III. Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
The Great “Slow Movement: ” Contemplation and Ecstasy
The conductor stands facing his musicians,
they face him. This will be beauty’s high moment.
There is a silence as startling as a morning
without songbirds. These are the moments before
the runner bolts, before the chess player moves
her Queen, before four lips shape a kiss,
before the poet writes the word, t-e-n-d-e-r.
The depths into which these players can descend,
the heights which they can attain, are known only
to the highest Imagination: Prepare for the Vision…
It is like a woodland path just after a heavy rain,
the birds have resumed singing, raindrops glisten
in the restored sunlight, the scent of wet bark is sweet.
It is the sap running through the furthest branches.
It is the rabbit hopping through tall grass, it is deer
bounding in pursuit or in flight, it is my soul
rushing ahead to greet the woodland souls. We alternate
walking slowly or running nimbly. But listen now, just listen.
Bruckner’s music is enveloped in Nature’s Web…. and
Heaven’s Glory. “To the greater glory of God, ” he inscribed
in the score. Some claim, their eyes burning with sacred fire,
that angels descended and took Bruckner’s soul to paradise.
And the old man, now a blessed spirit, rejoiced: “Now to teach
the Angels to sing my Te Deum, and to write a Symphony scored
for the Spheres themselves… “
* * * *
The conductor moves his baton in an apparent silence, so quiet
is the Adagio’s opening. This is music of the gentle ascent.
This is music that, step by step, regains its ancient home
where stars shine and moons glow. It is as if an angel descended,and we were afraid because his first words were, “Be not afraid.”
Then folding his wings, he pointed to a golden staircase.
“The music will guide your ascent, and it will confer grace.”
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