Bach

Sue bought us tickets for Bach’s Magnificat. We were late in deciding to go, the concert was completely sold out, and the only tickets available were at the very back of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, one row from the entry.

The Latin of the Magnificat, translated into English, seemed bizarre in this time of extreme income inequality and great suffering of the poor in this and many other countries: “…He has put down the mighty from their seats [of power] and raised up those who are lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty….”

We sat next to two men who arrived with massive backpacks and large garbage bags full of belongings, including sacks of popcorn and bottles of water that they consumed during the concert. I conjectured that they must be in a some kind of program that provided them with tickets, and I watched their enjoyment, which heightened mine. They bounced, moved their heads in rhythm, gesticulated, and ate their popcorn with great pleasure, all the while trying to restrain themselves and be quiet. They were wonderful.

The program consisted of a lesser-known choral Bach piece in German (BWV 62), an instrumental piece by Johann Fux, an intermission, and then the Magnificat. The two men came back after intermission and enjoyed the second half as much as they’d enjoyed the first. We couldn’t have had better seats.