Well, Bach is back. And he's facing Richard Hooker in today's Saintly Sixteen matchup. Where but Lent Madness will you find such deliciously absurd pairings?
Yesterday, Bertha of Kent trounced Edmund 82% to 18% to advance to the Elate Eight.
Also yesterday, Tim and Scott released another rousing episode of Monday Madness. You've surely already seen it, but you can watch it here.
And finally, here's your occasional reminder that you can always visit the Brackets tab to find the write-ups from earlier rounds and refresh your voting memory. Just scroll down and right underneath the updated bracket, you'll find links to all the earlier matchups.
Time to vote!
Johann Sebastian Bach
In his novel Diary of a Bad Year, J.M Coetzee writes: “The best proof we have that life is good, and therefore that there may perhaps be a God after all, who has our welfare at heart, is that to each of us, on the day we are born, comes the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. It comes as a gift, unearned, unmerited, for free.”
People love Bach. Mention his name, and some music lovers close their eyes or sigh with pleasure. The Princesse de Polignac, who presided over an influential musical salon in 1920’s Paris, wrote that a Bach chorale “reconstitutes the past, and proves to us that we have a reason for living on this rock: to live in the beautiful kingdom of sounds.” Many have found their life’s inspiration – even obsession! – in Bach’s work, but those unfamiliar with him may find themselves asking…what’s the big deal?
Bach’s catalog was not merely prolific or virtuosic, but strikingly bold. Take the opening of his St John Passion: immediately you’re confronted with a sonic churn; swirling violins and piercing oboes and surprising dissonance. As the music intensifies, the chorus slices through the wall of sound – “HERR!” Bach chose to begin with the first verse of Psalm 8, “Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Arias and recitatives focus on smaller details of the Passion narrative; Christ’s fragile body, the crowd’s powerful anger, the bitterness of tears. But Bach wanted to capture the cosmic scope of John’s Gospel; Divinity stretched out over the chaos and terror of Golgotha like bright sunlight piercing through darkening storm clouds. Music historian and New Yorker writer Alex Ross reports that the congregation at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig did not seem to appreciate his theological vision (too quirky!) Bach removed “Her, unser Herrscher" from the score after the work’s premiere, adding it back in only near the end of his life.
Bach was a jumble of contradictions and surprises. While other musicians traveled the continent, Bach never ventured farther than 200 miles from his hometown. He was a devoted family man and famously prickly and difficult. He picked liturgical fights and clashed repeatedly with his superiors. He was also a devoted teacher, and not just of music; in his role as Cantor at the Thomasschule, Bach was responsible for teaching Catechism. In his well-worn and heavily annotated study bible, he made extensive notes and markings in the passages that dealt with vocation, including this one: “As far as your person is concerned, you must not get angry with anyone...But, where your vocation requires it, there you must get angry.”
Conductor and Bach biographer John Eliot Gardiner writes that “Bach the musician is an unfathomable genius; Bach the man is all too obviously flawed, disappointingly ordinary and in many ways still invisible to us.” Flawed, ordinary, and faithful–Bach makes an excellent Lenten companion. Ross writes that “Bach does not console; he commiserates.” “Herr, unser Herrscher” concludes with just that spirit of companionship: Show us through your passion, that you the true son of God, at all times, even in the most lowly state, are glorified.
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker, the theologian who established the Anglican approach to governance, doctrine, and theology, lived in England in the late 16th century. He is best known for the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Polity—which he planned to be an 8 volume work, but died after completing only 5 volumes.
He wrote the books as his contribution to what is known as the Admonition Controversy. Two Puritans, in 1572, had printed a pamphlet which admonished Elizabeth I to “restore the purity of New Testament worship within the realm.’ Clerics of various stripes responded with their own pamphlets, sermons, and books, in the Renaissance version of an extremely slow Twitter war, and Hooker decided to join the fray with 8 entire books.
He is described by his biographer (Izack Walton) as being an old soul: “His Complexion (if we may guess by him at the age of Forty) was Sanguine, with a mixture of Choler; and yet his Motion was slow even in his Youth, and so was his Speech, never expressing an Earnestness in either of them, but an humble Gravity suitable to the Aged.”
Hooker’s benefactor while in London was the family of John Churchman, the owner of the house where he lived. According to Walton, Hooker arrived in London the evening before his first Sunday of preaching, sniffling and sneezing, bedraggled and soaked to the skin, having walked for two days in the rain. Only the kind ministrations of Mrs. Churchman and her most excellent soup render him able to preach his first dazzling sermon.
That first sermon that Richard Hooker gave at the Temple in London was one where he argued strenuously that, if God saved us entirely through grace, and not our own merit or worthiness, then should not God also save Roman Catholics too, if God so desired? “Surely I must confess, that if it be an Error to think that God may be merciful to save men even when they err; my greatest comfort is my error: were it not for the love I bear to this error: I would never wish to speak or to live.”
Scholars have wondered why Hooker, after his success as Master of the Temple and with the early volumes of Lawes, did not seek an episcopate, but it seems that Richard loved the quiet life of reading and study more than he did the glare of the spotlight. Several times, he wrote his bishop asking for a quieter placement, where he could study as he did in college. “I am weary of the noise and oppositions of this place; and indeed, God and Nature did not intend me for Contentions, but for Study and quietness.”
He died peacefully at his vicarage at Borne, in 1600.
Richard Hooker by Alfred Drury, R.A. (1889-1926). 19076.
89 comments on “Johann Sebastian Bach v. Richard Hooker”
I think Bach and his beautiful music might win this round. We shall see
I am now officially, absurdly, rooting for a final four of Johanna, Johann, John Donne and Jonathan Daniel. Because why not?
Happy Birthday Herr Bach
More music lovers than Anglicans. I guess that you can be both and there is the paradox.
My physicist husband is an agnostic. However, when he listens to Bach, he says "From God's mouth to Bach's ear." Writing such quantities of transcendent music while leading a busy life and being father of all those kids must mean he tapped directly into the divine. When we hear Bach, we hear the voice of God. To thy glory alone, God.
Incidentally today is Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday. Guess my birthday present for him on this Lent Madness Edition? 😉
So this is an interesting question...technically, his birthday is March 31st. A Julian to Gregorian calendar leap! So which to recognize?
Given his dislike of the spotlight, I suspect that Richard Hooker will be quite happy to see Bach go through to the next round, as I expect will happen. However, my vote goes to Richard Hooker for his commitment to study and quietness, and the gifts that he has given to the church thereby.
Here Here!!!! I agree wholeheartedly!
(FYI the expression is "Hear, hear!")
If he had voted for Bach, he might have written “Herr, Herr.”
She, not he. Sorry.
“Hear, hear” is also a fitting comment on Bach.
Another fitting comment on Bach would be, “Hear, hear.”
Once again, a write-up changed my vote.I began reading about the march having decided to vote for Bach. But the quote from Hooker about the nature of God's grace changed my mind. A United Methodist honoring our past.
Never thought musicians would wake up this early, but they're beating the theologians to the vote, I see...
Give it up for Bach and Hooker sung to Munich from Neu-vermehrtes and su Ubung Christ eingerichtertes Meiningisches Gesangbuch, 1693; Hymnal 632
Give it up for J.S. Bach, who was master of the fugue;
and for the learned Hooker, whose legacy is huge.
So many souls have soared as they heard Bach's organ roar,
And Hooker laid foundations, a three-legged stool, not four.
For Hooker counterpoint was expressed in harmony
of Reason and Tradition with Holy Writ, all three.
He taught that neither faith nor one's works had greater sway.
'Twixt Protestants and Papists he found the middle way.
Now, some may well dispute whether Bach could be a saint.
While many saints use words, some will pray with notes or paint.
As saints have heard God call, so do artists who have shown
they offer up their genius in praise to God alone.
And thus we end this ditty as Bach was wont to do.
What e'er the type of tune, secular and sacred, too
with the signature end for chorale or orchestra:
"All glory be to God, Soli Deo gloria!"
I'll be listening Bach's Magnificat while casting my vote for Hooker, wondering if I would still preach after walking for two days in the rain (and vowing to never complain again about losing my parking place in my complex when I come home late from church meetings).
"Ah, Bach," quoth Radar. For all those M*A*S*H* fans out there!
That's the first thing I said!!
Cheers (from a thankful alto).
Just posting to note that the names in the vote (Hooker/Bach) are in the opposite order from the presentation of information (Bach/Hooker) which seems odd to me. (At least I don't remember it happening before.) Just want to make sure that the labels and counting are correct . . . Also wondering, why flip them?
Another typo. the SEC needs a proofreader this year. “Her, unser Herrscher"
Thanks for the reminder on ho to access the earlier write-ups!
It would be a treat to be admitted into Bach’s Choir when I get to heaven. There’s probably a waiting list, but hey, we will have time.
Maybe a vote towards the Elate Eight on my resume will help…..
Bach's music makes me feel God's presence. There is no theology stronger than that.
Bot commentaries inspired my Lenten study. It was a hard vote for me.
Just 'cause it's his birthday doesn't mean you have to vote for him.
Bach’s 338th birthday is today too! So he gets my vote!
An ordinary man? "At a reverent performance of music, God is always at hand with his gracious presence!"
Unfair!! As an Episcopalian, my vote should be for Hooker but as a worshipper for whom music is essential, Bach gets it. What would we do without his sublime gifts uplifting our spirits? I guess in this case it's a matter of spirit over intellect.
The early vote seems to be more about evoking God as awe-inspiring, which requires distance, than about God as relating to us in the everyday, which requires intimacy. Fascinating. Transcendence vs immanence. Both are important, of course. But which do people find to be of more value?
I'll go with the Anglican Richard Hooker. Less grand, more grounded.
What could be a more healing reminder of God's presence than homemade soup after a two day trek in the rain? I would vote for Mrs. Churchman is I could.
While Bach's music is often grand, but also often intimate and heartfelt. Consider "Es is vollbracht," also from the St. John Passion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sURg5yT69U
Translation:
It is finished!
Oh, consolation for all hurt souls;
that night of mourning
approaches its final hour.
The Hero from Judah hath triumphed in strength,
and ends the struggle.
It is finished!
https://lyricstranslate.com
Well, Bach came into this race heavily favored by this diehard Lutheran; even this clever description of Hooker's times--"Clerics of various stripes responded with their own pamphlets, sermons, and books, in the Renaissance version of an extremely slow Twitter war, and Hooker decided to join the fray with 8 entire books."--could not sway me. (Nicely done, Megan!)
Thank you, Eva Suarez, for giving the "5th Evangelist" a beautifully written hagiography with a Lutheran twist at the end: "Flawed, ordinary, and faithful–Bach makes an excellent Lenten companion." Soli Deo Gloria! (And go, Bach!)
I love Bach's music, but Hooker's quiet words seem more fit for the halo: “Surely I must confess, that if it be an Error to think that God may be merciful to save men even when they err; my greatest comfort is my error: were it not for the love I bear to this error: I would never wish to speak or to live.” If more of us could fulfill our callings without feeling we "must get angry" it would be a merrier world.
Having had the privilege of standing in his first church in Arnstadt, Germany and hearing that organ, I just have to cast my vote for JSB!
Bach is not ordinary. The myth is that a genius is mad, emotional, and insane. One can have a loving family and still do great work. Musicians can have well-thought-out theology and pray through music that occasionally uses words.
Coming originally from Kent I had to vote for Richard Hooker
Well despite my many years as a choral singer and my deep delight in the glorious works of Bach, I was all set to vote for Hooker, whose influence on the Anglican church was foundational and lasting, until I saw the quote from Bach's annotations in his copy of the catechism: “As far as your person is concerned, you must not get angry with anyone...But, where your vocation requires it, there you must get angry.”
What a perfect VIA MEDIA this is: the essential balance between inclusiveness and excellence, between acceptance of others and integrity to one's own vision.
Put it on my gravestone, please.
Bach, because his vision of the Passion reminds me of some of the illuminations in The Saint John’s Bible, with layers of Bach’s vision and theology. As many times as we might listen to it, we probably would not hear it the same way twice.