Dear Friends,
One of several events to celebrate the centennial of our school was a lively concert last Thursday night, “Saint Thomas Choir School at 100.” The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys and our guest musicians, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, were conducted by Dr. Jeremy Filsell, our organist and choirmaster. The concert opened with the kaleidoscopic “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninov, with Dr. Filsell on piano and conducting. Rooted and stirring excerpts from “Gloria Domini” by the former headmaster T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953) were offered, lauding the Dedication of the Temple as we honored the dedication of the school. The evening closed with a striking collection of seven pieces by Stephen Paulus entitled “Prayers and Remembrances.”
Besides the joy of hearing my colleagues perform and the wonder of experiencing music of such excellence and grace, concerts at St. Thomas are one of the rare times, as a clergyperson, that I get to experience this place as most people do: sitting in a pew. And, also, it is at a concert that I have no other responsibility but to listen and to receive (important responsibilities in a life of faith!). And by the time the final sequence of music arrived, Dr. Filsell, the Gentlemen, the Boys, the Orchestra had ushered my heart into a sustained, prayerful stance. This was made all the more forceful by the actual content of the prayers that were being sung. One of the lush and romantic poems that especially reverberated with me was that of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822).
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap’d for the beloved’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
This is not quite a reference to resurrection life. It does, though, bring home the power of beautiful sounds and smells to transcend death. In beauty, Creation mimics the power of the Creator!
And then, a prayer/aphorism from the blazing mind of the poet William Blake (1757-1827) gave me most excellent advice in a piece called “Eternity.”
He who bends to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
I think that there is a lot of pressure to enjoy the good things of life while you have them. There is indeed a solemn urgency (at worst, desperation) in the air to enjoy life while one can in this troubled world. And the implication is that if we try hard enough (how, precisely?), we can get the most out of life. But Blake offers a counterintuitive conviction: don’t grasp at the good things in life, “bending to yourself” the joys of this world as if you could make them permanent. Instead, we are called to be at peace with good things as they come and as they go. After all, why say “bye,” when we can say “goodbye?” And in “kissing the joy as it flies,” one can discover the timeless quality of the seemingly fleeting joys that God gives us, so that we may know eternal life through better or worse.
My deepest gratitude for Dr. Filsell, the Music Department, the Gentlemen, the Boys, and all our guest musicians for such a fine evening of music, wisdom, and prayer. And, also, thank you to all those who support this exquisite craft and ministry. If you haven’t yet, please consider joining me as a participant in St. Thomas Church’s 2020 Annual Appeal using the button below.
Many blessings,
Matthew Moretz+
Associate Rector
