LA PASSACAGLIA DELLA VITA (The Passacaglia of Life) Songs and Spells of Time and Men
An anonymous Italian composer from the early 17th century, citing two biblical verses from the Book of Job (Job.14:1-14:2), entitled one of his works “Homo natus de muliere brevi vivens tempore repletus multis miseriis / quasi flos egreditur et conteritur et fugit velut umbra et numquam in eodem statu permanet...”. The abbreviated title is “Homo fugit velut umbra”, subtitled “Passacalli della Vita.” La Passacaglia della Vita is the title of our concert. This genre, dating from the 16th century, is a fascinating one. Simple and direct, the passacaglia strikes at the heart of the listener with its repetitive and precise melody, like the mechanism of a clock. The texts are a simple memento mori, presented with grace, a danse macabre entirely without darkness, inviting us to reflect deeply upon our existence. For in our daily dance of life, at a certain point we must yield to the lure of a pause of reflection, when we stop to ask ourselves if that which we are is that which we would have wished to be. It is in this moment, when we stop to think, that a new vital impulse often arises. Going from movement to stillness and then again to movement, we realize that we have a past, and while we are not certain of having a future, we truly live in the present. Life is a dance to which we are all invited, with neither masks nor costumes. And as long as it lasts, for this moment of eternity, we might as well dance it well. Music accompanies our existence. It is a universal language that is uninterrupted and changes depending on moods, places, cultures and time. Art in all its forms is part of humanity and accompanies its history, often becoming its symbol. We all go in a single direction, the rhythm of our hearts marks the steps, our bodies carry us along. It is said that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Maybe, but maybe not. We don’t know. And so it would be nice if everything ended with this phrase that a dying man said as he was closing his eyes for the last time while clutching a friendly hand: “Say hello to everyone, my dear grandson: it’s been wonderful...”
