The
Composer
Looking
back, I realize that my compositions follow a significant life event which
draws out intense feelings, all the way from joy to grief. Whatever emotion surrounds me also brings me
an immeasurable closeness to my Creator, a deep intimacy that produces poetry,
music, and lyrics. These rise up like a fountain from the Lord in my mind, then
flow through my fingers to the piano, and then to sheet music in the form of
hymns.
I
experience the stream of music and words quickly and simultaneously. Reviewing
the melody in my head, I play the notes on the piano, then swiftly write down
the words before I lose the surge of inspiration. God is always the center of
my composing experience. Some composers have similar kinds of inspiration,
while others find their words and music in quite opposite ways. I treasure the
way that God bestows his gift on me, being humbled and blessed beyond measure.
The Listener
In
the same way that music is birthed in a composer, it also produces a special
meaning for each listener. This special connection brings the composer’s music
to the listener in a way that each person’s enjoyment is subtly unique from
what others experience with the same piece. Music has the distinctive ability
to spark an intercourse of the minds, creating an invisible interplay between
the composer and the listener. As Downes
writes of Tchaikovsky in The Lure of
Music:
“All have been
stirred by
the
human documents
which
he wrote with
His
heart’s blood in
little
black characters
on
music paper.”
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. NKJV
Praise
him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah! Psalm 150: 1 The Message (MSG)
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah! Psalm 150: 1 The Message (MSG)
