Yep. More lawsuits. This time, it's a student who, along with her wind ensemble, was barred by an overzealous administrator from playing an instrumental version of a classically arranged religious tune.
Several composers have written versions of "Ave Maria." The most well known is the version penned by Franz Schubert in 1825.The lyrics weren't going to be sung--or even included in the program. Instead of treating music as music, the superintendent worried that its ignorable origin might somehow infect the proceedings, a liturgical rash breaking out in the susceptible crowd.
The version selected by the Jackson High School ensemble was written in 1964 by Franz Biebl as a choral arrangement for a German firefighters' choir.
The perceived religiosity of the piece derives from the lyrics, which in Biebl's version were taken from a prayer that is recited daily in the Catholic Church.
The Jackson High School wind ensemble planned to play an instrumental version of the piece, however.
What if the students had chosen Sibelius's rousing "Finlandia," trying to sneak in the religious message of "Be Still My Soul?" Christian songwriters are a tricky bunch, copping melodies from secular music to subliminally convert the unwitting. Kudos to the superintendent for standing up for the stupid.
2 comments:
Stupid administrator.
When I graduated from high school, lo these many years ago, two girls from my class sang an overtly Christian song that was popular at the time. Their singing was terrible. Embarrassing terrible. Now I know I could have litigated because they were singing terribly about Jesus.
Ah, the missed opportunities of youth.
I can't think of a secular inspiring piece that doesn't make me want to hurl...and it's not because of my religious beliefs, either. It's because they tend to be really bad pieces.
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