Clarissa [Sometimes] Explains It All

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Clarissa [Sometimes] Explains It All

Music and Spirituality

November 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Arts

There is no doubt that music plays an important role in facilitating people spiritually for all kinds of religion. One of the earliest and most known examples is the Gregorian chant of the Middle ages. However, sacred music of not only Roman Catholicism, but in other denominations as well are often overlooked artistically. Thus, Lincoln Center started the White Light Festival for the fall season, its new annual fall festival that is “focused on music’s transcendent capacity to illuminate our larger interior universe.” During this festival, the “spiritual dimension of music as manifested in different cultural and musical traditions” is explored, where performances ranging from Western religions to Hinduism is played.

The festival is supposed to end tomorrow, November 18, but the performance of the Manganiyar Seduction has been rescheduled to November 22 and 23. Hindustani classical music, folk music, and songs from Sufi Muslim roots are performed on a color, multi-level set. It’s a dramatic piece that starts with a single voice, joined by another, and another, and later with an accumulation of instruments.

I wish I knew about this festival earlier, but I’ll be sure to check it out next year.

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Arts Seminar Post 1

November 4th, 2010 · No Comments · School

There’s a famous saying about messing up, which is “An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. ” by Orlando Battista. So, I’m correcting mine. During Music and the Brain, Victor Wooten spoke about how a bassist he admired appeared to him in his dream and taught him how to play like him. This immediately reminded me of “The Devil’s Trill Sonata,” which was composed by Giuseppe Tartini.

The “Violin Sonata in G minor” became widely known as the “Devil’s Trill Sonata” because Tartini claimed that the Devil appeared to him in a dream bargaining for his soul. Tartini made a deal that he would teach him the violin instead. At the end of the lesson, Tartini handed his violin to the Devil, who played with such skill and virtuosity, that Tartini was left amazed. When he woke up, he desperately tried to record down what he heard. The piece became well known, but Tartini was disappointed because he knew that the final product never amounted to what he witnessed.



The stories of Wooten and Tartini suggest a correlation between problem solving and dreams. A study here shows that most people have dreams relative to their problems, and often find its solution in them. It mentions Tartini’s piece as an example, as well as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.”

Now, I heard Paganini to my left and proceeded to stick with that name when asking my question, but he does have some sort of relevance. Niccolò Paganini is one of the most famous violinists of all time, and rumor was that he played so well because he was in a pact with the Devil. One of his best known pieces is the “Caprice No. 24.”

On the other side of the musical spectrum lies the Charles Daniels Band. Their 1979 hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” tells a story of how a boy named Johnny is challenged by the Devil in playing the fiddle. If Johnny wins, he is rewarded a violin; if he loses, he forfeits his soul.

I guess we can all conclude that the Devil is a violin virtuoso.

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