Legendary wilderness survival expert and author Tom Brown, Jr wrote that "Safety, security, and comfort are euphemisms for death". It is only too evident that the priceless artform of classical music is struggling to survive fundamental changes in culture and technology, yet it remains puzzlingly wedded to the fatal dogmas of safety, security, and comfort. Just one example is the reactionary brouhaha that greeted the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's experimental challenges to classical comfort zones. Yes, some of those experiments were obviously misguided and doomed. But the classical nimbies would do well to remember Søren Kierkegaard 's assertion that "Everyone wants progress, no one wants change". Change in the classical lexicon all too frequently means experiments with lighting, visuals, and social media targeted at young audiences. Or it means emphasising the zones of safety, security, and comfort by programming "classical light...
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While it is not a Cathedral proper, this evening the Library of Congress is acting the role of a center of civilization by hosting a chamber choral ensemble -- San Francisco-based Chanticleer -- in an all American choral program by living composers -- the East Coast premiere of Ezequiel Viñao's The Wanderer, a setting of an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem, and works by Paul Schoenfeld, Carlos Sánchez Gutiérrez, Arthur Jarvinen, and Steven Stucky.
Here is an insightful review by Richard Scheinin of the San Jose Mercury of the program (or a similar one) performed at Mission Santa Clara, in Northern California, last month.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/15610504.htm