Donald Heinz writes,
The Gospel writer of Luke interrupts the action several times with sung reflection, just as arias in Handel and Bach piously comment on the action narrated in historical recitative…..Then Mary breaks into song. The opening words “My soul magnifies the Lord” (1:46), give the song its enduring Latin name, Magnificat. Contemporary scholars set this song among the lowly who look to God for divine favor to raise them up. The radical lyrics sing of scattering the proud, brining down the mighty and lifting up the lowly, of filling the hungry with good things while sending the rich away empty. To keep it in the church’s mind, Mary’s song has been chanted in nightly vespers, whispered in monasteries, and set to trumpets and kettledrums by Bach. (Christmas: Festival of Incarnation, 11)
Do you recall things that are sung? Do you remember tunes? Do you recall more of the lyrics? How might remembering the songs of the season build your faith?
0 Comments