The Crucifixion
...without sentimentalizing it.
If you are a practicing Christian, there is a good chance you will be attending a Good Friday service tonight. The music will likely be a little slower, a little softer, and perhaps a little more somber. But I wonder, will it be ugly?
The benefit of living on this side of the Resurrection is that we see the crucifixion in hindsight. We know the outcome. We understand the whole picture. We can bask in the glow of good triumphing over evil, and that death was conquered through Christ. But…. we often forget that this is not how it was understood by those around him at the time. His disciples were afraid and devastated. All their hopes and dreams were crushed. They were in despair. And the crucifixion was not glorious; it was ugly and horrifying. It was not a G-rated event.
I remember the time I sat and watched The Passion of Christ, the first and only time I watched it. I was stunned. It was uncomfortable, and I don’t particularly want to watch it again. However, facing the ugly and evil doesn’t just shock us; it actually brings us a renewed sense of awe and hope in the Resurrection itself.
So today, I challenge you to listen to The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. I’ve included the link below. It is only 35 minutes of music. Thirty-five minutes out of your day today to reflect on an event that changed the fate of the world.
The Rite of Spring is not a sacred work. In fact, it is a ballet depicting a Russian pagan sacrifice. (Before you run away afraid of the word ‘pagan’, stay with me here and try to remember Easter was actually a pagan holiday as well as Christmas!) The wonderful thing about music without words is that even though we should research the intention of the composer to do the work justice, we can also let it mean what we need it to mean for us in any particular time or place. It can still be subjective. Additionally, we must remember works that glorify God are not just beautiful and good; they are also works of truth. Truth is not always beautiful. The Bible is full of horrifying and ugly stories, and the crucifixion was not beautiful either.
Isaiah 53
'Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.'
The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
I’ve included a couple of points of reference and some of my own subjective ideas around different points in the music for those unfamiliar with this work. Also, please don’t feel like you need to think of this as a soundtrack for the crucifixion event. Just listen and let the music and scripture reference guide your thoughts. My hope is that you will look at the crucifixion in a different way and that a sense of awe for what Christ accomplished through the cross will be renewed for you.
Starting the night before the Crucifixion many different types of events and emotions occurred that I think can be represented in the music such us:
A looming dread in the garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus’ trials before Pilot and Herod.
Being embarrassed and mocked by Herod and the Sanhedrin.
Abandonment by Jesus’ disciples.
Peter’s denial.
The acts of physical violence Jesus experienced.
The march to Golgotha.
The crucifixion and death of Christ.
Opening: Adoration of the Earth
In my reflections this is portraying Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
4:05 Auguries of Spring
For me, this is a portrayal of the day Christ was crucified; his arrest, trial, etc.
16:30 Part II: The Sacrifice
There are a couple of significant moments in this section to listen for:
11 timpani and bass drum strikes right before the section “The Glorification of the Chosen One”
An English horn solo against march-like rhythms
The final “dance” with odd and frequently changing meters.
Fun Facts About The Rite of Spring.
When this piece was premiered in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on May 29, 1913. When the audience first heard it a riot broke out because of the controversy and possibly because of some political factions at work!
Stravinsky wanted to portray an old Russia and used folk melodies throughout the piece.
The orchestration is very large, almost twice the size of a standard orchestra! Additionally, it is considered one of the most pivotal works of all time.