When I was in graduate school, working toward my Master of Music, I was cast in the lead role of Gian Carlo Menotti's little opera, Help! Help! the Globolinks!
This was the 100th anniversary of the University of Michigan's School of Music.
Menotti himself did the stage direction.
Since I was little and also played the violin I was the logical choice to play the school-girl, Emily.
The story goes like this:
Emily and her friends are returning home in a school bus after some kind of after-school activity.
Meanwhile, evil Globolinks have invaded the earth and are attacking and transforming all who they touch into Globolinks.
It is discovered that the only defense against Globolinks is music.
Emily's school bus breaks down on a remote stretch of road.
Since Emily is the only child with a musical instrument --her violin -- she volunteers to set out on foot, armed only with her violin, and seek help.
Walking through a dark forest, Emily is beset by Globolinks. She plays her violin to ward off their attacks. When she finally reaches her school she finds the head-master and tries to tell him what happened. But the headmaster can barely talk. Emily doesn't realize that he has been touched by a Globolink and is in the process of turning into a Globolink himself.
When Emily realizes what the headmaster is becoming, she faints.
Just then, help arrives. The opera ends happily as earth's residents make music and so frustrate the Globolinks that they give up and return to their alien home.
We often think about music on the radio and how so much of it communicates evil messages:
Messages of almost militant hate toward women in a lot of rap music (if you can call it music)
Messages of overt sensuality and encouragement to engage in "love," without benefit of marriage.
Messages of revenge, grief, sorrow, jealousy. And on and on.
Music has the power to move us toward negative thoughts and emotions.
Or music has the power to encourage and inspire our spirits towards humanity's most noble emotions:
self-sacrifice, love for country, love for family, honor and commitment, and most sacred of all:
awe and worship of God.
I hope that we as Christians, especially Christian educators striving to keep up with secular educators, never discount or marginalize in their estimations the power and value of music.
With music we denigrate or raise up the value of others.
With music, we use our tongues to confess our love and devotion for our God.
With music, we comfort or encourage, admonish or instruct, identify ourselves as belonging to the same philosophy, and unite under common passion.
With music, we partner with God in expressing emotion too deep for words alone to communicate.
And with music, combined with the Word of God, we stir our minds and hearts to thwart the discouraging attacks of the enemy of our souls.
What a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us.
Rightly yielded, music is a most powerful defense against our common enemy.
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling;
He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord." (Psalm 27: 5-6, NIV Bible)
This was the 100th anniversary of the University of Michigan's School of Music.
Menotti himself did the stage direction.
Since I was little and also played the violin I was the logical choice to play the school-girl, Emily.
The story goes like this:
Emily and her friends are returning home in a school bus after some kind of after-school activity.
Meanwhile, evil Globolinks have invaded the earth and are attacking and transforming all who they touch into Globolinks.
It is discovered that the only defense against Globolinks is music.
Emily's school bus breaks down on a remote stretch of road.
Since Emily is the only child with a musical instrument --her violin -- she volunteers to set out on foot, armed only with her violin, and seek help.
Walking through a dark forest, Emily is beset by Globolinks. She plays her violin to ward off their attacks. When she finally reaches her school she finds the head-master and tries to tell him what happened. But the headmaster can barely talk. Emily doesn't realize that he has been touched by a Globolink and is in the process of turning into a Globolink himself.
When Emily realizes what the headmaster is becoming, she faints.
Just then, help arrives. The opera ends happily as earth's residents make music and so frustrate the Globolinks that they give up and return to their alien home.
We often think about music on the radio and how so much of it communicates evil messages:
Messages of almost militant hate toward women in a lot of rap music (if you can call it music)
Messages of overt sensuality and encouragement to engage in "love," without benefit of marriage.
Messages of revenge, grief, sorrow, jealousy. And on and on.
Music has the power to move us toward negative thoughts and emotions.
Or music has the power to encourage and inspire our spirits towards humanity's most noble emotions:
self-sacrifice, love for country, love for family, honor and commitment, and most sacred of all:
awe and worship of God.
I hope that we as Christians, especially Christian educators striving to keep up with secular educators, never discount or marginalize in their estimations the power and value of music.
With music we denigrate or raise up the value of others.
With music, we use our tongues to confess our love and devotion for our God.
With music, we comfort or encourage, admonish or instruct, identify ourselves as belonging to the same philosophy, and unite under common passion.
With music, we partner with God in expressing emotion too deep for words alone to communicate.
And with music, combined with the Word of God, we stir our minds and hearts to thwart the discouraging attacks of the enemy of our souls.
What a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us.
Rightly yielded, music is a most powerful defense against our common enemy.
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling;
He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord." (Psalm 27: 5-6, NIV Bible)
Your love of music comes through loud and clear, Dena. How poor our lives would be without this precious gift!
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine a world without music. God is so good. . . all the time!
ReplyDelete