Too bad there’s nothing on this video refuting all the hair-on-fire manufactured nonsense about Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

Here’s a wonderful “Face of the Day” post from Andrew Sullivan. Music’s power to unite and to give hope in the midst of chaos continues to amaze me. Thank you, God, for this wonderful gift, and for blessing all humanity with the urge to communicate through it.

As for Dr. Sullivan: He’s one of my favorite bloggers, because of his willingness to be intellectually honest and think things through, and because he avoids thinking in slogans. Me, agreeing with a British gay Catholic conservative? Go figure.

A wonderful new post at Slate magazine about a new solo piano recording of Bach’s Art of the Fugue. Performing these monumental and complex fugues on solo piano is quite an accomplishment in itself — it’s usually done by organists or even arranged for larger ensembles — but this recording is catching quite a bit of attention because of the beautiful performances. And there are references to performances of one of my favorite fugues from this collection (#9, a double fugue) by the Swingle Singers, who were one of my introductions to classical music.

Enjoy!

I think I’ve worked it out to show you some excerpts (1-1.5 min) from my Snapshots for piano and winds, coming up for performance here in Portland Sunday, June 1. The performers here are the ones who commissioned the work, pianist Michiko Otaki and the Warsaw Wind Quintet. The excerpts are from the first two movements.

i. Skidaway Stomp (excerpt) from Snapshots by Brent Weaver

II. Goshen: Hymn (excerpt) from Snapshots by Brent Weaver

A wonderful post by Jason Byassee from Christianity Today, regarding Rev. Jeremiah Wright (hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for pointing it out):

Jeremiah Wright goes to church looking for Jesus. And that’s why evangelicals should pay attention to him. This is not to say they should agree with him. But Jeremiah Wright is a serious Christian. He didn’t have to be — many gifted black intellectuals have gotten off the bus with the church for having been, as it inarguably has, a slave religion. (Wright has argued with Muslim friends that its track record is no better on slavery.)

…Wright is staking his claim solely on Jesus — respectfully, of course, in dialogue with Islam and black nationalist thought — but he’s standing on the promises of this God. (It’s worth noting that the rest of the black church is not so enamored with Cone’s theology.)

Therefore charity requires that evangelicals do business with Wright. He, like them, is part of the body of Christ. Not less than John Hagee or Rod Parsley — extremist ministers aligned with John McCain —Wright’s churchmanship means he is more brother than enemy. One of the rhetorical missteps Wright has made is to say an attack on him is an attack on the black church, and to imply that a rejection of his theology makes one ipso facto a racist. This is simply untrue. If you disagree, go ahead — part of the reason we’re so bad at talking about race in this country is we’re all afraid to offend, so we leave it to the screamers on cable. Let Wright know what you think.

But expect him to give as good as he gets. He’s been at this a while. He has scratched and clawed for stronger schools, better support from the city, and above all, church growth on the far South Side of Chicago. He has taught that blacks should be proud of their heritage and never ashamed — and that they should do theology as subjects rather than objects. He’s summoned altar calls and prayed for healing (there is a subterranean charismatic ministry at Trinity) and led the people’s praise of Jesus for more then three decades. He has things to teach us. And, as ever in the church, he has points that could stand rebutting. But let’s keep those points in perspective. Wright’s break with America is no unforgivable sin — only blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is that.

I’m amazed at some fellow Christians who have heard Rev. Wright’s more extreme comments and immediately assumed that criticism of America is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Being Americans means we have the right and the duty to disagree, and being Christians means that we must always remember that the body of Christ is larger than any national boundary.

The Alder Street Sextet, a group of Portland musicians, will be performing my Snapshots for piano and wind quintet Sunday, June 1 at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Portland. The concert is part of the church’s Celebration Works concert series, and will feature music by Valerie Coleman of Imani Winds, Paul Dukas, Jan Koetsier, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Paul Juon.

Snapshots is the closing work on the program. It’s a set of five musical sketches of American places that have been important to me: the Georgia coast, a small town in northern Indiana where I went to college, my hometown in California, my daughters’ home in Georgia and Yosemite National Park. It’s also one of my published works, one that’s been performed many times in the U.S. and Europe, so I’m particularly glad a Portland ensemble is taking it on. The ensemble has been kind enough to invite me to sit in on rehearsals, and they’re doing a wonderful job with it — they’re a fine group, and I hope lots of folks have a chance to come.

I’ll see if I can post links to sound samples of some of Snapshots for those who are interested. Here’s a copy of the Alder Street Sextet’s news release with more information as well. Release

My mother’s birthday is today, and this is one of her favorite pieces of music: American composer Randall Thompson’s Alleluia for a cappella chorus. The performers are a choir of engineering students (!) at a Christian university in Indonesia, of all places, but it was one of the best I found on YouTube.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and many more.

I’m not entirely sure what anything I have to say would matter to anyone, but this seems like a good way to process my ideas and share music.

So, where to start?

• My wife is the best, most loving person I’ve ever known. I am very well aware that I married up, and try to act accordingly. I’m incredibly lucky to have found my soul mate at all, much less so late in life.
• My kids are my pride and joy:
  • 18-year-old daughter is graduating high school. She’s struggled with a learning disability, so that’s a triumph. She’s also one of the sweetest, most emotionally intelligent people I’ve met, and I’m proud of her.
  • 15-year-old daughter is finishing her freshman year. Bright, pretty, verbal like her dad and probably way smarter, she’s already an accomplished blogger, published author and a great conversationalist. Oh, and I make her clean the bathrooms, too.
  • 2-year-old son is waaaaaaaayyyyy into the Terrible Twos, and gets his good looks from his mother. He’s also so bright it’s a little bit scary, and no, I don’t think I’m just a Proud Daddy.
• My students are the other main bright spot in my life. It’s interesting working with young composers, because they’re full of ideas and dreams that you want to shape but not damage. I can’t train them to be creative — that’s a gift from God — but I can show them the discipline and craft of how to play with their ideas once they’ve got them, and that’s a privilege. I continue to be awed by the creativity God’s put into them.

What else?

Not sure what I’ll post here, but the main ideas are:

• music (mainly mine)
• reflections on faith and on life
• my ongoing struggles with a God who I know loves me, but whose love I’m not always able to understand.
• words that inspire me
• recipes (Yes, I’m that kind of cook. I confess to watching Food Network and reading cookbooks for recreation.)

So, here goes…

My son and my dad.

Think I’m proud?

You’re right.

An ensemble of undergraduate students at Grand Valley State University in Michigan takes on one of the late 20th century’s landmark musical works, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. And I have a friend who teaches there, too.