If you are looking to get into the holiday mood, the Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach will lift your spirits. They also have an interesting story which makes them even dearer to us at Christmas time. Bach gave these six Brandenburg Concertos to the Margrave (a military governor) of
Brandenburg. To the Margrave Bach writes:
As I had the good fortune a few years ago to be heard by Your Royal Highness, at Your Highness’s commands, and as I noticed then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the little talents which Heaven has given me for Music…I have in accordance with Your Highness’s most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness with the present Concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments.
J.S. Bach gave credit to God for his talents, was respectful to those in authority, and was humble about his work. This reminds us to also give God the glory for the talents that He has bestowed upon us, to be respectful to the God-given authorities in our lives, and to do all things with a humble spirit. Bach never received pay or even thanks for that great gift of six concertos which took him years to write and is arguably his best compositions. Yet, nearly 300 years later, this music affects people today. This also reminds me that nearly 2,000 years ago God gave a gift that surpasses anything in history. Yet, countless many are thankless to the beauty of God’s gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Certainly we can never work to pay God back for this gift, but we can give Him thanks this Christmas!
This weekend I have the privelege of performing the fourth of J.S. Bach’s Concertos, written for two flutes, solo violin, and string orchestra and harpsichord. You can view our program at www.novavista.org.
If you don’t have this delightful concerto in your audio collection it is easy to download a splendid performance of this entire three movement concerto from iTunes for $2.97!
Brandenburg concerto. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Dec. 2006, 11:58 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Dec. 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?=Brandenburg concertos&oldid=92440193.
OK, this weekend, Jamie is the solo flutist for the symphony and my husband is running a marathon. I’ll be lucky to get my sweet potato souffle to the Christmas party on time. Anyone else feeling like a useless member of society?
Just kidding, of course. Hey, Kristi, congratulations on the new baby!
Dana, soloing in an orchestra or running a marathon is a way more predictable task than making a dish in the kitchen…especially with toddlers around!
For example, last night after rehearsal, my 2-yr. old Matthew wanted to help me make a loaf of blueberry bread. I was in such a rush to get it in the oven before he stirred the batter to death that I forgot the vanilla extract. When I looked at it last before putting it in in the oven I have to admit it looked like cement mix from the smashed blueberries dying the batter grey. “Oh well”, I thought. “Good thing I don’t have to bring something to a Christmas party tomorrow like Dana!” 
Yes, toddlers do tend to complicate otherwise simple tasks. For the record, Sam finished his marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes, but the souffle did not make it to the Christmas party! Oh, well, there’s always next year….
Incompetence: When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there’s no end to what you can’t do.