Christmas continues to approach, and what better way to celebrate than with some Christmas music? But not just any Christmas music…behold, the classical composer Alfred Schnittke’s rendition of “Silent Night” for violin and piano:
What starts out as a relatively simple, beautiful version of the carol starts to become unhinged towards the end of the first verse and retains creepy undertones for the rest of the piece. To me, this is a powerful reminder that even though the lyrics of “Silent Night” comfort us with words of peace and tenderness and even though yes, Jesus did bring peace to all of us who need it so desperately, this tender baby would also go on to live an unbelievably difficult life. Facing rejection after rejection in the world that He created, He would die one of the most painful deaths humanity has had the audacity to engineer–and all so that we could be at peace with Him and live with true purpose.
I am thankful for this reminder in Schnittke’s music, especially at this time of year. Thank God for Christmas and merry Christmas to you all!!
