Michael is on his way out of town – to Chicago for RBTE and then to NYC for Book Expo. Katie is recovering from her 5-day trip to The National Catholic Forensic League Tournament in Houston. She didn’t "break" – that is, go beyond the first round, but it was a great experience for her, and evidence of her coach’s confidence in her future on the team. They went to the Space Center, spent a day in Galveston, and then competed. There was a Tournament Mass Saturday night, celebrated by Archbishop DiNardo, who impressed her by speaking of his own speech and debating past in, I think she said, Extemp and Policy. But she’s pretty exhausted. Last full week of school here, and last week of one project for me, so who know what the consequences of that for blogging will be.
A few things:
There is much discussion here and there about an upcomin concert at Westminster Cathedral of a Prince Charles-commissioned piece by John Tavener called Beautiful Names, a piece which, the press announces, is all about the 99 names of Allah. Well, sort of:
The Beautiful Names came to me as a vision. I contemplated the meaning of each of the 99 names, as well as the sacred sound of the Arabic, and the music appeared to me spontaneously. The music that came to me was neither chaotic or random but seemed always to have an inner logic, that related often to “cosmic music” or Music of the Spheres. I decided quite early on to base the structure of the work on the sevenfold constitution of man, as taught by Hindu philosophy. This causes the main sections of the work to be arranged on three conjunct triads.
1. D ATMA The Absolute
2. B BUDDHA Being
3. G MANUS Matter
4. E KAMA RUPA Life
5. C LINGA SHARIRA Soul
6. A PRANA Life
7. F SHULA SHARIRA Matter
8. D ATMA The Absolute
9. D ATMA The AbsoluteHence eleven groups of nine “tonal zones” make up the structure of the Ninety Nine Names. The Divine names fall into two categories, those of majesty and those of mercy. Each set of 11 Names are separated by outbursts of the Supreme Name; Allah, and by rigorous canons for strings, three trombones, four trumpets and with piano and Timpani respectively. The start of each new section is prefaced by a magisterial calling out of Allah. There is almost no repetition in the entire work.
The pow-wow drum of the American Indians represents Shiva’s dream, as the Tibetan Temple Bowls, Gongs and Tam Tam represent the Divine Breath, which connects the Sigh of Sadness and Compassion of the Primordial Being; this is shown by the exhaling of breath form the choirs while a somewhat distant string quartet contemplates the Divine Mercy. The Divine names are sung by tenor solo, and two choirs respectively. The music abounds in mirrors, thus emphasising the divine presence in his creatures. The string choir and brass choir as well as percussion, piano and organ, provide the orchestral palette.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this does not sound like a piece to please the hard-core exclusivist Muslim. Tavener has apparently moved away from Orthodoxy:
Tavener was then led to look for inspiration from alternative sources by his interest in the universalist philosophy of the late Swiss metaphysician Fritjhof Schuon, which embraces all great religious traditions.
So sure, perhaps Westminster shouldn’t be programming music that arises from a mystical soup or anything specifically non-Christian. I suppose you could argue that. But I don’t see this particular piece as being any kind of act of so-called dhimmitude, simply from the description.
From around the world:
In Indonesia, a year after devastating earthquakes, recovery is slow.
In a small parish in Vuon Xoai (Central Vietnam) someone came up with the idea of selling small Bibles at the price of 2,000 dong (US$ 0.08) or giving them away for free to those who could not afford even that much. So now, every Sunday, at the end of mass, a small table is set up in front of the church with Bibles and a collection box. The area might be poor and life hard, but Catholics lead a life of faith and have not renounced the idea of spreading the word among the residents of nearby hamlets and villages.
The idea has caught on so much that it is now being implemented in some parishes in Ho Chi Minh City. It is also informed by a belief that if the six million Catholics of Vietnam read the Bible, led their lives according to its principles and devoted themselves to mission, in two years they should be twice as many.
Magister on Christians in Iraq:
In Iraq’s bloody war, which is being fought primarily by Muslim groups against other Muslims and “infidels,” the Iraqi Christians are the only ones who are not using weapons or bombs, not even to defend themselves. There aren’t any armed Christian militias in Iraq. In fact, they are the most vulnerable and persecuted group. In 2000, they were more than a million and a half, 3 percent of the population. Today it is estimated that fewer than 500,000 remain.
In an official statement released on May 24, the Iraqi government promised protection for the Christian families threatened and chased out by terrorist Islamic groups. Some Muslim exponents have expressed solidarity. The government’s action – which, however, is devoid of concrete initiatives – follows the dramatic appeal issued on May 6 by Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of the Chaldeans, the most numerous Iraqi Catholic community, in the homily for the Mass celebrated in the church of Mar Qardagh, in Erbil, Kurdistan.
The Kurdish region, to the north of Baghdad, is the only place in Iraq where Christians today live in relative security. The Chaldean seminary of Baghdad, Babel College, was transferred to Erbil together with its library, and its buildings in the capital are now a stronghold for American troops in spite of the patriarchate’s protests.
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