The Story of St. Cecilia
St. Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because, as she was dying, she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she ‘sang in her heart to the Lord’.
https://saintcecilias.org/the-story-of-st-cecilia/“Arise, soldiers of Christ, throw away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Saint CeciliaFeast Day Nov 22nd
The composers of old knew this. Many of them, upon completing a work, dedicated them, in writing, “to the glory of God” or “to God alone be the glory.” They understood that such beauty couldn’t be an act of human beings alone.
Classical music was born in the halls of churches and monasteries. At its heart lies divine inspiration. It’s a gift given to humankind for devotion, enjoyment, and discipline. It’s one of those precious aspects of our culture that allows us to stay connected to our maker.
“I’ve always thought of Variation 15 as the perfect Good Friday spell.” Glenn Gould Stream the 15th Variation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations and experience its prayerful nuance. This is an open source performance part of a project to make such music accessible to all.
https://www.opengoldbergvariations.org/
Open Goldberg Variations
Bach’s Goldberg Variations, played by Kimiko Ishizaka
Glenn Gould said of this variation, “It’s the most severe and rigorous and beautiful canon … the most severe and beautiful that I know, the canon in inversion at the fifth. It’s a piece so moving, so anguished—and so uplifting at the same time—that it would not be in any way out of place in the St. Matthew’s Passion; matter of fact, I’ve always thought of Variation 15 as the perfect Good Friday spell.”[6] Source
This is a very interesting opportunity for Classical Music lovers, who may not be familiar with this open source project. The entire recording by Kimiko Ishizaka is available on streaming services, but the highest quality digital files are available for download on Bandcamp for a $0.00 or more donation here. Also the download contains a PDF about these recordings as well a PDF of the Piano Musical Score which can be printed. References for your ease are here!
More from Mme Kimiko: Click Full Video in the lower YouTube banner margin if you would like to listen to the full 1 hour 22 min recording and links provided to download the open source recordings of this supreme artistry and gift to the public! Donate to the project if you can! Fiat! MTJ!
Download the Goldberg Variations (mp3, wav): https://kimikoishizaka.bandcamp.com/a… Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, The English Patient, Captain Fantastic, Before Sunrise, and Solaris are just a few films to have featured Bach’s Goldberg Variations. “Counterpoint passes back and forth between the hands in a conversational and judiciously balanced manner, while a strong lyrical impulse informs the cross-handed variations’ rapid, bravura passages (Vars 5 and 19, for example). Ishizaka’s restrained and concentrated way with slow minor-key variations (Vars 15,21 and 25) lets the music’s agonising harmonic tension speak softly for itself.” – Jed Distler, Gramophone Magazine “She has the fleet fingers to speed through the virtuoso variations with compelling clarity and the sensitivity to probe the dramatic potential of the slower, more profound numbers, pleasurably aided by her consistently lovely tone.” – Robert Schulslaper, Issue 36:1 (Sept/Oct 2012), Fanfare Magazine “The sound quality of the recording is top notch” “In fact, the album’s an audiophile gem.” – Reviewed by Christopher Lim in The Business Times, July 20, 2012. J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations”, BWV 988, recorded by Kimiko Ishizaka on a Bösendorfer grand piano, with score following provided by the iPad app from MuseScore. For more information on this project, see http://www.opengoldbergvariations.org0:00 Aria 5:00 Variation 1 6:57 Variation 2 9:03 Variation 3 11:00 Variation 4 12:10 Variation 5 13:44 Variation 6 15:22 Variation 7 17:35 Variation 8 19:31 Variation 9 21:38 Variation 10 23:24 Variation 11 25:33 Variation 12 27:49 Variation 13 32:04 Variation 14 34:20 Variation 15 38:54 Variation 16 “Ouverture” 42:03 Variation 17 43:47 Variation 18 45:37 Variation 19 47:03 Variation 20 49:08 Variation 21 53:02 Variation 22 54:36 Variation 23 56:55 Variation 24 59:41 Variation 25 (“Black Pearl” – slideshow) 1:09:01 Variation 26 1:11:03 Variation 27 1:12:55 Variation 28 1:15:20 Variation 29 1:17:30 Variation 30 “Quodlibet” 1:19:32 Aria da Capo Download: https://kimikoishizaka.bandcamp.com/ New album from Kimiko Ishizaka featuring her own compositions: • Kimiko Ishizaka -…
Introducing our youth to Classical Music. Reprinted from the Epoch Times, reference below:
Classical music was born in the halls of churches and monasteries. At its heart lies divine inspiration. It’s a gift given to humankind for devotion, enjoyment, and discipline. It’s one of those precious aspects of our culture that allows us to stay connected to our maker.
The composers of old knew this. Many of them, upon completing a work, dedicated them, in writing, “to the glory of God” or “to God alone be the glory.” They understood that such beauty couldn’t be an act of human beings alone.
In fact, if you think about it, there’s nothing on earth quite the same as classical music. It’s in a league of its own.
For these and other reasons, a lot of parents want to expose their children to it, with the goal of fostering a true appreciation for it.
But many don’t know where to start, especially in cases where their child may not be learning an instrument and where they themselves may not be that well versed.
Where to start with Children, more in the reference article, but in general: Early exposure is best!; Attend Kid-friendly Concerts, Choose Kid-Oriented Tunes, Keep it Light!
Source: “How to get Kids to appreciate Classical Music and Why” ANGELICA REIS Epoch TIMES JULY 5, 2022 MTJ Fiat!
St. Cecilia The Patroness of Musicians
It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she ‘sang in her heart to the Lord’. Her feast day is celebrated on November 22nd. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. It is supposed that she was a noble lady of Rome who, with her husband Valerian, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier Maximus suffered matrydom in about 230, under the emperor Alexander Severus. Source
Fiat!
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