I was sitting on the stage at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC for a dress rehearsal of our concert of the Brahms Requiem. The stage was facing west and it was an evening in June; the sun was still out and the light was streaming through the west window. The west window is a mystical depiction of the creation and it was ablaze with color. The highly abstract design seems to writhe like the biblical account of the face of God moving over the waters.
The first piece on the program was variation 7 from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, which is usually called the “Nimrod Suite.” (The term “nimrod” became an insult sometime during the 20th century, but Nimrod was actually the name of a mythical hunter.) This suite has the lushness of harmony and composition that characterizes the late romantic period of the closing days of the 19th century.
As the music swelled and bloomed, I sat staring at the streams of light coming in through the spectacular stained glass of the creation. It was a perfect confluence of visual and aural beauty inside an architecturally magnificent sacred space. This is what the mind of humankind can do; the arts lift us from our humdrum day into an exalted spiritual space.
When I feel glum or in despair, I remember moments like this in my life. Social and political issues may arise and fade over time, but beauty is eternal.
(Just a note: I usually like to use my own photos for this blog but I didn’t have one of the window. I found this stunning photo on the Google Arts and Culture website and have provided the link to it in the above caption.)
We must be soldiers for Art! 