In Lux Aeternam...
I am of the opinion that there is no better language for Classical singing than Latin. I don't want to come across middle aged and out of it, or public school and snobbish (note to Americans: we British call private school public school and vice versa, sorry) but that's how I feel. Although it may not come as much of a surprise to hear that someone who calls themselves Canis Ex Machina likes Latin.
I had to study Latin for two years at school; in fact, I was part of the last year to do so before my school dropped it in favour of Spanish. The first year was excruciating; attempting in vain to get my head around the general bizarreness of Latin grammar. The second was saved by the fact that we had a different teacher for it; he's a good bloke so I'll just use his nickname here. Wiggy - the aforesaid Latin teacher - had come up with a revolutionary new teaching system. He would allow us to set our own work, tests and homework. As you may can no doubt imagine, allowing a class of year nines to set their own work, especially in a subject like Latin, was perhaps an unwise decision. Perhaps surprisingly, a few students, who genuinely enjoyed the subject, did very well under this eccentric system. I spent most of the year discussing such noted topics as how to mod Tiberian Sun. Amazingly, Wiggy could never seem to understand why the classes taught by other teachers kept getting better results than us. Not that we cared; it is hard to care much, for most people, about a subject with almost no applications in the modern world; it may help explain the origins of the English language, but this knowledge is, I would contend, not worth the effort involved in gaining it.
That I learnt anything at all during this period is remarkable to say the least. My grammar certainly never got anywhere. Surprisingly, though, I got fairly good at translation, which was at least moderately diverting. An ability, I have to say, which I have mostly lost.
But back to the original subject; Latin, whilst completely unsuited to modern music - generally speaking - since the artists, at least, generally consider their lyrics to be worth understanding, and most people don't understand dead languages. Whilst we may, in many cases, disagree, this nevertheless stops it from being much use for the latest chart hit. But classical music is a totally different beast. For a start, a lot of classical music exists as an art form; the lyrics are, frankly, not important, whereas how the music sounds is. Alternatively, it may be intended for worship, in which case Latin is traditional. And Latin sounds much - what? - grander, maybe? More solemn? Deeper? Not to mention it allows a greater admiration of the music, unclouded by having to listen to what the words are saying. Here is the start of a traditional Credo, in Latin and English. Make your own decision.
Credo in unum deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terra...
I believe in one god, all-powerful Father, maker of heaven and earth...
Quite apart from anything else, it is possible for a non-Christian to appreciate the piece in Latin, when in English it is so obviously religious.
Well, that's a random post...
C.E.M.
I had to study Latin for two years at school; in fact, I was part of the last year to do so before my school dropped it in favour of Spanish. The first year was excruciating; attempting in vain to get my head around the general bizarreness of Latin grammar. The second was saved by the fact that we had a different teacher for it; he's a good bloke so I'll just use his nickname here. Wiggy - the aforesaid Latin teacher - had come up with a revolutionary new teaching system. He would allow us to set our own work, tests and homework. As you may can no doubt imagine, allowing a class of year nines to set their own work, especially in a subject like Latin, was perhaps an unwise decision. Perhaps surprisingly, a few students, who genuinely enjoyed the subject, did very well under this eccentric system. I spent most of the year discussing such noted topics as how to mod Tiberian Sun. Amazingly, Wiggy could never seem to understand why the classes taught by other teachers kept getting better results than us. Not that we cared; it is hard to care much, for most people, about a subject with almost no applications in the modern world; it may help explain the origins of the English language, but this knowledge is, I would contend, not worth the effort involved in gaining it.
That I learnt anything at all during this period is remarkable to say the least. My grammar certainly never got anywhere. Surprisingly, though, I got fairly good at translation, which was at least moderately diverting. An ability, I have to say, which I have mostly lost.
But back to the original subject; Latin, whilst completely unsuited to modern music - generally speaking - since the artists, at least, generally consider their lyrics to be worth understanding, and most people don't understand dead languages. Whilst we may, in many cases, disagree, this nevertheless stops it from being much use for the latest chart hit. But classical music is a totally different beast. For a start, a lot of classical music exists as an art form; the lyrics are, frankly, not important, whereas how the music sounds is. Alternatively, it may be intended for worship, in which case Latin is traditional. And Latin sounds much - what? - grander, maybe? More solemn? Deeper? Not to mention it allows a greater admiration of the music, unclouded by having to listen to what the words are saying. Here is the start of a traditional Credo, in Latin and English. Make your own decision.
Credo in unum deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terra...
I believe in one god, all-powerful Father, maker of heaven and earth...
Quite apart from anything else, it is possible for a non-Christian to appreciate the piece in Latin, when in English it is so obviously religious.
Well, that's a random post...
C.E.M.
posted by Canis Ex Machina at 6:56 pm
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