My little Gnudren,
Today old Gnu offers you another piece in the Verbotene Stucke (Forbidden Pieces) category, so that you may further meditate on the restraining grace of God in past days. This song, Though Heaven and Earth, said Jesus, pass away (under the Bonus Tracks menu), was not really worthy of the 6.30pm service on two accounts. But first let me tell you what spurred him on to produce such a masterpiece.
The year was 1990. While Gnu rejoiced at the wide variety of music across our services at CCC, (probably as wide a repertoire as any church in the country, if not the widest), most of our warship songs were beginning to sound like Radio 2, but with religious words. Make no mistake, Radio 2 is wonderful, as are Radios 1, 3 & 4. Yes, we did do Radio 3 type hymn arrangements, so we weren’t quite monochrome. Perhaps we were more like sepia.
Christ Church Clifton circa 1990 – not monochrome, but beginning to get more sepia-ish.
See what I mean?
But did all our church members like only Radio 2 or Radio 3? Old Gnu dreamt of a 6.30 Service that was coasting along nicely with its usual soothing strains when suddenly there were flashing and stroboscopic lights, so one was repeatedly in blinding light one moment and darkness the next; with the whole place really beginning to rock to a heavy deafening disco beat with earth shattering bass that shook ones ribcage, driving people to leave their seats and bop and dance wildly like people possessed, while singing or shouting these words: though heaven and earth, said Jesus, pass away….. This would have been a much better experience than rocking against Margaret Thatcher, which even some Conservative Party members were engaged in at the time.
Mrs. Thatcher, circa 1990
Of course, if this had happened some folks would have been stunned and shocked and thought that heaven and earth were in fact actually passing away before their very eyes. Others, including not a few septuagenarians and octogenarians would have been pleasantly surprised and rejoiced – not surprising, due to the irresponsible behaviour that comes with age. It would have been an ‘earth shattering’ experience in keeping with the earth shattering words of Jesus. The disco genre and experience would be without doubt the best way to express the message of Jesus words, combining movement, dance and music to reinforce an outstandingly mind-blowing message. After all, in discos, (now a very considerably less common phenomena), one feels as if one is about to be shaken to pieces by mighty speakers pounding out so many decibels that that every bone in one’s body rattles involuntarily. So, when Gnu observed that these words of Jesus were coming up in the Gospel reading 3 Sundays hence, he set to work. He wrote the words and little ditty of a tune, randomly pressed a few buttons in the rhythm section of his synthesiser, and as they say, the rest is history. It’s amazing how great compositions come about!
Gnu pressing buttons, circa 1986
Well it didn’t happen. There was not an inconsiderable amount of concern that a number of people might never come back again. Gnu privately mused that when earth and heaven did actually pass away, no one would be coming back anyway. The other major concern on Gnu’s mind was that to employ such a genre of music based on electronically sequenced rhythms would mean an inordinate amount of practice and precision, time which our busy musicians didn’t have. And to do it merely as sequenced music as most of the music in this genre is, would be to reduce the involvement of instrumentalists, when our aim was to include as many people as possible in our music.
But crafty old Gnu was not willing to give up on this piece on which he had expended at least 20 minutes of his very valuable time. So, he sneaked it into a nativity play. He supplied some new Christmassy words to boot. The play involved the use of stick puppets, and they danced along to the beat. A tamer version of the tune provided the opening number and the disco version the wild reprise of a finale. Once again children’s events came to the rescue of a 6.30 reject. In this instance I think the decision was what one might term ‘a popular choice.’
Rhythm section of a synthesiser. Without these buttons no one can compose great music.
No wonder Beethoven never made it into the pop charts¹.
Beethoven looking disgruntled
Vetus Pater Gnu
Academiae Musicorum et Theologia
Turris, [LA]
XX Aprilis MMXVIII
¹Unless you count This Night by Billy Joel, Alicia Keys Piano & I, Walter Murphy’s A Fifth of Beethoven , Roll Over Beethoven by The Electric Light Orchestra, Back on My B.S. by Busta Rhymes, Wu-Tang Clan feat. Tekitha’s Impossible, Because by The Beatles etc.