GG: O Magnum

[Theresa Chen <elisha-jt@juno.com>]

Hi Fminoreans, thank you so much for your notes of comfort.  Really, being in college sort of stinks when it comes to situations like this, because it seems like 60% of the student body here are either really immature or really DO NOT CARE about horrible things like this that not only just happened here in US, but all over the world...we've just been too comfortable and ignorant to realize that. Bomb threats that occurred after the incident are proof of the stupidity of certain people on my campus (at the computer lab, someone next to me was on MSNBC watching the video clips of the bombings of WTC, and LAUGHING!? imagine my horror...)

To shield me from other ignorant people, I've been listening to O Magnum Mysterium by Tomas Luis de la Victoria.  Among the other great polyphonic composers I learned in my music history class, Victoria really stuck.  And honestly I think this piece should be a requiem...the beginning that developes from one note to a haunting perfect fifth.  Absolutely breathtaking.  I've also been listening to his requiem too, but O Magnum made me cry.  i think most young people (myself included) thought history will always be just words in textbooks, until things happen and we become the words themselves.  Anyway, I thought I'd contribute Victoria to our requiem list.

How often to you associate music with movie?  Everytime I hear the French Suite No.1 (sdtk from the movie 32 short films) I always think of it as a sort of requiem for GG...mainly because at the end of the piece, the 'announcer' speaks of his death at the Toronto Hos.  Since then it stuck and that movement became more of a requiem for GG (to me) than his '81 Goldbergs.

Man, I'm being really morbid.  I hope it won't be long when someone cheers this list up.  I'm doing my best not to be too down.  Again, thanks to you all.  We'll get through this.

Hugs, Elisha
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