Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

This is Reformation Sunday; the 500th anniversary of the reformation! And this week’s signature series is F minor – The Fighter.

Martin Luther was determined and persistent, a fighter in the best sense of the word. Luther did not see the long-term implications of his courageousness at the beginning, but he took a step that he was compelled to take. And then the next, and then the next. His understanding developed, his resolve increased, and his courage was fortified.

F minor is music for the determined and persistent. It’s music that inspires courage, calls forth the best, and embodies the energy to create change. read more…

This week’s playlist features a sweet soupcon of early 20th century Viennese violin music, surrounded by bold, yet familiar, piano works. Movies and modern concert halls have made almost all of these works hummable.

Beethoven’s chromatic motif from Für Elise appears in almost a dozen movies, including Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The 18th variation in Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations is in Groundhog Day and the TV series The Good Wife. Grieg’s music from his A minor Piano Concerto first appeared in the movies in 1939. And 514 episodes of ABC’s hit TV show Peyton Place, featured excerpts from Schumann’s Piano Concerto. read more…

E major is grand and elegant. It has broad, sweeping vistas and delightful, graceful play. It calls us to be our best selves: to stand up tall, to take in a deep breath, and to gather our courage for the difficult things that cross our paths. We are surrounded by beauty which draws us into its strength and shocks us with its delicateness.

The CBC Signature Series in E major includes a Sound Cloud recording of the original radio broadcast.

This week’s Sound Theology playlist, ST#133, includes works by Grieg, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Strauss.

C minor gives me the chills. Real, hair-standing-on-end, spine-tingling chills. The glorious music written in this key plumbs the depths of emotion; the highs and the lows. Beethoven is well-known for his extensive output in this key, including 2 symphonies, 3 piano sonatas, a piano concerto and a handful of string quartets and trios. And, although the 5th symphony – with it’s iconic opening phrase – begins in C minor, it actually ends in C major, a turn toward optimism and joy. The weight and complexity of the C minor movements balanced, at the end of the work, by an extended cadence of C major chords. This week’s playlist does not include Beethoven’s 5th symphony, but it is easy to find if you want to listen. Another work in C minor that you might want to explore (if you’re brave) is Bruckner’s final orchestral work, the 8th Symphony, written in 1892. It is a massive exploration, as are the majority of Bruckner’s orchestral works, of wonderful yet challenging tonalities and rhythms. The ST#132 playlist features selections by Saint-Saens, Mozart, Purcell, Chopin, Mahler, and Bizet.   read more…

Is there anyone who does not love The Sound of Music? The story of Maria’s challenges, adventures, and new-found family includes some of the most memorable music in Broadway history. Maria is A major’s heroine: a will-o-the-wisp. This description is part of Hammerstein’s lyric – a series of phrases spoken by the Abby nuns, attempting to capture Maria’s elusive qualities. read more…