Did you know…?

Did you know that the Vice President of the United States gets his own personal anthem just as the POTUS does with “Hail to the Chief?” Did you know that it’s called “Hail, Columbia,” and that its music was written by Philip Phile and its lyrics by Joseph Hopkinson, son of signer of the Declaration of Independence Francis Hopkinson? In fact, “Hail, Columbia” used to be known as “The President’s March.” It was written for the inauguration of George Washington in 1789 and was one of the unofficial national anthems of the U.S. until “The Star-Spangled Banner” became the official National Anthem in 1931 and supplanted its place of prominence.  As the cool, sassy kids say, “If you didn’t know; now you know.”

I find that as the pandemic is wearing into its one year anniversary, my thirst for looking backward and exploring the rich, often un-popularized world of musical genres that I adore, but have rarely had time for in our busy existence, has taken an increasing place of prominence in my daily routine. It started with watching the nightly live-streamed operas that have been a staple of the pandemic courtesy of the New York Metropolitan Opera. I’ve always been fascinated by opera but never had the time or resources to become a regular in-person patron. Now I’ve seen many of the greatest operas of all time, free while sitting on my couch. More recently, with the New Year, I embarked on a resolution to listen to one new piece of classical music each day. With a ten minute time limit self-imposed, I’ve heard magnificent shorter works: waltzes, overtures, preludes and the like that I’ve never heard before. As a family project, Nancy and I have instituted Sleepy-time with Sousa where, each night before bed, we listen to one new Sousa march with John Adams while he infectiously bounces along. We’ve done about thirty-five so far, and his favorite is The Liberty Bell. Lastly, I’ve personally taken to listening to one Broadway recording each week, often focusing on shows that, again, I’ve never taken the time to listen to. (Yes, they do exist!)

It’s easy to become complacent and fall back on the music that we know, the music that gets airplay, and the music that others tell us we should know. It takes passion, effort, and commitment to start seeking out the unfamiliar and unpopular to do a personal assessment, but if I can do it, you can do it. My world is all the richer as I start 2021 thanks to Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights and Sousa’s The Transit of Venus March. You never know what new worlds music will open up until you just start listening.

Of sound mind,

Jason

The Beanie and I posing on a hike.

NOTE: This post was previously published in my church’s Feb. 2021 newsletter. I have adapted, edited, and updated here for my blog.