“Jesus wept” (John 11:35), though the shortest verse in the Bible offers us invaluable insight about Jesus Christ, including the sobering reminder that the King of Kings became human and he grieved and suffered loss just as we grieve the loss of a loved one.
This is just one of many examples in literature where less is more. It did not take much to reveal these truths to us, just two words. This concept is true with music as well. I’ve noticed it not only with music I have performed but with music I have written.
Last year I wrote a spiritual piece of music for the ordination of a priest, based on Psalm 84. It involved, solo tenor, soprano, full choir, violin, cello, trumpet and snare drum all accompanied by the piano. I was quite pleased with what I finally did with the text offered to me by a dear friend. Though well received, it had no where near the same effect on the congregation as another piece I wrote shortly afterwards for duo sopranos accompanied by organ called “The Breath of Jesus”. To me it was a far cry musically from the other piece and was done with a lot less effort, but yet, the feedback from the congregation proved that this touched them deeply…it was a clear case of less is more.
I have encountered many pieces in my performing life thus far that demonstrate that it is not about length, but about the power that the piece has to connect with us…this can often be done in a short time frame. I have attached an audio of one such example, Träumerei from Robert Schumann’s “Scenes from Childhood”, Opus 15, played by your’s truly. Translated “Dreaming”, this one page of music never ceases to take me back to childhood memories of dreams so vivid, I woke up looking for objects that were already gone. Less is more is in effect, simply and powerfully done. Click below and enjoy.

Träumerei

This was the first (and final) recording I did on Trinity Wall Street’s organ before the September 11th tragedy.  When the holidays come around I get it out, dust it off and enjoy it afresh.  Here is what the American Record Guide had to say about it:

Christmas at Trinity  - 23 Christmas Carols – Choir of Trinity Church, New York/Owen Burdick, dir., Sean Jackson, org – Naxos 555886- 72 minutes

Hats off to Director Owen Burdick, organist Sean Jackson, and the Trinity Church Choir for this lovely and distinguished collection of Christmas music!

Many of these selections are taken from the rich English carol tradition (‘Sans Day Carol’, ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, ‘Sussex Carol’, and a great personal favorite, Boris Ord’s ‘Adam Lay Ybounden’). Several have been artfully rearranged in new musical settings of the old melodies or, in other instances, completely retained.  Composer-arrangers of this latter type are David Willcocks, Harold Darke, William Mathias, and others.  Some selections are known by almost everyone (‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’), some are obscure (‘I Sing of a Maiden’), and several have been drawn from other traditions (‘In Dulci Jubilo’, “Infant Holy’, ‘I Wonder as I Wander’, ‘Gabriel’s Message’).

The choir sings all of these with faultless intonation, color, marvelous blend, precision and above all, astonishing clarity of diction.  Printed words in the booklet are superfluous.  It is a pleasure of the rarest kind to hear such singing.  For the accompanied carols, Sean Jackson plays the organ expertly, and the balance of organ and voices is ideal.  The soloists sing impeccably, too.

Owen Burdick has said that his goal was to achieve a distinctly American recording of these pieces, with American pronunciation, without any attempt to emulate the sound of a British choir of men and boys.  This he has achieved, though here and there a British vowel can be heard and the choral sound is fairly straight and pure-not entirely dissimilar to the sound of boy sopranos and altos.

The Naxos engineers have contrived to make this recording, made in Trinity Church, sound even better than the sound in Trinity really is; it is a good but not especially resonant room.

If you seek a distinctive, exceptional program of Christmas music, you can scarcely do better than this one which deserves to become a collector’s item.  The recording was made in February 2001. With the realization of the unspeakable horrors Trinity Church and its staff endured on September 11 of that year, this may well awaken in listeners a deep and troubling, if unintended, pathos.

-Mulbury

American Record Guide, November/December Edition 2002

Dear Friends,
Welcome to my blog. Here, with the occasional help of audio and video, I will share some experiences of my musical and spiritual journey thus far. It is my hope that much discussion will be generated from the posts.  Enjoy!

Sean