I LOVED that bass!

“Thanks for the lovely rendition of Happy Birthday. I LOVED that bass!”

This is a kind, thoughtful, and much-appreciated reply to an electronic birthday card recently sent.

Right. Sometimes I’m just quirky - at best.  Brain activity now decrees that this one simple sentence provides a launching pad for yet another rambling discourse.  And what exactly will this monologue be about?

Well, Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D major".  Naturally!

I use a traditional strings version of this baroque masterpiece as my alarm clock. For the past week, like many of you, I have been starting each morning without rushing to the office.  Because I can now sign-in from home, I’ve allowed myself time to listen to the entire instrumental before beginning my day.

For peaceful awakenings, I give You thanks.



But then I received this thank-you message.  I was forced to notice the influence of a cello when listening to my wake-up call.

We get caught up in melody sometimes.  We love the range.  We embrace the lively excitement, tempo, and the dance of the treble clef. We revel in this stimulation.

But then there’s that bass clef.  When singing (in the shower of course) my ‘voice’ is found here. You might concentrate more on the melody but occasionally, the bass is revealed when crescendo is written into the score.  It then becomes a little more obvious.  But honestly, it is usually ‘hidden’ underneath all the excitement.

Please note the sheet-music for a side-by-side comparison including both the violin and bass for this composition. On the left side, you’ll see First Violin.  You don’t have to read music to see this is a difficult, fast-moving and lively piece.

On the right side, you’ll see the arrangement for the cello.  Comparing the two, you might consider the right side as lumbering and even a bit boring.  The notes rarely change.  Over and over, the same sleepy and monotonous sequence is played. One could almost feel sorry for the person playing the cello. But as a momentary defensive statement, it IS the bass that opens Canon in D!

So here’s the thing.  I'd like to change the wording a little as a way to change the attitude.  Let’s replace the words boring, sleepy, and monotonous with words like steadfast, faithful, dependable, trustworthy, and rock-like.

Canon in D Major is played frequently at weddings. I’ve read several explanations as to why this is true, but I have one of my own.  I think this piece could represent our stories as we travel from birth to death.  Sometimes the journey is fast, furious, and exciting. We delight in our treble clef. At other moments we spend time in the boredom, the monotony, or the sleepy bass clef knowing full well we need the steadfast rock of another.

This successful merging of treble and bass clefs indicates that cooperative and complementary segments of life are necessary and beautiful.

We love celebrating together, but when the mood is somber and disheartening, someone needs to be a steady, rock-like presence for the other.  This defines the true harmony of partnership not just in marriage but relationships of all types.

I think this canon could, in some way, preach to all that we are continually being called to be this rock for others. We are consistently being confronted with the idea that at particularly significant moments, we are to play the cello and not the violin.

Many have quickstepped with you in healthy, happy times.  But bring to mind those who have held you in slow-dance consolation as sickness, disappointment, and what-happens-now were your only thoughts.

All of us at one time or another will qualify for this need.
All of us, at one time or another, are called fulfill this need.
Perhaps today, these statements have never hit closer to home.

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  Psalms 18:2



And now, just for fun, I’ve chosen two versions of Canon in D Major.  Both videos are performed in wedding scenes.

Click here for a very traditional Quartet - 3.violins and the cello. 

But this one is just fun as a group of "Four" cellos presents Rockelbel's Canon.  

I am reminded that even the dependable rock of a cello can sometimes dream of transforming boredom into fanciful delight,

Let's be the rock for others.

Let's dream of fanciful delight.

I LOVED that bass!