“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
PSALM 34:15-22
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify your holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
Inness was commissioned in 1855 by the president of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad to paint the site of the railroad’s first roundhouse in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The result was The Lackawanna Valley. Art historians have noticed the train and the field of tree stumps in the middle of the painting. They think that Inness was unhappy about the effect of industrialization on the landscapes that he loved. 1
George Inness (1825-1894) was a prolific American landscape artist, producing over 1,150 paintings, watercolors, and sketches. He was a part of a group of artists in the Hudson River School who strove to represent nature as faithfully as possible. Inness believed that there was a relationship between the natural and spiritual worlds. His philosophical and spiritual ideas inspired his work.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: I. “Allegro maestoso” by Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart
Mozart was riding the crest of his popularity as a composer and pianist in Vienna when he premiered his Piano Concerto, Number 21 on March 9, 1785 at the Burg Theater, in one of his subscription concerts. That evening was a well-attended leading musical and social event, with a new concerto from the composer. The critic, Niemetschek, reported that his playing “captivated every listener and established Mozart as the greatest keyboard player of his day.” Leopold Mozart, who was visiting his son at this time, noted that the work was “astonishingly difficult.” This happy visit would be the last time that the father and son would see each other. At this time, Mozart was highly energized—he had completed K. 467 only one month after Piano Concerto Number 20 and within the upcoming 21 months would produce four more.
3
Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart (1756-1791) was one of the most influential, popular and prolific composers of the classical period. He composed over 600 works, including some of the most famous and loved pieces of symphonic, chamber, operatic, and choral music. Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, the young Mozart showed all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of 5 he could read and write music, and he would entertain people with his talents on the keyboard. By the age of 6 he was writing his first compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a rare musical genius, though Mozart said that he was diligent in studying other great composers such as Haydn and Bach.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Mozart: Symphony No 21.” Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 1 Feb. 2021, http://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/mozart-symphony-no-21/. ↩︎
- Opera Philadelphia. “Composer – Mozart Biography.” Opera Philadelphia, http://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/on-stage-2016-2017/figaro/composer/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 