegro, ma non-troppo
Variation IV- Tempo I del tema- Cantabile
Two Piano Pieces Claude Debussy
Minstrels (Preludes, Bk 1) (1862-1918)
Claire de Lune-Moonlight (Suite Bergamasque)
Sonata for Piano, Opus 26 Samuel Barber
Allegro vivace e leggero (1910-1984)
Fuga–Allegro conspirito
Lead, Kindly Light Robert Koopmann, O.S.B.
2 Improvisations on Sacred Melodies
On both occasions his lavish thank you gift to the wider world of his adopted community (i.e. “urban village”) was a concert of piano music that filled the body of the historic landmark Church with resonances that left no doubt as to the genius of the composers and the musician interpreting them. The sidewalk easel on Lexington Avenue announced a concert by pianist-educator Father Robert “Bob” Koopmann, OSB. I can only hope that any passerby who had a moment of skepticism when seeing the title “The Transforming Power of Music” returned to have that doubt swept away by performances that challenged the intellect, engaged the heart and evoked the sense of wonder that are all vital ingredients of transformation.
Music with Power to Transform 