“A High View of Man: In the heart of classical education beats the conviction that the human being is a creature of timeless significance. The Christian goes so far as to see him as the Image of God, the lord-steward of the creation on whose virtue the well-being of the earth and its inhabitants depends, and as a priest, offering the creation to God for the sake of its flourishing and his own blessedness. The purpose of classical education, therefore, is to cultivate human excellence or virtue. Yet this high view of man is no self-indulgent fantasy, for it carries with it the duty to strive for nobility that the classical educator perceives in every person. Human flourishing depends, not on one’s material well-being or adjustment to society, but on one’s relation to the true, the good, and the beautiful.”
― CIRCE Institute
PSALM 139:13-18
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
ST. FRANCIS’S PRAYER OF DESIRE
Therefore, let us desire nothing else, let us want nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight except you our Creator, Redeemer and Savior, the only true God, Who is the fullness of good, all good, every good, the true and
supreme good, Who alone is good, merciful, gentle, delightful, and sweet, Who alone is holy, just, true, holy, and upright, Who alone is kind, innocent, clean, from Whom, through Whom and in Whom is all pardon, all grace, all glory of all penitents and just ones, of all the blessed rejoicing together in heaven. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
Watteau completed several paintings about the Cythera, a Greek island known as the birthplace of Venus, the goddess of love. In this painting, it is unclear whether the couples are departing or returning from Cythera. Either way, the theme of courtship and romance is prevalent. 1
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) is best known for his “fetes-galantes,” or idealized scenes, depicting elaborately costumed ladies and gentlemen at play in fanciful outdoor settings. Born in Valenciennes, France, Watteau traveled to Paris to pursue a career in art and studied with Claude Gillot, who passed on to Watteau a love of Italian theater. In many of his paintings, one can see Watteau’s interest in theater and ballet. The departure for Cythera recuts in different ballets and operas of Watteau’s time. 2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
“Boléro” by Maurice Ravel
Boléro, one-movement orchestral work composed by Maurice Ravel and known for beginning softly and ending, according to the composer’s instructions, as loudly as possible. Commissioned by the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, Boléro was first performed at the Paris Opéra on November 22, 1928, with a dance choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska. The work has been featured in many films since its creation, but it was an integral part of the plot in Blake Edwards’s film 10 (1979), starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.
3
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was one of the most sophisticated musicians of the early 20th century. Showing great musical promise as a child, he began his piano studies at the Paris Conservatoire when he was just 14 years old. Ravel remained a Conservatoire student off and on for 14 years, adding composition classes with the renowned Gabriel Fauré.
Ravel enthusiastically sought out experiences with a wide range of music, attending performances, for example, at the 1889 Paris Exhibition, where he heard a Javanese gamelan, Russian music by Rimsky-Korsakov, and more. He also joined Les Apaches, a group of literary, musical, and artistic contemporaries which openly shared and discussed a range of cultural topics and trends.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Boléro.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 Oct. 2024, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Bolero-by-Ravel. ↩︎
- “Who Was Maurice Ravel? A Brief Introduction.” Who Was Maurice Ravel? A Brief Introduction – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, http://www.chambermusicsociety.org/news/who-was-maurice-ravel-a-brief-introduction/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 