The mystery of music
Was du geschlagen, Zu Gott wird es dich tragen! I was moved a few months ago by the story of Erik Varden's conversion in his book " La explosión de la soledad " [The Explosion of Solitude] (Monte Carmelo, Fonte, Burgos, 2021). by Jaime Nubiola What brought him closer to God was the burst of beauty and truth he perceived in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 . Varden explains: "Hearing these words " Have faith: You were not born in vain / You have not suffered in vain ", something burst forth. The pounding insistence, 'not in vain, not in vain,' was irresistible. It wasn't just that I wanted to believe it. I knew it was true. It sounds trite, but at that moment, my consciousness shifted. With a certainty born neither of startled emotion nor cold analysis, I knew I carried something inside me that reached beyond my limits. I was aware of not being alone. There was no special enthusiasm or ecstatic inner movement. There were no tears. But I could no more