Expert: Pat G - 8/26/2010

Question
QUESTION: I am a teacher doing lesson planning. I would like to include some overtures in my September lessons, connecting how the Virgin Mary was the overture to the coming of Christ as we celebrate in the feast of her nativity to the role of overtures in music.

Do you have any overtures you would particularly recommend? Any specifically connected to Mary would be ideal, but I can't find any as almost all were made for opera or ballet which obviously doesn't frequently deal with the Virgin Mary. lol Do you have any other ideas? I was hoping to stay away from William Tell as I use that later in the year.

ANSWER: Hello, Mary Elizabeth,

I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around your question because I am decidedly NOT Catholic! LOL In my church, we don't celebrate the feast of Mary's nativity, since the Bible doesn't say anything about it, and we have no traditions (we don't accept the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception).

I don't know the age of your students. That could be important, because connecting the idea of an overture in music to an event that can be interpreted as an overture to another event is rather abstract.

I'm not sure why you want to exclude overtures from opera or ballet, since that's where most of the overtures are. There is one opera, I recall, called Dialogues of the Carmelites. It's by Poulenc, so it won't be very classical in style. although the music is lyrical and melodic. The story sounds sympathetic, so that's a good thing. I happen to like Poulenc, but I don't know how well it will convey what you want to your students. And it doesn't even HAVE an overture! Although, there are some nice preludes and interludes.

Another possibility that comes to mind is any opera about Joan of Arc. Verdi wrote one. It doesn't have an overture; it has a sinfonia. My husband pointed out that these operas are about martyrs, so might not be appropriate. On the other hand, the Bible tells us that a sword pierced Mary's heart when she observed Jesus being crucified.

That's about all I can think of.

Also, it might be worthwhile to look at some other musical forms because there is a great body of music by Catholic composers that specifically deals with Mary. Some of the more knowledgeable people I know on THIS subject are over at WCPE, a radio station in North Carolina. They have a weekly program called Great Sacred Music that airs every Sunday morning. There was one fellow over there who was practically a walking encyclopedia on the subject of Marian music, Ken Hoover, but he appears to no longer be with the station. I don't know as much about the background of the folks putting that program together now. However, you can talk to the announcers on Facebook and Twitter, and they have email addresses. They have streaming audio in five formats over the internet, and I listen to them constantly. Their web site is http://theclassicalstation.org/

I hope this helps. Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Some good-natured ribbing:
While the Bible says that it was written for the benefit of us having faith in Christ (John 20:31) and that it is the inspired word of God profitable for teaching, etc (2 Timothy 3:16–17), it never claims to be the sole source of information about the faith (that being a merely human invention by Martin Luther who actually changed the Word of God to support his claims--which the Bible specifically forbids) and actually many times over refutes sola scriptura, pointing to oral tradition as being equally profitable (and indeed, the only source of information the early Christians had about Christ before the Catholic/Orthodox Church compiled the Bible, first canonizing it at the Synod of Hippo in 393, then ratifying that decision at the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419, followed by the pope's acknowledgment and undertaking of the Latin vulgate in 382/383 and another pope's universal dispersal of the canon by 405). You can read extensive scripture references on the topic here: http://www.scripturecatholic.com/scripture_alone.html

OK, my good-natured ribbing is done. I do genuinely appreciate the help! It's not that I don't want opera or ballet--just that I recognize there most likely won't be a Marian connection in those venues. I do want to specifically stick to overtures, though, because the lesson is about Mary being the overture to Christ--what happened right before the curtain was raised and the "show" actually began; the story being Jesus. In that context, any overture is a more appropriate selection than a Christian-themed interlude or other type of music. I don't want to compare Mary to an interlude! :) I'll follow up with WCPE and if you have any other suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know. I am very grateful for the help!

Answer
Hello, Mary Elizabeth,

I've got my ducks in a row on this one, speaking of good-natured ribbing. Paul also told us in I Corinthians 13 that speaking in tongues would go away when that which is perfect (the Bible, in this case), is come. Catholics don't still speak in tongues, do they? :) People accuse Luther of changing Scripture by adding the word "allein" in one passage. He didn't change the MEANING of the passage by adding that word, however. I read German, so I am aware he didn't. There is plenty of scriptural support for the concept there. I am familiar with the history of the canon being listed. But what goes into the canon was decided under the direction of the Apostles (as evidenced by which books CIRCULATED and got copied), who were directly under the guidance of God. And BEFORE any of the doctrines I reject were ever mentioned. The Apocrypha, by the way, were not declared canon until AFTER Luther translated them into German. They're in my German Luther Bibel. Including a couple of books you don't use. They're known as "deuterocanonical". (Mormons have deuterocanonical scriptures, too, one of them being the Book of Mormon). Most important to me, however, is the lack of FEAR by which I live my life, knowing that I AM saved, and I don't have to go to purgatory, because Jesus said, "It is finished." That's our salvation He was talking about. If I believed in purgatory, I'd be petrified! Just like Luther was when he started reading the Bible. The JOY I live daily as a result of knowing that the price of my sin is paid in full knows no bounds. In fact, it is this joy, plus the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that makes it possible for me to fulfill the mandates of the book of James when he says, "faith without works is dead." Works are the natural consequences of gratitude and of the working of the Holy Spirit THROUGH me. God gets ALL the glory, which is exactly how it should be.

One more suggestion that I thought of after sending the message. Try movie scores. I think some of them have overtures that might be suitable. And some of them really ought to be in the musical literature considered classical. Whether or not they're called "overtures" might be a different matter. As for additional suggestions, as I understand it, they don't send out a notice if I revise a message, and without that, I would have no way of contacting you if something else occurs to me. And you're welcome. If you want to keep in touch, send me a PRIVATE message here, and I'll respond with an email address where we can keep in touch, if they'll let it through. They discourage exchanging email addresses on this site.