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Eyes on the Prize // Ian Blair

 The changing of times is never easy for those who have gone through life immersed in a culture that carried a certain set of virtues and values. The age-old debate of tradition versus change sparks conflict and disagreement between nations and across generations, and all seemingly without a clear answer as to which side is correct in the matter. This clash is further highlighted by late-sixteenth-century English music, specifically dealing with its composers, as Italian Madrigals began to take the scene by storm after the first translated works were published in 1588. The vast majority of Englishmen and women were fascinated by the Italian works, with musicians/composers such as Thomas Watson and Thomas Morley being some of the first to introduce the genre to England. An interesting aspect to note about the English madrigals that would follow this craze is that love is still the topic of choice, despite English composers/translators watering down the more obvious innuendos and references to passionate embrace. Many English madrigals regarded the monarch, Queen Elizabeth, as the object of praise, and seem styled very similarly to courtly love. It is very likely that the legacy of the troubadours and their poetry of love continued as the basis of madrigals going forward through the renaissance, and slowly found a niche in modern music. 

            Something I can’t help but notice, though, is that the object of the writers’ love, whether in madrigals, or cantos, or what have you, is typically someone else, perhaps even an abstract idea such as honor or something material like wealth. Maybe if we created a culture that sang about God and all of his majesty, we might be in a better spot morally. It’s almost comical how some sections of the global populace have been making the same mistake for over 400 years: idolizing the creations instead of the creator… But that’s just my takeaway on things for now, I’ll leave Saint Augustine’s thoughts on the matter here to…how do I say this? Complete the poem...connect the dots…you get what I mean: 

“But my sin was this, that I looked for pleasure, beauty, and truth not in him but in myself and his other creatures, and the search led me instead to pain, confusion, and error.” (Augustine I, 40).


I commented on Clabo's and Braylan's posts.

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