Former Sodas

I have a small collection of antique advertisements for brands of soda. Coca-Cola is a favorite, but I also have Pepsi, Orange Crush, 76, Norka, Dr. Pepper, Grapette, Cheer-Up, and a few others. 

I was looking on eBay and saw an advertisement for Quiky soda, which I'd never heard of. But looking it up online, I found this neat article about more recent sodas which have been discontinued. I hadn't realized some of these kinds of defunct. Memories of enjoying the day with a soda (or soda pop, or pop, or sodie, or whatever your favorite term is!). 

https://gunaxin.com/a-tribute-to-fallen-dead-discontinued-sodas 

Cling to Christ: Bach Cantatas for the Early Christmas Season

Continuing my re-listening to Bach's sacred cantatas, performed by the Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloist, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner … I've been listening three CDs for the Christmas season. They were recorded in 2000 at St. Bartholomew's Church, a favorite stop whenever we visit Manhattan. Although I'm beginning my year-long "journey" with the First Sunday of Advent, these three CDs are actually the last ones in the original pilgrimage.

CD 54 contain the cantatas "Gelobet seist du, Jesus Christ” (BWV 91, "All Praise to you, Jesus Christ") and “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens” (110, "Let our mouth be full of laughter") for Christmas Day, and then “Christum wir sollen loben schon” (121, "To Christ we should sing praises") and “Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes” (40, "For this purpose the Son of God") for Boxing Day, the second day of Christmas. On the CD's cover is photograph of a child in Amdo, Tibet. According to the notes, “Gelobet, seist du” is full of expectation and danceable-rhythms, with its emphasis on praise of God’s work in Christ---the small way in which the creator of the universe appeared for our benefit.

"Christum wir sollen" is based on a 5th century Latin hymn is similar in its content: “God, who was so boundless, took on servile form and poverty.” "Dazu its erschienen" has several contrasts of darkness and light---and the admonition that we should not be anxious and fearful for the “ancient serpent,” for Christ has conquered Satan. “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens" is, for Gardiner, the “most festive and prilliant” of these four with an “irresistible swagger” “Let your mouth be full of laughter and our tongue of singing. For the Lord has done great things for us.”

CD 55 contain the cantatas for the third day of Christmas, also recorded at St. Barth's: “Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget” (BWV 64, "Behold, what manner of love"), "Süsser Trost, mein Jesus kömmt" (151, "Sweet comfort, my Jesus comes"), "Selig ist der Mann" (57, "Blessed is the man"), and a cantata for the second day of Christmas, "Ich freue mich in dir" (133, "I rejoice in thee"). The cover is photo of a baby in Zigaze Tibet.

Gardiner calls attention to the trombone choir in "Sehet, welch eine Liebe", which I look forward to hearing. He notes that this cantata connects thematically to the theme of Christus victor in the previous day's cantata “Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes”, as well as the Christmas cantata "Sehet, welch eine Liebe." Gardiner writes that Bach uses the trombone to depict the “vertical and horizontal” dimensions of faith: Christ’s descent to the world to save us and our eventual ascent to heaven to gain the full divine promises. 

"Süsser Trost, mein Jesus kömmt" is an “intimate and beguiling” cantata has, among other things the use of oboes and violins “in praise of the spiritual riches to be found in Jesus’ spiritual poverty.”

His wretched state reveals to me

naught but salvation and well-being,

yea, His wondrous hand

will weave me naught but garlands of blessing.

In "Selig ist der Mann," we find a kind of dialogue between Christ and the soul, and thus a connection of Christ’s love with the soul of the suffering believer. In the arias and recitatives, Jesus promises his heart to the believer---and his hand to strike the believer's enemies and accusers. Meanwhile, the believer declares that he/she has nothing to count on but Jesus.

Finally, "Ich freue mich in dir" is an exhilarating cantata which connects to the believer’s need for Christ seen in "Selig ist der Mann" and the other cantatas.

…. I shall,

O Jesus, cling to Thee,

even if the world

were to shatter in a thousand pieces.

The last CD of pre-New Year Christmas music is the actual last CD of the entire set, also recorded at St. Bartholomew's. The cover photo is a child from Sarif, Afghanistan.These cantatas are for the Sunday after Christmas: the motet "Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied" (225, "Sing unto the Lord a new song"), "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn" (152, "Tread the path of faith"), "Das neugeborne Kindelein (122, "The newborn infant child"), "Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende" (28, "Praise God! The year now draws to a close"), and "
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied" (190, "Sing unto the Lord a new song").

Gardiner notes that the BWV 225 "Singet dem Herrn" “distances itself from the mode of the incarnation and anticipates Christ’s coming Passion, crucifixion and death” with a small ensemble, a soprano and basis and six instruments). He also notes that the motet invites believers to the path of faith, as does "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn," which is “as close as [Bach] ever got to the traditional Christmas carol-like image of the infant Jesus.” "Gottlob!" takes us into the area of the end of the year’s journey, while the BWV 190 "Singet dem Herrn" reminds us continually of Jesus (in this case, the lesson is his circumcision and naming). Gardiner notes that the cantata begins and ends in D major, creating a little circle with the journey of the past year and the new one to begin.

All good interrelated themes to ponder in our hearts: the weakness and poverty of the circumstances of Jesus' birth, contrasted with the strength of Christ's grace on which the believer relies. That strength, in turn, is that which we must turn to again and again through the journeys of our years---and the upcoming journey of the new year.   

English translations by Richard Stokes

(A post from 2013) 

Etch this day in metal and marble: Bach's Cantatas for Christmas Day

Continuing my "journey" through Bach's sacred cantatas, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner…. I'm listening to CD 1 in the 56-CD set, the cantatas for Christmas Day. The cover photograph is of a child in Hardiwar, India.

The first CD is “Christen, ätzet diesen Tag” (BWV 63), “Christians, etch this day in metal and marble.” Gardiner’s notes that this was first concert of the year-long pilgrimage. This concert happened in Weimar, a city of notable cultural history. But eight kilometers away, lies the notorious place Buchenwald. For Gardiner, this contrast reminds us, among other things, that “Bach’s music is overwhelming testimony to the strength and resilience of the human spirit,” with its need to find meaning and its endurance through life's horrors.

It makes me think, too, of the sometimes jarring contrast each Christmas when we sing "peace on earth" in a world that has never known lasting peace. And yet the day is etched permanently in human experience. One thinks of the famous, unofficial "Christmas truces" that happened along the Western Front in 1914, mocking the supposed need for nations to go to war.

This BWV 63 cantata has a symetrical form and contrasting moods, for instance Bach’s transition from E minor to A major when moving to Jesus’ birth. Among the several numbers, the singers declare, “O blessed day! O wondrous day on which the Saviour of the world, the Shiloh promised by God in paradise to the human race.”  “Call and implore heaven, come, ye Christians, come to the dance, you should rejoice at God’s deeds today!”

The other cantata is “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (BWV 191), the words and song of the angels which, in Bach's hands becomes (as Gardiner puts it) "a celebration of dance as well as song.”

Are we dancing with joy at the Good News of Christ? I don't want to become chiding about our Christian experience----as if we all "should" be dancing with joy at the Savior, and if we're not we're substandard Christians. But sometimes we do feel so positive about the Good News that, even if we don't dance, we can't sit still.

(A post from 2013) 

Tonight We Dream

Tonight, we dream

(My wife Beth's devotion for our church for Christmas Eve.) 

As we ponder the mysteries of the universe and wonder anew the miracle of the Christmas story, we are those who dream.  Dreams are a part of our human condition, present  without bidding in our unconscious mind and present with us as we imagine futures yet unknown. We know from Biblical narrative that dreams and visions can connect us with the divine, revealing God’s intentions and plans for us.

Through a dream, Abram was reminded that he would have a son.  Jacob’s dream of the ladder assured him that he would be the one to carry Abraham’s blessing.  Joseph was a dreamer, for which he was scorned by his brothers; yet, his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams brought relief to both the Egyptians and the Israelites in a time of famine. The story of the birth of the infant who would be our Savior is set within a series of dreams: Zacharias’ dream that he would have a son and Joseph’s dreams about Mary’s conception and Herod’s intent.  We marvel at the intimacy of God’s voice in these dreams and may well ask if God speaks to us in our dreams.

In hindsight we can see that a dream has predicted an event yet to happen. Most often, we dismiss that as chance occurrence or perhaps think that we are gifted with a special intuitive sense.  God’s voice? How would we know?  Are our dreams simply our mind’s wanderings or a divine communication?

As I recently reviewed several BBC articles and video reels about the nature of dreams, I am intrigued with the questions they raised.  When dreams come true, is it possible that we are actually having a memory of the future?  Have we, because of our imperfect understandings of the dimension of time, confused cause and effect?  Do our dreams give us the ability to travel in time? Intriguing questions, I think, and as I consider them, I consciously dream in new ways.  I read Isaiah’s vision as both prophecy and certain knowledge when he writes of the God present from before the beginning of time, now, and for eternity:

“A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (9:6)

I hear Verse 20 of Luke’s second chapter as a statement about the past, present, and future:

“The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.”

Tonight, the story of Jesus’ birth prompts us to dream of a time of Mary and Joseph in the manger, the angels appearing to the shepherds, and all that was revealed to them.  May it also shape our dreams of the future God intends for us, a time when we who are walking in darkness will see a great light, and we will experience endless peace, with justice and righteousness now and forever.  

Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those he favors.  Amen

Sin and Hypocrisy: Bach's Fourth Advent Sunday Cantatas

Many people have heard of the "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage." The year 2000 was the 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach's death. To commemorate the occasion, John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir, and the English Baroque Soloists performed all of Bach's extant sacred cantatas (186 in all) in over sixty churches---in one year. To perform the cantatas each week in different locations was of course a complicated and relentless task, but the pieces were also recorded. Deutsche Grammophon was willing to release only a few of the cantatas so Gardiner established his own label, Soli Deo Gloria, to release the rest. Those words, "to the glory of God alone," were Bach's dedication of each cantata.

The cantatas have been released in sets over these years and feature photographs by photojournalist Steve McCurry of people from around the world. (His famous picture is that of Sharbat Gula, "the Afghan girl," although that particular photo is not used on these sets.) The photos give a sense of the universality of the music of Bach and its themes. When all of the cantatas were released as a 56-CD box set, I purchased it from arkivmusic.com.

I like to find ways to provide structure and variety to my weekly devotional life, since I'm so prone to become busy and harried and to forget. So I decided to do my own pilgrimage (less complicated than Gardiner's!) and listen to the cantatas on the days represented by each. 

On December 6st, I began with Disc 52, cantatas for the First Sunday in Advent. Now I'm continuing with Disc 53 for the Fourth Sunday in Advent. The picture on the disc is a man from Rajasthan, India.

The first cantata is "Wachet! betet! betet! Wachet!" (BWV 70). It captures the Advent theme of expectation for the Second Coming: “Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch! Be prepared at all times till the Lord of Glory brings this world to an end.... When will the day come, when we leave the Egypt of this world? Ah, let us soon flee Sodom before the fire overwhelms us! Awaken, souls, from your complacency and believe; this is the final hour.” In the notes, Gardiner points out that Bach alternates orchestra and choir to conjure “the terrifying moment ... when ‘the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat’.”

Advent reminds us of the future final hour of Christ's coming---though we must also be mindful of our own deaths as well. But those who pray and watch have consolation: “Lift up your heads and be comforted, you righteous ones, so that your souls might flourish! You shall blossom in Eden and serve God eternally.”

“Beretet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn!” (BWV 132) is next. “Prepare the ways and level the paths of faith and life for the Highest; the Messiah draws nigh!” The person of faith has great promises: “Through the springs of blood and water your clothes have been cleansed, that had been stained by sin. Christ gave you new clothes, dressed you in crimson and white silk, such is a Christian’s finery.” According to Gardiner, Bach assigns an aria to the bass soloist as well as bass instruments “to express all that the text implies: the vigorous declamatory denunciation of sin and hypocrisy.” Advent is a time for us to reflect upon changes we can make in our lives.

Sin and hypocrisy are themes in all three cantatas. The third, “Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben” (147), begins, “Heart and mouth and deed and life must give witness of Christ without fear and hypocrisy, that He is both God and Savior.” Jesus is our joy and comfort, strength and treasure, and so the believer should not let Jesus out of heart or sight. The familiar tune, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," is used in the song "Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe." The faithful person holds to Jesus amid distress and grief, though his/her heart might break, for Jesus is faithful and loving and provides rest and help.

As we consider our own sin and hypocrisy---as well as our griefs and troubles---how great to hold onto God's promises for us. Though the scriptural words of judgment are frightening, those who trust in the Lord find tenderness and faithfulness. 

(An edited post from 2013) 

The English translations in the CD notes are by Richard Stokes.

Those Who Dream Are Not Alone

Those who dream are not alone  

Luke 1:26-45, 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Paul Stroble 

A devotion written for our church for the Fourth Sunday of Advent 

Our lesson from 2 Samuel concerns God’s promise to David for an everlasting dynasty. David wants to build a house (the Temple) for God. Speaking through the prophet Nathan God tells David—perhaps sternly, perhaps lightheartedly—that God has been with the people and with David for so long and so faithfully.  The question of a house for God has never come up before now! But God has an alternative idea: “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established forever” (vs. 16). 

Remember that David was only the second king over the people. As reflected in 1 Samuel, there wasn’t even certainty that a human monarchy for Israel was a good idea at all. But now, God promises a kingdom. God is committed to that kingdom, which will be everlasting. Our lesson plays on the word “house,” with the meaning of Temple, and “house” meaning a succession of descendants on the throne. 

The New Interpreter’s Bible reminds us that a monarch is necessarily involved in social and political issues. When we affirm Jesus as King in the house of David, we are also saying that God has us involved in the often messy and difficult realities of society. If you want to find God, look for the people who are in need and who want justice; that’s where God is! As my classmate Dr. Marcia Riggs writes in our devotional, “God stands with those who are marginalized.” Matthew 25:31-46 is always a good reminder of that. 

That’s where we start to feel lonely and frustrated. Social problems are so much bigger than any single person can fix. as we dream about ways of serving the Lord in the world, we are never alone. The Lord is with us, and we have friends in our congregation, and in other congregations. 

Our scripture from Luke is the story of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, and Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. 

Whenever I have an emergency, I need to talk to someone about it right away. It helps me have perspective. I don’t have to feel like the burden is all mine to bear. Gabriel’s announcement to Mary was definitely unexpected! This was a turning point for her entire life. So, she went to see her older relative Elizabeth. Once there, she learned that Elizabeth was herself six months pregnant. 

Through the Spirit’s power, Elizabeth affirmed four related things: (1) Mary is blessed because she has been chosen to be the mother of the Savior. (2) Her faith in God’s promises makes her blessed. (3) Elizabeth declares the lordship for the baby in Mary’s womb. (4) The movement of Elizabeth’s own child is a sign of God’s blessing, for the child “leaped for joy” at the sound of Mary’s greeting.  

It's commonplace to reflect that God works in unconventional ways, often among people who do not have great power or influence. Our 2 Samuel lesson recalls the fact that David was the youngest and perhaps least impressive of his brothers when God instructed Samuel to choose him. Certainly, Mary and Elizabeth seemed outwardly like everyday people.  

The surprise and subtlety of God’s grace gives us confidence as we dream of ways to serve the Lord. At any given moment, what is God up to? Look around in unexpected places: a manger, and many others. 

(Photo from: https://www.csjoseph.org/general/fourth-sunday-of-advent-2/) 

Happy 250th Birthday, Beethoven!

 

Beethoven is 250 years old this week! He was baptized on December 17, 1770, and so his undocumented birthday was likely December 15 or 16, given the fact that babies were usually baptized when they were a day or two old. 

This past year, I've enjoyed listening to all of Beethoven's recorded works on 90 CDs, in a Naxos set. If I had been really diligent, I would've purchased the Deutsche Gramophone set of 120 CDs, with duplicates of classic performances. 90 was plenty I took a few notes as I listened, which I labeled "Beethoven 250." 

Beethoven is so well-known for his symphonies, concertos, piano sonatas, string quartets, and his single opera. It was interesting to me how much of his lifelong composition included other kinds of chamber works, as well songs, and vocal works for particular occasions. You can listen to the more famous works and have a tremendous number of pieces still to hear.  

As I've written before on this blog: When I was little, I loved the Peanuts comics and enjoyed getting paperback collections of the strips. Nearly every December 16, the story concerned Beethoven’s birthday and Schroeder’s celebration of it. Of course, Schroeder also performed Beethoven sonatas and other works on his toy piano.

Thus inspired by a favorite comic strip, I liked certain Beethoven compositions when I was young. In those days, the Huntley-Brinkley evening news on NBC concluded with the scherzo from Beethoven’s Ninth. I wrote NBC to find out the title and got a letter back! Subsequently, I found a used recording of the symphony at our hometown library’s annual book sale. Eventually, I also found LPs of the fifth and seventh symphonies and some of his named sonatas. I took piano lessons, but somehow never managed the spontaneous, unpracticed skill of Schroeder.

Our hometown library acquired a copy of George R. Marek’s Beethoven: Biography of a Genius (Funk & Wagnall’s, 1969) when it was published or perhaps the following year. I didn't read the whole book but I enjoyed checking it out. I was 12 in 1969, and at 13 and 14 I had unrequited crushes on a couple of girls, which unfortunately aggravated some childhood depression I’d had even earlier. Feeling scarily hopeless at such a young age, I found comfort in the fact that, as Marek discussed, Beethoven struggled for acceptance, too!

Marek’s chapter on “The Immortal Beloved” is interesting. Beethoven's letter to his “Unsterbliche Geliebte,” dated July 6-7 and later analyzed to be 1812, was found among his effects after he died. But who was the woman, to whom Beethoven wrote with such passion? Was the letter returned to him, or did he never send it? Reviewing the numerous women important to Beethoven---like Josephine Brunsvik, Guilietta Guicciardi, Antonie Brentano,, Amalie Sebald, Bettina Brentano, Dorothea Ertmann, and Therese Brunsvik---many scholars argue for Josephine Brunsvik. Marek builds an interesting circumstantial case for Dorothea Ertmann. From time to time I still leaf through my own copy of Marek's thick book, which gives an excellent sense of the composer’s era and life.

Beethoven sticks to my childhood Christmas memories, I suppose because of the Peanuts paperback collections, some of which I received as presents. I still have them. And, of course, December 16 was, at least for the prodigy Schroeder, a significant day just nine days from Christmas, with a gladness all its own.

Happy birthday, Ludwig! I hope that, somehow, you know of the joy and love that so many of us feel toward you and your music!   

(The photo is from the Charles M. Schulz Museum Facebook page, the strip for Dec. 15, 1958 https://www.facebook.com/schulzmuseum/posts/tomorrow-is-beethovens-birthday-this-strip-was-published-on-december-15-1958/10156044433168054/)

Landscape: Courbet

 "Forest in Autumn" by Gustave Courbet (1841)