Last night in a concert at the College, we were introduced to the piece "Membra Jesu Nostri," which is a mediation on various parts of our Lord's body as He hung on the cross. The composer is Buxtehude, the famed organist that J. S. Bach walked 500 miles to study with. The piece is complex and very beautiful. The text, once believed to be written by St. Bernard, is very profound and could serve as the basis of many hours of prayer. The piece is divided into seven parts, each dedicated to one part of the body: the feet, the knees, the hands, the side, the breast, the heart and the face. Each part begins with a passage from the Old Testament and then continues with three five-line stanzas of Latin poetry.
Laurence was moving his head to the music at one point and gave it this compliment: "It wasn't that long."
The performers were Cammarata del Camino Real (not seen in the video above), which is made up mostly of students and alumni of the College.
Why does he conduct from the side?
ReplyDeleteDon't know. At our concert, the organist conducted.
ReplyDelete