2021-01-12

The trumpet that shall never call retreat

In a previous blog article last year (i.e. a million years ago) I wrote about improvisation and how improvisers rarely begin without some sort of road map or plan in their heads. To listeners, improvisation is exciting because it appears to be music formed out of thin air. To improvisers, the hope is not to lose your place in the story you want to tell.

I always particularly enjoy prelude and postlude time at the church where I am organist because those selections belong to me. I can choose the item to play, or (as we have done since last June) I can choose to play with colleagues. As is my custom, I had a postlude ready to play for last Sunday at the beginning of the preceding week.

Then Wednesday, January 6, 2021 intervened.

Another powerful attribute of improvisation in sacred spaces is that you can respond musically to what is happening in real time. This is a particularly strong tradition in African-American churches, where the expectation is that the musicians will "pick up" on the direction of worship and amplify it. When done well, it is electrifying. Obviously, one needs good improvisation chops and a large amount of repertory memorized to be able to seize the moment.

Last Wednesday was not a moment in which I was in church and needed to respond to events during a worship service. But clearly I did not want to keep my postlude selection after so many disturbing and profound events. So I changed course on Friday evening. My brother-in-law and I were not planning on playing a shared postlude, but I texted him. "Let's present the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'" I said. "Of course", he said.

We regularly play the "Battle Hymn" in a piano/organ improvisation on Memorial Day, because we know our community appreciates recognition of the sacrifices Americans have made over the centuries to protect our democracy. Every year, we wrestle with the tension between expressing gratitude for those who gave their lives in the military for our country and the Christian call to turn swords into plowshares. I have always loved doing this version of the "Battle Hymn", however, because it shares an almost apocalyptic vision of the triumph of justice over oppression. Racism, bigotry, xenophobia and sedition paraded up and through the Capitol building last week; as was the case in 1861, this is the moment for all Americans who really understand "justice for all" to express themselves clearly and forcefully in favor of genuine democracy, not this fascist jingoism that the rioters promoted. Julia Ward Howe penned the words to the "Battle Hymn" after observing Union troops leaving to fight in Kentucky in 1861. I wonder what she would have had to say about this past week's events, especially the image of the Stars and Bars being walked through the building.

I took a few minutes Friday evening to create a "plan" for our improvisation; it was virtually the same plan that we use each year at Memorial Day, but it was a plan. Must have a plan! I know that we had addressed an unmet need when we were done, because Rob and I heard appreciative responses from more than a few congregants.

Likewise, in coming weeks and months, I would encourage everyone to have a "plan" if you come up against this expression of fascism fuelled by lies and lazy thinking. Quietly but firmly insist that we Americans will not successfully address the sometimes justifiable grievances voiced by rioters by dismantling a democracy and establishing one party rule. We will always need at least two sides in our politics to advance the healthy dialectic that yields progress for the nation. Thousands have died in our wars >and< in non-violent protests for that privilege; we can defend it and honor those who perished for it by using our voices and our votes accordingly. Make a plan.

If you have more questions about this topic, don't hesitate to contact me and we can chat.

K

To the studio!

Play the trivia!

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