Now you're speaking my language, Dr. K. (I'll be waiting for your inclusion of King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King" in a discussion of...well, something.) But on a semi-serious note: ELP is one a generation of bands comprised of members who had some technical proficiency and appreciation for classical music. The '70s (my time of youth) saw--in the sphere of popular music--an incredible explosion of music which quickly degenerated into trite schlock. (For example: Early Genesis and "The Musical Box" to Genesis 1978 and "Follow Me, Follow You.") Revolutions will inevitably produce, sooner or later, dreck. Example from literature" The Jesuit-educated James Joyce first writing the exquisite short stories of "Dubliners" and declining into the obscenities of "Ulysses" and the pointless, unreadable private joke of "Finnegan's Wake."
I agree: the devolution of art in our times has been incredibly rapid. It seems like once the traditional forms are abandoned, all hell breaks loose, and it ends in vapid narcissism, a sort of intellectual self-abuse.
A fascinating and very apt comparison! Although superficially intrigued by ELP's work, I also realized this was primarily due to their drawing upon "real music" for their "source material", but that the whole *rock* idiom is ultimately ugly and disturbing. Yet, their music seemed to lie on the less "offensive" end of the spectrum, I would say.
It would be an interesting study - tho probably a multi-volume account - to trace the history leading up to how things like rock music and the Novus Ordo all erupted upon us in that era. Hard to believe they were completely independent trajectories.
Absolutely: the Western Church and Western culture were already estranged and losing their bearings for several centuries, but a sort of inertia held things together until the French Revolution with its unleashing of a century of hatred against the Catholic Church and then the two World Wars, which battered morals and dogma to smithereens (for many). Vatican II was a belated and inadequate response to a very long period of decline, and only managed to accelerate that decline by its effeminate spirit of accommodation. If Vatican II had been a thundering anti-modern council (if that were possible given the men involved), I think it would have given huge momentum to the Church. By seeming to be a lukewarm Council that said "yes" and "no" to modernity, it simply signaled weakness and capitulation.
Peter, thanks for reminding me that I have a very good version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". It has both the piano version, played by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the orchestral version by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, a 1967 recording. And of course your analogy with the historical development of the liturgy is spot on. In the end, only beauty appeals and the ugly eventually passes away into the dustbin of history. Thank goodness. We just have to live with it for the moment.
Of course I love the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer interpretation. I believe there's a studio recording without vocals, but I might be mistaken. I don't recall having ever heard the vocals. You should hear them do "Jerusalem" (banned by the BBC). And Toccata! [RIP] Kieth Emerson.
Now you're speaking my language, Dr. K. (I'll be waiting for your inclusion of King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King" in a discussion of...well, something.) But on a semi-serious note: ELP is one a generation of bands comprised of members who had some technical proficiency and appreciation for classical music. The '70s (my time of youth) saw--in the sphere of popular music--an incredible explosion of music which quickly degenerated into trite schlock. (For example: Early Genesis and "The Musical Box" to Genesis 1978 and "Follow Me, Follow You.") Revolutions will inevitably produce, sooner or later, dreck. Example from literature" The Jesuit-educated James Joyce first writing the exquisite short stories of "Dubliners" and declining into the obscenities of "Ulysses" and the pointless, unreadable private joke of "Finnegan's Wake."
I agree: the devolution of art in our times has been incredibly rapid. It seems like once the traditional forms are abandoned, all hell breaks loose, and it ends in vapid narcissism, a sort of intellectual self-abuse.
A fascinating and very apt comparison! Although superficially intrigued by ELP's work, I also realized this was primarily due to their drawing upon "real music" for their "source material", but that the whole *rock* idiom is ultimately ugly and disturbing. Yet, their music seemed to lie on the less "offensive" end of the spectrum, I would say.
It would be an interesting study - tho probably a multi-volume account - to trace the history leading up to how things like rock music and the Novus Ordo all erupted upon us in that era. Hard to believe they were completely independent trajectories.
Absolutely: the Western Church and Western culture were already estranged and losing their bearings for several centuries, but a sort of inertia held things together until the French Revolution with its unleashing of a century of hatred against the Catholic Church and then the two World Wars, which battered morals and dogma to smithereens (for many). Vatican II was a belated and inadequate response to a very long period of decline, and only managed to accelerate that decline by its effeminate spirit of accommodation. If Vatican II had been a thundering anti-modern council (if that were possible given the men involved), I think it would have given huge momentum to the Church. By seeming to be a lukewarm Council that said "yes" and "no" to modernity, it simply signaled weakness and capitulation.
Peter, thanks for reminding me that I have a very good version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". It has both the piano version, played by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the orchestral version by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, a 1967 recording. And of course your analogy with the historical development of the liturgy is spot on. In the end, only beauty appeals and the ugly eventually passes away into the dustbin of history. Thank goodness. We just have to live with it for the moment.
Couldn't agree more.
Thanks for the article and insights. I always come away with something more to consider.
Of course I love the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer interpretation. I believe there's a studio recording without vocals, but I might be mistaken. I don't recall having ever heard the vocals. You should hear them do "Jerusalem" (banned by the BBC). And Toccata! [RIP] Kieth Emerson.