{"id":30441,"date":"2016-04-27T08:02:18","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/reflections-on-the-jsos-peace-and-deliverance\/"},"modified":"2016-04-27T08:02:18","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:02:18","slug":"reflections-on-the-jsos-peace-and-deliverance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/life\/reflections-on-the-jsos-peace-and-deliverance\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the JSO’s ‘Peace and Deliverance’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This recent Juneau Symphony Orchestra concert was the perfect accompaniment to a beautiful, moonlit spring evening. As conductor Troy Quinn pointed out, there is no better setting in the world than Juneau for inspiring music. With its verdant forests, unfathomable glaciers, everlasting ocean, and peaceful lakes, Juneau suits it perfectly.<\/p>\n

The evening commenced with the delightful, familiar strain of Copland\u2019s \u201cVariations on a Shaker Melody.\u201d It was brought to life with a beautiful effort of cohesion, cooperation, and coordination, each instrument lending its voice to the flowing melody. The bows of the string instruments danced in unison, each instrument shining in the light that illuminated the stage. The jubilant culminating variation was breathtaking. If this piece could be compared to a feature of Juneau\u2019s natural scenery, perhaps it would be a cheerful brook, swelling with the melted winter snow, gurgling and bouncing across stones as it glimmers in the sunshine.<\/p>\n

The mood deepened with the next composition, \u201cPrayer of St. Gregory\u201d by Hovhaness. I hadn\u2019t heard this work before, but I now claim it as a favorite. It felt peaceful, warm, and flowing and certainly had the contemplative, almost mystical quality that Quinn attributed to it. In my imagination, it seemed to reflect the depths of an ocean, sunbeams streaming through from far above, blurry in the gently rolling waters. From the audience, it seemed entirely graceful and effortless despite the copious practice, impressive technical ability, and careful execution that undoubtedly supported it. Although it was only five minutes long, it completely captured my attention and lifted me from daily life for a spellbound moment. I always am amazed at music\u2019s ability to sweep one away into its enchantment. It is just as Wordsworth described in his poem, \u201cPower of Music:\u201d \u201cWhat an eager assembly! What an empire is this! The weary have life, and the hungry have bliss; the mourner is cheered, and the anxious have rest; and the guilt-burthened soul is no longer opprest.\u201d It is such a privilege for the Juneau community to be able to escape the rest of life for a moment and simply listen to something so beautiful and stirring.<\/p>\n

This piece was followed by \u201cNimrod\u201d from Elgar\u2019s \u201cEnigma Variations\u201d, which originated from a charming game the composer played with his wife, in which he created musical personifications of their friends while she had to guess whom they represented. \u201cNimrod\u201d embodies Elgar\u2019s friend Jaeger, both words meaning \u201chunter.\u201d I was so intrigued by the story that is woven into its meaning and creation that I was predisposed to like it before I heard it. However, even if I had known nothing of the music prior to listening to it, it would have garnered my appreciation of its own accord. It draws the listener in, then gathers force and intensity. Its place in my metaphor with Juneau\u2019s scenery would be that of a river\u2019s surging with a sense of strength and nobility.<\/p>\n

The concert ended with its longest selection, the cantata \u201cDona Nobis Pacem\u201d by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Aptly denoted by Maestro Quinn as \u201cepic,\u201d this work travels through six movements, drawing in Biblical and poetic texts as it powerfully responds to the horrific realities of war and cries out for peace. We have left the dreamy sun-streamed depths of the ocean and are now at its surface, tossed in the violence of a storm which hurls itself across the sea with tempestuous energy. Cymbals clash like lightning, and the voices of the choir sometimes are drowned out by the thunderous instrumental roar. The voices from the chorus blend in expressive, urgent harmonies. The soloists\u2019 voices reach every corner of the auditorium, which is appropriate, for their song evokes the inescapable, indiscriminate, and pervasive nature of war. Triumphant bells rejoice as the journey concludes in its hope for peace.<\/p>\n

Evening had approached by the time the concert drew to a close, and the audience dispersed in the cool springtime air beneath the cloud-softened glow of the moon. As I left, I hoped that we\u2019d each take a little share of the peace and inspiration that uplifted our hours together as we returned to our daily lives, and that we\u2019d see in the glory of Juneau\u2019s rich scenery and plentiful natural beauty some of the peace that we found in that afternoon\u2019s music.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Born and raised in Palmer, Alaska, Tierra Colberg is completing her junior year as an elementary-education major at the University of Alaska Southeast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This recent Juneau Symphony Orchestra concert was the perfect accompaniment to a beautiful, moonlit spring evening. As conductor Troy Quinn pointed out, there is no better setting in the world than Juneau for inspiring music. With its verdant forests, unfathomable glaciers, everlasting ocean, and peaceful lakes, Juneau suits it perfectly. The evening commenced with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[74],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-30441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-arts-and-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30441"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=30441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}