Sincerity is the emotional component of honesty – the desire to be honest. Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite. [attributed to Charles Spurgeon] . . . for a creative writer possession of the “truth” is less important than emotional sincerity. [George Orwell] I suppose my best attribute, if you want…
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Value for Friday of Week 38 in the season of Fulfillment
Living in Harmony
Agreement, in fact and in spirit, is the essence of harmony.
- Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. [attributed to Sallust]
- But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? [Albert Camus]
- The purpose of life is to obey the hidden command which ensures harmony among all and creates an ever better world. [Maria Montessori]
When passion and regard are present, and solicitude is practiced, harmony should follow. If intimacy is also present, harmony will be all the easier to attain.
Real
True Narratives
From the dark side:
- Charlie Louvin with Benjamin Whitmer, Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers (HarperCollins Publishers, 2012): “The tempestuous story of an inspirational gospel and country duo.” They sang in harmony but did not live that way.
Technical and Analytical Readings
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Novels:
- Mary Anne Shaffer & Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel (The Dial Press, 2008): “Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.”
From the dark side:
- Andrea Lee, Red Island House: A Novel (Scribner, 2021): a husband and wife struggle to mesh with each other while on a vacation.
- Nancy Johnson, The Kindest Lie: A Novel (Morrow, 2021): the husband wants a child but the wife, who had given up a previous child to adoption, does not.
Poetry
From the dark side:
- Edgar Lee Masters, “Amanda Barker”
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Many singing groups emphasize tight and distinctive harmonies. They include:
- Afrika Mamas is a female a capella singing group from South Africa, known for its tight harmonies and uplifting songs. Here is a link to its playlists.
- The Bulgarian Voices – Angelite sings music from Bulgaria and the Balkans. Here is a link to its playlists.
- Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria is a female vocal group that displays the distinctive vocal harmonies of Bulgaria. Here is a link to its playlists.
- The Louvin Brothers was a country music duo from Alabama. Their harmonies were distinctive. Here is a link to their playlists.
- The Wailin’ Jennys is a Canadian folk trio known for its poignant harmonic singing. Here is a link to its playlists.
- The Shanghai Restoration Project, from China, blends Chinese and Western elements. Here is a link to its playlists.
- Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African group that emphasizes harmonies in gospel music. Here is a link to its playlists.
- Los Chalcheros was an Argentinian folk music group that emphasized harmonic lines. Here is a link to its playlists.
- Kjarkas is a Bolivian vocal group. Here is a link to its releases.
- Grupo Vocal Desandann is a Cuban vocal group that specialized in close harmonies, and in blending Haitian and Cuban cultures. Here is a link to its playlists.
- The Joy, “Amaqatha Amancane” (2024).
Sparsely used in composition, the string trio consists of three distinctive voices of the string family: violin, viola and cello. In string trios from the Classical and Romantic eras, this combination suggests the intimacy of a tight-knit family or circle of the closest friends.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), string trios (here is a link to a top performance of all five trios):
- String Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 3 (1794) (approx. 39-41’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio No. 2 in D Major, Op. 8, “Serenade” (1797) (approx. 25-29’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio No. 3 in G Major, Op. 9/1 (1798) (approx. 20’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio No. 4 in D Major, Op. 9/2 (1798) (approx. 23-24’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio No. 5 in C minor, Op. 9/3 (1798) (approx. 25’) (list of recorded performances)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828):
- String Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 471 (1816) (approx. 11-13’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio No. 2 in B-flat Major, D. 581 (1817) (approx. 21-22’) (list of recorded performances)
Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) (here is a link to a top performance of all three trios):
- String Trio in D Major (1880) (approx. 27’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio in B minor (1913) (approx. 18’) (list of recorded performances)
- String Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 31 (1911) (approx. 26-28’) (list of recorded performances)
Eduard Franck’s tightly constructed piano trios illustrate that harmony is not merely tonal.
- Piano Trio No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1848) (approx. 40’)
- Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 22 (1860) (approx. )
- Piano Trio No. 3 in D Major, Op. 53 (approx. 26’)
- Piano Trio No. 4 in D Major, Op. 58 (1898) (approx. 37’)
Other compositions:
- Allan Pettersson, Symphony No. 9 (1970) (approx. 70-85’) (list of recorded performances): “Like many of Pettersson’s symphonies, his Ninth can be described as an extended struggle in which harmony is the ultimate winner.”
- Alexander Zemlinsky, Das gläserne Herz, Ein Tanzpoem, a Dance Poem in one act for orchestra (1900, rev. 1904) (approx. 36’): At the ballet’s end, Hope “returns with the Hours bearing in a dove that dies, but rises again into a starry sky.”
- Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Songs for mixed a capella choir (approx. 73’)
- Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Capricci Armonici (Harmonic Capriccios) (1678) (approx. 79’) (list of recorded performances)
- Orazio Benevoli, Missa, “In anguistia pestilientia” (1656) (approx. 32’); see also this album.
- Unico Willem van Wassenaer, VI Concerti Armonici (1740) (approx. 57’)
- Steve Reich, Six Marimbas (1986) (approx. 19’) (recordings) is about the shimmering, organic halo created by the wood-on-wood strike of the marimba. Per Reich, a “process of rhythmic construction followed by doubling the resulting patterns is then continued in the three sections of the piece that are marked off by changes of mode and gradually higher position on the marimba . . ”
In music, harmony is not limited to melodic harmony. It is about playing together, in unity and cohesion. Examples of this include the following albums and tracks:
- Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprasad Chaurasia, “Harmony” (33’), from “The Valley Recalls” album
- On his “Where Do You Start” album (2012) (78’), pianist Brad Mehldau teams with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums) to offer jazz tunes in a free-and-easy, straight-ahead jazz style. Throughout the album the three voices interplay tenderly with each other, each player keenly mindful, even solicitous of the others.
- Steven Halpern, “Perfect Alignment” (2002) (74’)
- Mike McGinnis, Elias Bailey & Vinnie Sperrazza, “Time Is Thicker” album (2020) (43’): these artists play like old friends
- Elizabeth & Raymond Chenault, “Organ Music for Two”: Volume 1 (2013) (69’); Volume 2 (2010) (73'); Volume 3; Volume 4 (2014) (65’); Volume 5 (2021) (67’).
- Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller, “In Harmony” (2021) (103’)
- Northern Resonance, “Vision of Three” (2024) (39’): “Old is new, and new is old; Northern Resonance combines the two on Vision of Three, touching on sounds rarely heard, contextualizing them with instruments made new in the remarkable hands of these musicians.”
From the dark side:
- Kalevi Aho, Symphony No. 5 (1976) (approx. 24-30’) sounds like harmony being challenged by competing forces. “There is no resolution; how could there be one which would not sound either lame or manufactured? Instead there is a sense of resolve, of looking forward to the future without facile hope or artificial elation; the composer’s note says that he was left with 'the liberating feeling that everything was now possible.'” Excellent performances are conducted by Slobodeniouk, Pommer and unknown.
- Matthew Shipp Trio, “Harmonic Disorder” (2009) (55’)
Music: songs and other short pieces
- The Black Eyed Peas, “Where Is the Love?” (lyrics)
- Nawang Khechog, “Harmony in Balance”
- Theobald Böhm, “Duettino in D Major” (No. 66)
Visual Arts
- Salvador Dali, The Harmony of the Spheres (1978)
- Paul Delvaux, Harmony (1927)
- Wassily Kandinsky, Harmonie Tranquille (Quiet Harmony) (1924)
- Mikhail Nesterov, Harmony Concord (1905)
Film and Stage
Films about disharmony:
- Othello, Shakespeare’s tale about jealousy
- Fatal Attraction, illustrating the difference between love and passion
- Prizzi’s Honor: does he love her or “off” her?
