Of pain and music
18/04/16 04:44
First a bit of history: Guy-Geoffrey was born around 1025, the youngest son of William V of Aquitaine and his third wife, Agnes of burgundy. His brother, William VII succeeded their father and made Guy-Geoffrey Duke of Gascony in 1052. His sister, Agnes de Poitou was married to Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1058 Guy-Geoffrey became William VIII, duke of Aquitaine, succeeding his brother.
Gascony is a region in what is now France, on the border with Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Bordeaux and west of Toulouse. It is the land of the Basque people. Gascony comes from the same root word as Basque.
William VIII brought to the region hundreds of Muslim prisoners. Their culture, religion, language and music contributed to the rich heritage of both France and Spain. With them, the Muslim prisoners brought Near-Eastern instruments such as the rebec (ancestor of the violin) and the qitara, which evolved into the guitar. They also brought unique forms of dance, hand clapping and finger snapping.
Working as common laborers, some of those muslims drifted south where they encountered other muslim people who had drifted into Southern Spain in the territory of Andalusia. The culture of Southern Spain was influenced by the intersection of many different cultures: indigenous Spanish, Roma people who had drifted from Eastern Europe and the people from Africa and the Middle East who had come both by force and by free will. Jews from across Europe drifted to Spain to escape persecution only to later discover persecution in that country as well.
In that southern region was the City of Granada and in Granada there was a high hill named Sacramonte (sacred mountain). Upon the hill the Sacramonte Abbey was founded in 1600. the abbey was built over catacombs that originated as Roman mines and later became burial places. As the impressive stone abbey rose from the hill top, some of the laborers and other poor people began to occupy the caves and former mines because they had no place else to live.
From those caves came the sound of their music. It wasn’t always a happy sound because it told the story of much suffering: a heritage of forced slavery, of forced conversion, of drifting from distant places and of suffering at the lowest levels of a class-based society without any real possibility of advancing.
The music that rose from the caves was the direct result of generations of pain.
The music became known as Flamenco.
Like American Blues, Flamenco is born of generations of pain and sorrow and suffering.
But anyone who has heard that music knows that it is more than suffering, or if it is suffering the suffering must be a blessing because the music comes from the pain.
It is a lesson that is even older that the roots ofd those forms of music. It is a lesson that comes from the origins of our Christian faith. Pain is not always to be avoided. Pain isn’t always bad. From pain and suffering comes resurrection and rebirth.
Knowing that, however, we live our lives with a great deal of fear about pain. The fear can be a barrier to faith and to fullness of life. Perhaps is was for that reason that Jesus repeated so often his advise to “be not afraid.”
Perhaps the music is the way of he people to overcome the fear and turn the legacy of suffering and pain into lives of meaning.
Recently some friends were discussing the role of pain on human lives. It seems that there is so much in our society that is designed to help us avoid pain. I’ve come home from a dental procedure with a prescription for narcotic pain killers. Not long ago I had an injury and filled the prescription for main medication. The instructions said to take one tablet every six hours as needed. Following the directions, I took three pills over the course of the next week. After that I didn’t ever need the pills. The prescription had been for 50 pills.
Modern medicine seems to have invested significant energy in avoiding pain.
It just isn’t physical pain that we avoid. We develop all kinds of techniques to avoid uncomfortable situations. We tend not to speak to those who have different opinions than ours because we fear disagreement. We surround ourselves with all kinds of gadgets and devices that are designed to make us feel good about ourselves. We imagine that the good life is a life that is lived without discomfort and without pain.
In the 17th century, if everyone had been able to live in castles and no one was forced to live in the caves and catacombs; if the heritage of slavery and forced conversion had been eliminated, if the pain of family disruption and persecution of those who weren’t Christian, would we have ever heard the haunting sounds of flamenco guitar? Would the dances we now associate with the region ever have been discovered?
Of course you can’t produce art by causing suffering. Pain is not the only ingredient in the great music, art and culture of the world. But the question remains: would great art exist if it were not for the presence of pain in the world?
I think we know this inherently. Not all pain is bad. Not all pain is to be avoided.
Given that conclusion, I have been fascinated that the same people who work so hard to eliminate pain - the dedicated physicians and practitioners of modern medicine - are the very same people who are patrons of the arts in many communities. The office of my doctor is decorated with original artwork. I had my annual physical last week and there were two pieces of original art in the examining room. The lobby also had original art. And it isn’t just that physicians and medical buildings are consumers of visual arts. I read the programs as music concerts and see who is investing in the music. The relationship between pain and art continues in our generation as it did so long ago in the catacombs under Sacramonte.
I am not eager to face pain. I cringe at the senseless pain that is caused to innocent victims in our world. Still, I am grateful to live in a world where flamenco and the blues are available for the listening. And the music is almost enough to convince me that the suffering is a blessing.
Gascony is a region in what is now France, on the border with Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Bordeaux and west of Toulouse. It is the land of the Basque people. Gascony comes from the same root word as Basque.
William VIII brought to the region hundreds of Muslim prisoners. Their culture, religion, language and music contributed to the rich heritage of both France and Spain. With them, the Muslim prisoners brought Near-Eastern instruments such as the rebec (ancestor of the violin) and the qitara, which evolved into the guitar. They also brought unique forms of dance, hand clapping and finger snapping.
Working as common laborers, some of those muslims drifted south where they encountered other muslim people who had drifted into Southern Spain in the territory of Andalusia. The culture of Southern Spain was influenced by the intersection of many different cultures: indigenous Spanish, Roma people who had drifted from Eastern Europe and the people from Africa and the Middle East who had come both by force and by free will. Jews from across Europe drifted to Spain to escape persecution only to later discover persecution in that country as well.
In that southern region was the City of Granada and in Granada there was a high hill named Sacramonte (sacred mountain). Upon the hill the Sacramonte Abbey was founded in 1600. the abbey was built over catacombs that originated as Roman mines and later became burial places. As the impressive stone abbey rose from the hill top, some of the laborers and other poor people began to occupy the caves and former mines because they had no place else to live.
From those caves came the sound of their music. It wasn’t always a happy sound because it told the story of much suffering: a heritage of forced slavery, of forced conversion, of drifting from distant places and of suffering at the lowest levels of a class-based society without any real possibility of advancing.
The music that rose from the caves was the direct result of generations of pain.
The music became known as Flamenco.
Like American Blues, Flamenco is born of generations of pain and sorrow and suffering.
But anyone who has heard that music knows that it is more than suffering, or if it is suffering the suffering must be a blessing because the music comes from the pain.
It is a lesson that is even older that the roots ofd those forms of music. It is a lesson that comes from the origins of our Christian faith. Pain is not always to be avoided. Pain isn’t always bad. From pain and suffering comes resurrection and rebirth.
Knowing that, however, we live our lives with a great deal of fear about pain. The fear can be a barrier to faith and to fullness of life. Perhaps is was for that reason that Jesus repeated so often his advise to “be not afraid.”
Perhaps the music is the way of he people to overcome the fear and turn the legacy of suffering and pain into lives of meaning.
Recently some friends were discussing the role of pain on human lives. It seems that there is so much in our society that is designed to help us avoid pain. I’ve come home from a dental procedure with a prescription for narcotic pain killers. Not long ago I had an injury and filled the prescription for main medication. The instructions said to take one tablet every six hours as needed. Following the directions, I took three pills over the course of the next week. After that I didn’t ever need the pills. The prescription had been for 50 pills.
Modern medicine seems to have invested significant energy in avoiding pain.
It just isn’t physical pain that we avoid. We develop all kinds of techniques to avoid uncomfortable situations. We tend not to speak to those who have different opinions than ours because we fear disagreement. We surround ourselves with all kinds of gadgets and devices that are designed to make us feel good about ourselves. We imagine that the good life is a life that is lived without discomfort and without pain.
In the 17th century, if everyone had been able to live in castles and no one was forced to live in the caves and catacombs; if the heritage of slavery and forced conversion had been eliminated, if the pain of family disruption and persecution of those who weren’t Christian, would we have ever heard the haunting sounds of flamenco guitar? Would the dances we now associate with the region ever have been discovered?
Of course you can’t produce art by causing suffering. Pain is not the only ingredient in the great music, art and culture of the world. But the question remains: would great art exist if it were not for the presence of pain in the world?
I think we know this inherently. Not all pain is bad. Not all pain is to be avoided.
Given that conclusion, I have been fascinated that the same people who work so hard to eliminate pain - the dedicated physicians and practitioners of modern medicine - are the very same people who are patrons of the arts in many communities. The office of my doctor is decorated with original artwork. I had my annual physical last week and there were two pieces of original art in the examining room. The lobby also had original art. And it isn’t just that physicians and medical buildings are consumers of visual arts. I read the programs as music concerts and see who is investing in the music. The relationship between pain and art continues in our generation as it did so long ago in the catacombs under Sacramonte.
I am not eager to face pain. I cringe at the senseless pain that is caused to innocent victims in our world. Still, I am grateful to live in a world where flamenco and the blues are available for the listening. And the music is almost enough to convince me that the suffering is a blessing.