My Place on the Grand Staff
Just over a hundred years ago, when my older brother and I were both aspiring young musicians, we entered into a great debate that was halted by the simple words of our youngest sister. Her words have held me fast through life’s great doubts. Just don’t tell her! She has no idea I thought she was so smart! Here’s the story.
I was an all knowing senior in high school. My brother was a deeply, insightful freshman in college. As older, ambitious, intellectual adolescents tend to do, we were trying to out smart each other by expressing a more profound understanding of any given subject than the other. This day’s topic was the Renaissance contribution to religious music.
The historical period known as the Renaissance (approx. 1400-1600 A.D.) was the age of Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael (AKA, ninjas on the half shell), a rebirth of humanism, artistic perspective, the development of concrete, movable type, educational reform, diplomacy and the Protestant Reformation. Musical instruments were hand made from accessible resources. They were not readily tunable, therefore, musical groups were small and primitive. From this came the polyphonic style in which many separate melodies are woven together intricately to create interesting harmonies. Today we know them as partner songs and rounds. These simple songs became the inspiration for the great fugues and fantasias of the Baroque period. Why is this important to my essay? Because all of this came from plainsong, people raising their voices to sing Psalms or alleluia’s through simple melodic chants.
The great Jones plainsong debate involved major and minor tonality, including half and quarter step progressions, ascending and descending scales and the marriage of musical notation, lyric and pitch as it applied to corporate worship. Supplication was to be humble, sacred and set apart, therefore the worshippers , singing accapella, were very conscious of anything that hinted at the secular world beyond the cathedral. So…..big deal…..except, I argued to big brother that strict constancy between pitch and spiritual correctness was not possible if every person did not have perfect pitch. By this time the ‘discussion’ had become slightly heated and I have failed to mention that we, Greg and I, were in the back seat of our family sedan traveling across the Ozark mountains on a Sunday morning. Our middle sister Gayle sat between us, on the hump, while our little sister Gwen was in the front seat with mom and dad. Interrupting our discourse, the youngest Jones voice chimed, “I think God would know what key He wrote us in.”
And this is how two young scholars learned God, our creator, the One who wrote the melody of our hearts, knows us best. Our own timber, range, key and language….our place on the grand staff….. is a pleasing and joyful noise when given in glory to Him who makes the universe resound in harmony.
Singing in My Own Key,
Gretchen
P.S. Happy Birthday to my father, Bryan Jones. It seems cliche to say he is the best dad any girl could have. Instead, I wish to tell you that he apologizes regularly as he looks back through life and sees the mistakes that wizened age reveals. I hush him because I see a man that did not make parenting choices to validate his DNA. He made choices based on his commitment to honor God and His call. In that capacity his wife and children played a vital role in loving our neighbors and putting others first. My wonderful father has always been the same on both sides of the front door and that is the greatest blessing I take from my childhood. Dad, it’s your day, enjoy…..and THANKS FOR EVERYTHING.
