THE FASHIONER Reflections on the Role of Music and the Arts in Building a Global Community
Jenina S. Lepard
Bahá’í Publishing Trust 401 Greenleaf Ave, Wilmette, Illinois 60091 Copyright © 2018 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States All rights reserved. Published 2018 Printed in the United States of America ∞ ISBN: 978-0-87743-391-0 21 20 19 18
4 3 2 1
Cover design by Misha Maynerick Blaise Book design by Patrick Falso
Contents Acknowledgments.........................................................................ix Preface...........................................................................................xi Introduction...................................................................................1 PART 1: MUSIC AND THE ARTS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BAHÁ’Í WRITINGS AND BAHÁ’Í ARTISTS
1 Music......................................................................................15 2 Musicians and Their Art.........................................................35 3 Architecture, Photography, Painting, and the Visual Arts.......57 4 Dance, Drama, and Filmmaking.............................................85 5 Literature.............................................................................. 115 PART 2: THE ROLE OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS IN THE CORE ACTIVITIES, NINETEEN-DAY FEASTS, AND HOLY DAYS
6 Devotional Gatherings and Home Visits............................... 151 7 Children’s Classes..................................................................165 8 Junior Youth Groups.............................................................177 9 Youth in Service....................................................................195 10 Study Circles.........................................................................209 11 Nineteen-Day Feasts and Holy Days.....................................221 PART 3: THE ROLE OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS IN BUILDING A GLOBAL COMMUNITY
12 Conclusion: Envisioning the Use of Music and the Arts in a Future Global Society..................................................... 241 Notes.........................................................................................259 Bibliography...............................................................................273
v
Introduction Through the mere revelation of the word “Fashioner,” issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. —Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, no. 74.1 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS After reflecting on learning about the role of music and the arts in building a global community, I was motivated to write this book for very personal reasons. When I was a child, I began taking piano lessons at the age of seven. Although I liked music, I also loved drama, dance, and literature. The visual arts also attracted me. There were openings in my young life to each of the arts: dance classes, drama at school, reading and writing, and most of all, music.
1
I N T RO D U C T I O N
Music flowed through our home. I would come home from school, and every day the same recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas would be playing on the hi-fi set. My parents loved jazz and tried to help me appreciate it. They introduced me to such leading jazz lights as Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane. The songs of the Beatles also filled our apartment; we all came to know the lyrics of most of the albums by heart. When he was older, my brother adored hard rock and tried to help me understand it. By then, my musical world was centered in classical music. I attended New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts as a music major. I eyed the drama and dance studios with envy, imagining that those students had a freedom of expression that prescribed music did not. My dearest fantasy was to become a vocalist in a Broadway musical show, such as Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar. When I went to college at the age of sixteen, I was still a music major, and I was focused on enhancing my skill at playing the piano. Yet, I still wondered what I was doing there, when I was so curious about the “outside world”—the world beyond the isolation of a practice room and its constant, stern beckoning. I loved words; why couldn’t I be an English major? The summer following my sophomore year, I worked as a camp counselor, and it was then that I realized I had been experiencing the world primarily through sound. I decided that I needed to “open my eyes” to the beauty of the visual world, and I began trying to draw pictures of the world around me. While they were not very good pictures, they did help me connect more deeply to people, places, and things in my surroundings. When I returned to college for my junior year, I began to take art history courses and continued to take them for the next two years. I decided that the best way to learn about history was through the arts. I came to appreciate the historical influence of “all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce.” My plans for a career in piano performance shifted when I was diagnosed with tendonitis in my junior year. I continued to play, but 2
I N T RO D U C T I O N
I also continued to feel ambivalent about music. More and more, I felt drawn to understanding people’s motivations for why they made the choices they did (for better or for worse). Nevertheless, after my senior year I began student teaching (I was now a music education major) and enjoyed it. Afterward, I headed home to New York City, and it was a couple of years later that I had a memorable experience, in connection with my newfound spiritual awakening. When I became a Bahá’í in August 1979 (just prior to starting my student teaching), my world changed enormously. I soaked in the message of world unity and religious unity, and the great breadth of the Bahá’í teachings—including their emphasis on the spiritual power of the arts. Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith (1817–1892), taught that all human beings have been created by one God for the purpose of worshiping Him and carrying forth an everadvancing civilization. He taught that all the great religions of the world were revealed by this same God and thus possess an inherent unity. Each Divine Prophet—including Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb (the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh), and Bahá’u’lláh—renews the message of previous Prophets and sweeps away the human corruption of that message, while bringing new teachings appropriate for the needs of the new age. Bahá’ís believe that the Revelations of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh signal the inauguration of an era of peace and unity promised by all previous Prophets—and an accompanying flourishing of the arts. In 1982, there was a special exhibit of Islamic art on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went to the museum with three of my Bahá’í friends, and we “warmed up” by exploring the galleries of medieval art (circa. 1300 AD). We saw one Madonna and Child painting after another, with muted colors and flat perspective. They were lovely but predictable. Then we approached the Islamic exhibit. I was still an auditory person, but I was incredibly moved by the Islamic art. Brilliant, vibrant colors, deep perspective, and intense meanings were present in every painting. The time frame was also about 1300 3
1 / Music We have made it lawful for you to listen to music and singing. Take heed, however, lest listening thereto should cause you to overstep the bounds of propriety and dignity. Let your joy be the joy born of My Most Great Name, a Name that bringeth rapture to the heart, and filleth with ecstasy the minds of all who have drawn nigh unto God. We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings to self and passion. Truly, We are loath to see you numbered with the foolish. —Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, ¶51 THE POWER OF MUSIC TO TRANSFORM HEARTS Music has the power to evoke many different kinds of reactions in us. Some kinds of music can be energizing and inspiring. Depending on our preferences, music of all kinds can bring joy to our hearts. But music can serve other, less noble, purposes as well. Martial music can spur soldiers on to battle; patriotic hymns can evoke feelings of extreme nationalistic superiority and even hatred of other nationalities and groups; and certain forms of music can be employed unabashedly to induce us to succumb to the temptations of our lower nature. It is partly because of these more pernicious effects of music that some cultures, and particularly some religious traditions, have frowned on or outlawed some or even all types of music. 15
PA RT 1 : M U S I C A N D T H E A RT S
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, has given us a clear message with regard to the place of music in the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. He declared that in previous Dispensations music was censored, whereas in Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation music is extolled: “O bird that singeth sweetly of the Abhá Beauty! In this new and wondrous dispensation the veils of superstition have been torn asunder and the prejudices of eastern peoples stand condemned. Among certain nations of the East, music was considered reprehensible, but in this new age the Manifest Light hath, in His holy Tablets, specifically proclaimed that music, sung or played, is spiritual food for soul and heart.”1 This, then, is the true power of music in Bahá’u’lláh’s Dispensation—the power to nourish our souls and hearts, to help us rise to new levels of spiritual consciousness. We should strive to create and share the kinds of music that have this spiritually enriching effect on us. Indeed, “spiritual food for soul and heart” is an apt description of music’s effects on anyone who is musically sensitive, whether or not she sings or plays an instrument. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá goes on to say, “The musician’s art is among those arts worthy of the highest praise, and it moveth the hearts of all who grieve. Wherefore . . . play and sing out the holy words of God with wondrous tones in the gatherings of the friends, that the listener may be freed from chains of care and sorrow, and his soul may leap for joy and humble itself in prayer to the realm of Glory.” Thus, Bahá’í musicians are encouraged to bring the Creative Word of God into their art. However, there is not only spiritual power in the effect that music, and particularly music that incorporates holy verses, has on its listeners. There is also power in the very act of creating soulful music. And this act requires intense love and dedication on the part of the musician. This is another element of the power of music emphasized in the Bahá’í writings.2 Outstanding musicians who create inspiring music spend many hours a day for years perfecting their art, and must continue to prac16
1 / MUSIC
tice constantly even once they are “masters.” In addition to the physical training required, the personal and emotional commitment is just as important. This commitment, and a dedication to creating and sharing soulinspiring music, is evident in the lives of many Bahá’í composers and musicians. I have had the opportunity to interview a number of these musicians and discuss with them the role of music in their lives and in building a global civilization, and I will share some of their insights here and in the following chapters. THE POWER OF MUSIC TO ATTRACT HEARTS TO BAHÁ’U’LLÁH: THE MUSIC AND INSIGHTS OF JACK LENZ AND SEALS AND CROFTS The Canadian musician / composer / producer Jack Lenz is a gentle, soft-spoken, and eloquent man. He told me that, while he was in college in Canada, majoring in music and art and not yet a Bahá’í, a Bahá’í professor of his gave him a book on the Báb. The professor also invited him to come the following weekend (which he did), play some original music to inspire people, and then give a talk about the Báb. The professor told Jack that when a musician comes to play at meetings, he or she has to play music that inspires people. Furthermore, Jack’s professor taught him that music is for service, for inspiring the hearts and minds, for leadership, and for bringing about social change, and that music—and art in general—is an instrument of transformation. These experiences helped Jack become enamored with Bahá’u’lláh, and he has been serving the Faith through music for decades, including acting as musical director for the famed musical duo, Seals and Crofts. Jack has also composed many songs inspired by the teachings, including “My Heart Soars,” “Jubilation,” and “Song of the Prophets,” which are featured, with many talented performers, on the album Encore: Favourite Music of Jack Lenz. Jack’s personal and professional choices with his music are an illustration of the following words from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “I rejoice to hear 17
PA RT 1 : M U S I C A N D T H E A RT S
that thou takest pains with thine art, for in this wonderful new age, art is worship. The more thou strivest to perfect it, the closer wilt thou come to God. What bestowal could be greater than this, that one’s art should be even as the act of worshipping the Lord?”3 THE POWER OF MUSIC TO BRING JOY: THE MUSIC AND INSIGHTS OF ERIC DOZIER The American gospel and blues musician and composer, Eric Dozier, is another impressive example of a Bahá’í who has worked diligently to bring inspiring music to others. Eric is a slender African-American man with incredible musical capacity as a composer and interpreter, and he has demonstrated energetic leadership as a choral conductor. Eric travels around the country, and the world, teaching songs to participants in various Bahá’í schools and conferences and bringing them the joy of music. Many leave inspired to make spiritually inspired vocal music a centerpiece of their own community life. I first heard Eric’s music at the Kingdom Conference held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2001. I was uplifted by the joyous gospel qualities of his compositions, and I fell in love with his song, “We are Building the Kingdom of God.” Many years later, Eric was a visiting performer at Great Plains Bahá’í School in Nebraska, where I live. He assembled an impromptu choir and expertly taught all of us intricate harmonies, while we sang in praise of God and Bahá’u’lláh. Our entire family was able to participate, and as a result of these inspiring experiences, we now regularly sing Eric’s songs in many of our devotional gatherings and Feasts. On his Web site, Eric says about himself: “I am a cultural activist, singer / songwriter, and educator leveraging the power of music to promote healing, justice and racial reconciliation.”4 Eric told me he believes that substantial confirmations have indicated to him that there is a place for Bahá’í artists in the community, but that they need to take their best and give it to Bahá’u’lláh. He 18