An Die Musik

A Shout-out to the Schubertiades

An Die Musik: Du holde Kunst, in wieviel grauen Stunden,/ Wo mich des Lebens wilder Kreis umstrickt, / Hast du mein Herz zu warmer Lieb entzunden, / Hast mich in eine bessre Welt entrückt! Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf entflossen, / Ein süsser, heiliger Akkord von dir/ Den Himmel bessrer Zeiten mir erschlossen, / Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!

Beloved art, in how many a bleak hour,/ when I am enmeshed in life’s tumultuous round, /have you kindled my heart to the warmth of love, /and borne me away to a better world!/ Often a sigh, escaping from your harp,/ a sweet, celestial chord/has revealed to me a heaven of happier times. / Beloved art, for this I thank you!

Warning: Mom said I am being way too esoteric with this post! Ha! When did she become the practical one?!!? OK here’s the deal, I am going to attempt to break this down into a readable post. In case you are at work, I will attempt to take out the cry chords that have made mom and I dissolve into puddles this morning. But when you are alone with your tissues — please indulge in Schubert Lieder and enter the cry zone. Mom and I have been weeping over our Chai tea this morning as we feel the power of this family theme song. Music is clearly what connects us to the source.

Photo by Marius Masalar on Unsplash

If there's one thing that can bring us all together in this divided world, it's music. And Bill’s comments on the blog last night reminded me of one song in particular, Franz Schubert's "An die Musik." (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf or Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau)

Before fully grasping the words to "An die Musik," the tear ducts would open and despite a yearning to sing this beloved song, I found I could not sing more than two lines without choking-up. One rather public moment and the end of my singing career (if you can call it that) was when my mom and dad had me perform it with Dalton Baldwin and Lorraine Nubar at the Foliage Art Song Festival. I remember dissolving into a public puddle and watching the eyes fill with tear all around me. I could not totally grasp the weight of what took place. I felt that “cry chord” open that Caroline Shaw recently discussed in her work Punctum. Public tears are not cool so I did what all young people do when they sense an awkward situation — I ran away from music and the arts and put my head down and jumped on the gerbil wheel.

But now, I understand the transformative power of art in our lives. We are all players on the world's stage, and music has the power to bring us together and create something beautiful. In Singing Bridge, we have hosted our own Schubertiades, where we have played and sung Schubert's music and deepened our connection to each other and the world around us.

"An die Musik" has the ability to transport us to another world, to heal us in ways we cannot fully comprehend. It is our family hymn, reminding us of the beauty and interconnectedness of the world around us. In these trying times, it has become a reminder that together, we have the power to heal and create something truly sacred.

The transformative healing power of music is beyond words. It is the way that nature, art and Schubert's lieder in general, can transform us beyond our intellectual capacity. Despite running away from it before, I now realize how fortunate I am to have been part of a community that values music and art. These gatherings were not just about the music, but about the intellectual and artistic discussions that accompanied them. As a result, we deepened our understanding of the world around us, and the typical boundaries dissolved.

The Singing Bridge, a place so dear/ Where inspiration's whispers I can hear/ Its melody echoes in my art/ And soothes the soul, like a balm to the heart.

A little Ode to Singing Bridge thanks to Bill Bittinger for the inspiration

In these uncertain times, we have had to find new ways to connect with each other, but rediscovering the power of music and art has been a lifeline. Schubert's "An die Musik" has taken on a new urgency, reminding us of the power of art to transport us to a better world, to be an incomparable refuge in troubled times. It makes us feel something deep down in our souls. It is the Singing Bridge that connects us to something greater than ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us. "An die Musik" is more than just a song; it is the beloved art dream of a new reality, a reality where we finally realize our connectedness and do so through the joy and power of poetry and song.