Many people don’t know Anton Bruckner’s symphonies, and those who do often don’t know the 6th. But it is one of my favorites — and this particular passage struck me as something that I didn’t want to keep to myself today. I have carved out 2 1/2 minutes for you to listen to. Even if you normally skip my music posts, give this short clip a shot. This is the second theme from the second movement, an Adagio.

It hurts to cut it off. Even more beautiful music lies just around the corner, mere seconds after the end of that short clip. But I wanted to keep the excerpt short, so more people would give it a chance. If you’re intrigued, you can pull the video progress bar back to the beginning and listen to the whole symphony — all 58 minutes of it.

The Karajan recording is my favorite version, and I’m very pleased to see it freely accessible on YouTube.

Bruckner is one of my very favorite composers. I used to check out his symphonies on vinyl from the Fort Worth Public Library as a child. I had a particular fondness for the Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra version of the Ninth. (But there I go repeating myself, I realize; I already told you this in 2009. When an old blogger starts repeating his stories, just nod politely and smile.)

If I introduce just one person to Bruckner, that’s — well, that’s not enough. But it would still improve the world a little bit. And that’s the best that we can try to do, on any given day.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

It is Easter! The title of today’s cantata is “Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret” (Heaven laughs! Earth exults).

Today’s Gospel reading is Mark 16:1-8:

Jesus Has Risen

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

The text of today’s cantata is available here. The opening chorus is translated as follows:

Heaven laughs! Earth exults
and all she bears in her lap;
the Creator lives! The Highest triumphs
and is freed from the bonds of death.
He who has selected the grave for rest,
the Holy One, can not be corrupted.

Happy listening!

[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]