Sing To The Glory of God > Comments > "Review of Sing To The Glory of God"
Piece Comment
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- Jonathan Goldstein
- Username: Goldstein
- Location: Montreal, Canada
- Joined PRX: Jan 05, 2004
Piece Information
- "Sing To The Glory of God"
- Summary: The legacy of anti-Semitism in choral music
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Review of Sing To The Glory of God
Jonathan Goldstein
Posted on February 27, 2005 at 06:29 AM
“Sing” takes as its starting point the inherent anti-Semitism in Bach’s choral repertory and moves on to the problem of what do you do with a piece of music that is incontestably hateful yet also sublimely beautiful. What’s nice about this piece is that, although there’s a lot of talk, it comes from individuals who, while experts in their subject, are also passionate, common-sensical and moral. They also sound like they’ve wrestled with the issue of what to do with this problematic music. Instead of dismissing the music outright, or even creating apologies for it, they make a very balanced enquiry. They also offer a kind of primer on what exactly a passion story is. If film school students can study “Triumph of the Will” for its well-doneness, than there is certainly an argument for appreciating this music in all its complicatedness. It’s a study of the power of music-- when that power is used for evil rather than good. This could be an interesting addition to classical music programming.