James Tissot, The Beatitudes Sermon, Brooklyn Museum, c. 1890

In Christianity, the Beatitudes (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: Beatitudines) are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful.^[1][2][3]

The teachings are expressed as eight blessings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Four similar blessings appear in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke and are followed by four woes that mirror the blessings.^[4]

Each Beatitude consists of two phrases: the condition and the result. In almost all cases the phrases used are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus elevates them to new teachings.^[5]

Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of Christian ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction. They echo the highest ideals of the teachings of Jesus on mercy; spirituality and compassion.^[4][5]

Biblical basis[link]

While opinions may vary as to exactly how many distinct statements the Beatitudes should be divided into (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars consider them to be only eight.^[2][3] These eight of Matthew follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally thought to be unfortunate and pronounces them blessed.^[4]

Matthew[link]

Plaque of the Eight Beatitudes, St. Cajetan Church, Lindavista, Mexico

The eight beatitudes in Matthew 5:3–12 during the Sermon on the Mount are stated as Blessed are:^[2][3]

• the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:3)
• they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (5:4)
• the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (5:5)
• they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (5:6)
• the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (5:7)
• the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (5:8)
• the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (5:9)
• they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

In Matthew, these are followed by what is often viewed as a commentary ("when men shall revile you"), which R. T. France considers based on Isaiah 51:7.^[6]

The beatitudes present only in Matthew are the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, and the peacemakers.^[5] The other four have similar entries in Luke, but are followed almost immediately by "four woes".

Luke[link]

The four beatitudes in Luke 6:20–22 during the Sermon on the Plain are stated as Blessed are you:^[2][3]

• the poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
• that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
• that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
• when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

The four woes that follow these in Luke 6:24–26 are as stated as Woe unto you:^[2]

• that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
• that are full now! for ye shall hunger.
• that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
• when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.

These woes are distinct from the Seven Woes of the Pharisees that appear later in Luke 11:37–54.

Analysis and interpretation[link]

Church of the Beatitudes, the traditional location for the Sermon on the Mount

Each Beatitude consists of two phrases: the condition and the result. In almost all cases the phrases used are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus elevates them to new teachings.^[5]

Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction; they echo the highest ideals of his teachings on spirituality and compassion.^[5]

The term the meek would be familiar in the Old Testament, e.g. as in in Psalms 37:11.^[7] Although the beatitude concerning the meek has been much praised even by some non-Christians such as Mahatma Gandhi, some view the admonition to meekness skeptically, e.g. Friedrich Nietzsche saw the verse as embodying what he perceived as a slave morality.^[8]

In Christian teachings, the Works of Mercy, which have corporal and spiritual components, have resonated with the theme of the Beatitude for mercy.^[9] These teachings emphasize that these acts of mercy provide both temporal and spiritual benefits.^[3][4] The theme of mercy has continued in devotions such as the Divine Mercy in the 20th century.^[10]

The peacemakers have been traditionally interpreted, not only live in peace with others but do their best to promote friendship among mankind and between God and man. St. Gregory of Nyssa interpreted it as "Godly work", which was an imitation of God's love of man.^[3][9]

Book of Mormon[link]

The Book of Mormon includes somewhat similar statements to Matthew 6, about teachings to the people of Nephi:^[11][12]

• Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit 'who come unto me,' for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (3 Nephi 12:3).^[13]
• And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled 'with the Holy Ghost' (3 Nephi 12:6).^[13]

See also[link]

• Community of the Beatitudes
• Divine Mercy
• Mercy
• Mount of Beatitudes
• Sermon on the Mount
• Sermon on the Plain

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kissinger, Warren S. The Sermon on the Mount: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1975.
• Twomey, M.W. "The Beatitudes". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. David Lyle Jeffrey, general editor. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.
• Easwaran Eknath. Original Goodness (on Beatitudes). Nilgiri Press, 1989. ISBN 0-915132-91-5.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beatitudes

• Catholic Encyclopedia: The Eight Beatitudes (New Advent).
• The Beatitudes Society

This article may contain improper references to self-published sources. Please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources, where they are used inappropriately. (September 2011)

Dallas Willard giving a Ministry in Contemporary Culture Seminar at the George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon in 2008

Dallas Albert Willard (born September 4, 1935) is an American philosopher also known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation. His work in philosophy has been primarily in phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund Husserl. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at The University of Southern California.^[1]

Education[link]

Willard attended William Jewell College, and later graduated from Tennessee Temple College in 1956 with a B.A. in Psychology, and from Baylor University in 1957 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion. He went to graduate school at Baylor University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy with a minor in the History of Science in 1964.^[2]

Academic career[link]

Willard taught at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1960–1965. Since then he has taught at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he served as Director of the School of Philosophy from 1982–1985. He has also held visiting appointments at UCLA (1969) and the University of Colorado (1984).^[3]

His publications in philosophy are concerned primarily with epistemology, the philosophy of mind and of logic, and with the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. He has translated many of Husserl's early writings from German into English.

Other work[link]

In addition to teaching and writing about philosophy, Willard gives lectures and writes books about Christianity and Christian living. His book The Divine Conspiracy was Christianity Today’s Book of the Year for 1999.^[4] Another of his books, Renovation of the Heart, won Christianity Today’s 2003 Book Award for books on Spirituality and The Association of Logos Bookstores' 2003 Book Award for books on Christian Living.^[5]

Willard believes passivity to be a widespread problem in the Church (loosely summed up in his phrase "Grace is not opposed to effort {which is action}, but to earning {which is attitude}").^[6][7] He emphasizes the importance of deliberately choosing to be a disciple of Jesus Christ (someone being with Jesus, learning to be like Him).^[8][9][10] An important outgrowth of the choice to be identified as a disciple of Jesus is the desire to learn about activities that aid spiritual transformation into the likeness of Christ.^[11]

In this regard, being an apprentice of Jesus (someone being with Jesus, learning to be like Him), involves learning about activities that might help one grow in the fruit of the spirit, namely love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).^[12][13][14] Such activities might include spiritual exercises practiced throughout the ages such as prayer, fellowship, service, study, simplicity, chastity, solitude, fasting.^[15][16] Willard explains the crucial role of engaging in spiritual exercises in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives-- a book that was written after In Search of Guidance: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God.

Willard has a recommended reading page on his website listing specific titles by Thomas a Kempis, William Law, Frank Laubach, William Wilberforce, Richard Baxter, Charles Finney, Jan Johnson, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jeremy Taylor, Richard Foster, E. Stanley Jones, William Penn, Brother Lawrence, Francis de Sales, and others.^[17]

He has been influenced by many, including Jacques Maritain, Aquinas, Augustine, P.T. Forsyth, John Calvin and John Wesley, William Law, Andrew Murray, Richard Baxter, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Brother Lawrence, and the Rule of St. Benedict.^{[citation needed]}

He has served on the boards of the C.S. Lewis Foundation and of Biola University.^[18]

Selected publications[link]

Translations of Works by Husserl[link]

• Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics (1993). Dordrecht/Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 0-7923-2262-2
• Philosophy of Arithmetic, (2003). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 1-4020-1546-1 (Hardbound), ISBN 1-4020-1603-4 (paperback)

Christian books[link]

• The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (1988). San Francisco: Harper and Row, ISBN 0-06-069442-4
• The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (1998). San Francisco: Harper, ISBN 0-06-069333-9
• Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship With God (1999). InterVarsity Press (USA), ISBN 0-8308-2226-7 (formerly titled In Search of Guidance: Understanding How God Changes Lives ISBN 0-06-069520-X)
• Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (2002). Colorado Springs: NavPress, ISBN 1-57683-296-1
• The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship (2006). San Francisco: Harper, ISBN 0-06-088243-3
• Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge (2009).San Francisco: Harper, ISBN 978-0-06-088244-0
• Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (Forthcoming June 4, 2012) Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, ISBN 978-0-8308-3569-0

See also[link]

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Dallas Willard's website (including many articles online)

Arvo Pärt in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 2008

Arvo Pärt (born 11 September 1935; Estonian pronunciation: [ˈɑrvo ˈpært]) is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music.^[1] Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-invented compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also takes inspiration from Gregorian chant.^[2]

Pärt was born in Paide, Järva County, Estonia. A prolonged struggle with Soviet officials led him to emigrate with his wife and their two sons in 1980. He lived first in Vienna, where he took Austrian citizenship, and then re-located to Berlin. He returned to Estonia around the turn of the 21st century and now lives alternately in Berlin^[3] and in Tallinn.^[4]

Musical development[link]

Familiar works by Pärt are Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell (1977) and the string quintet "Fratres I" (1977, revised 1983), which he transcribed for string orchestra and percussion, the solo violin "Fratres II" and the cello ensemble "Fratres III" (both 1980).

Pärt is often identified with the school of minimalism and, more specifically, that of mystic minimalism or holy minimalism.^[5] He is considered a pioneer of the latter style, along with contemporaries Henryk Górecki and John Tavener.^[6] Although his fame initially rested on instrumental works such as Tabula Rasa and Spiegel im Spiegel, his choral works have also come to be widely appreciated.

Pärt's musical education began at age seven. He began attending music school in Rakvere, where his family lived. By the time he reached his early teen years, Pärt was writing his own compositions. While studying composition with Heino Eller at the Tallinn Conservatory in 1957,^[4] it was said of him that "he just seemed to shake his sleeves and notes would fall out."

In this period of Estonian history, Pärt was unable to encounter many musical influences from outside the Soviet Union except for a few illegal tapes and scores. Although Estonia had been an independent Baltic state at the time of Pärt's birth, the Soviet Union occupied it in 1940 as a result of the Soviet-Nazi Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; and the country would then remain under Soviet domination—except for the three-year period of German wartime occupation—for the next 51 years.

Musical oeuvre[link]

Arvo Pärt in 2011

Pärt's oeuvre is generally divided into two periods. He composed his early works using a range of neo-classical styles influenced by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Bartók. He then began to compose using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique and serialism. This, however, not only earned the ire of the Soviet establishment, but also proved to be a creative dead-end. When early works were banned by Soviet censors, Pärt entered the first of several periods of contemplative silence, during which he studied choral music from the 14th to 16th centuries.^[4] In this context, Pärt's biographer, Paul Hillier, observed that "He had reached a position of complete despair in which the composition of music appeared to be the most futile of gestures, and he lacked the musical faith and will-power to write even a single note."

The spirit of early European polyphony informed the composition of Pärt's transitional Third Symphony (1971); and thereafter, he immersed himself in early music, re-investigating the roots of Western music. He studied plainsong, Gregorian chant, and the emergence of polyphony in the European Renaissance.

The music that began to emerge after this period was radically different. This period of new compositions included Fratres, Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten, and Tabula Rasa.^[4] Pärt describes the music of this period as tintinnabuli—like the ringing of bells. Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) is a well-known example which has been used in many films. The music is characterised by simple harmonies, often single unadorned notes, or triads, which form the basis of Western harmony. These are reminiscent of ringing bells. Tintinnabuli works are rhythmically simple and do not change tempo. Another characteristic of Pärt's later works is that they are frequently settings for sacred texts, although he mostly chooses Latin or the Church Slavonic language used in Orthodox liturgy instead of his native Estonian language. Large-scale works inspired by religious texts include St. John Passion, Te Deum, and Litany. Choral works from this period include Magnificat and The Beatitudes.^[4]

Of his popularity, Steve Reich has written: "Even in Estonia, Arvo was getting the same feeling that we were all getting .... I love his music, and I love the fact that he is such a brave, talented man .... He's completely out of step with the zeitgeist and yet he's enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion."^[7] Pärt's music came to public attention in the West, largely thanks to Manfred Eicher who recorded several of Pärt's compositions for ECM Records starting in 1984.

Invited by Walter Fink, he was the 15th composer featured in the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2005 in four concerts. Chamber music included Für Alina for piano, played by himself, Spiegel im Spiegel and Psalom for string quartet. The chamber orchestra of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra played his Trisagion, Fratres and Cantus along with works of Bach. The Windsbach Boys Choir and soloists Sibylla Rubens, Ingeborg Danz, Markus Schäfer and Klaus Mertens performed Magnificat and Collage über B-A-C-H together with two cantatas of Bach and one of Mendelssohn. The Hilliard Ensemble, organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, the Rostock Motet Choir and the Hilliard instrumental ensemble, conducted by Markus Johannes Langer, performed a program of Pärt's organ music and works for voices (some a cappella), including Pari Intervallo, De profundis and Miserere.

A new composition, Für Lennart, written for the memory of the Estonian President Lennart Meri, was played at his funeral service on 2 April 2006.

In response to the murder of the Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow on 7 October 2006, Pärt declared that all of his works performed in 2006–2007 would be in honour of her death, issuing the following statement: "Anna Politkovskaya staked her entire talent, energy and—in the end—even her life on saving people who had become victims of the abuses prevailing in Russia."^[8]

Pärt was honoured as the featured composer of the 2008 RTÉ Living Music Festival^[9] in Dublin, Ireland. He was also commissioned by Louth Contemporary Music Society^[10] to compose a new choral work based on St. Patrick's Breastplate, which premiered in 2008 in Louth, Ireland. The new work is called The Deers Cry. This is the composer's first Irish commission, having its debut in Drogheda and Dundalk in February 2008.

His recent (2008) Symphony No. 4 is named “Los Angeles” and was dedicated to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It is Pärt's first symphony written in over 37 years, since 1971's Symphony No. 3. It premiered in Los Angeles, California, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on 10 January 2009,^[11] and has been nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

On 10 December 2011 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture for a five year renewable term by Pope Benedict XVI.^[12]

List of Works[link]

Awards[link]

• 1996 – American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Music
• 1996 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of Sydney^[13]
• 1998 – Honorary Doctor of Arts, University of Tartu
• 2003 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of Durham^[14]
• 2008 – Léonie Sonning Music Prize
• 2010 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of St Andrews^[15]
• 2011 – Chevalier (Knight) of Légion d'honneur^[16]
• 2011 – Membership of the Pontifical Council for Culture^[17]

International Arvo Pärt Centre[link]

The International Arvo Pärt Centre is being created in the Estonian village of Laulasmaa. The centre will include a research institute, an education and music centre, a museum, a publishing facility and an archive of the composer's works. It is planned to open in 2015.^[18]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Hillier, Paul. (1997). Arvo Pärt. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-19-816616-8; 13-ISBN 978-0-19-816616-0 (paper)

Further Reading[link]

• Andrew Shenton (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Arvo Pärt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
• Chikinda, Michael (2011). "Pärt's Evolving Tintinnabuli Style". Perspectives of New Music 49, no. 1 (Winter): 182–206.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arvo Pärt

• Arvo Pärt biography and works on the UE website (publisher)
• Arvo Pärt discography at Classical Net
• Arvo Pärt discography at MusicBrainz
• Arvo Pärt Conference at Boston University
• Complete Listing of Arvo Pärt's Works
• Arvo Pärt – extensive site
• arvopart.info – another comprehensive site with current news
• David Pinkerton's Arvo Pärt archive – yet another extensive site, with some good analytical writing.
• Biography in MUSICMATCH Guide – Small biography and list of works.
• Arvo Pärt and the New Simplicity – Article by Bill McGlaughlin, with audio selections
• Steve Reich about Arvo Pärt, in an interview with Richard Williams, The Guardian, 2 January 2004
• Spike Magazine Interview
• Lancing College Commission 'Original' Claudio Records Recording in the presence of the composer – Review/Information
• International Arvo Pärt Centre – most up-to-date info and more

Jami Smith is an American singer. She grew up in the small town of Chickasha, Oklahoma and is a graduate of Chickasha High School. She established Spring Rain Ministries, a non-profit ministry in 1999.^[1] Smith graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in music education and has produced six independent albums prior to the 1999 release of her self-titled album "Jami" by Vertical. A seasoned worship leader, Smith has led music for Passion conferences, OneDay, the National Acteens Conference, and the Student Live Conference. Her songs are featured on the Passion CD and the WoW Worship CD ^[2] The songs "Salt and Light" and "Wash Over Me" from her 2002 album release "Wash Over Me" were chart toppers on Christian radio in the US.^[3]

Personal[link]

Married to Oklahoma attorney Justin King, with whom she has a new baby girl, Emory, who turned 1 in 2010.

Education[link]

B.A., (1993). Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, OK

Discography[link]

• Verse (2010)
• Faith In You (2008)
• Hope of All the Earth (2005)
• Bravo God (2005)
• Wash Over Me (2003)
• Breathe Deep (2002)
• Home (2001)
• Jami Smith (2000)
• Mysterious Love (1998)
• Soul Thirst (1998)
• What I Know (1997)
• Come Unto Me (1996)
• In the Shadow (1994)
• Follow the Leader (1992)

^[4]

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.chickashanews.com/local/local_story_071103200.html
2. ^ http://www.okbu.edu/news/2000-08-21/smith-and-compton-pair-up-for-fall-challenge
3. ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/artists/jamismith.html
4. ^ Jami Smith Official site

External links[link]

• Jami Smith Official site
• http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/artists/jamismith.html
• Infinity Music – Jami Smith Former record label's site.

Vladimir Martynov is a Russian composer, born on February 20, 1946 in Moscow, known for his music in the Concerto, Orchestral Music, Chamber Music and Choral Music genres.

Vladimir Martynov is a leader of the generation of composers of the Soviet Union, born after World War II, who pursued avant-garde courses at a time when official disfavor of such styles brought severe penalties to career development, but did not carry the physical risks of earlier years in the USSR. He studied piano as a child and gained an interest in composition. Vladimir Martynov enrolled in the Moscow Conservatory where he studied piano under Mikhail Mezhlumov and composition under Nikolai Sidelnikov, graduating in 1971.^[1]

In his early works, such as the String Quartet (1966), the Concerto for oboe and flute (1968), Hexagramme for piano (1971), and Violin sonata (1973), Vladimir Martynov used serial music (or twelve-tone) technique. In 1973 he got a job at the studio for electronic music of the Alexander Scriabin Museum. For Soviet composers of this era, this studio had much the same meaning as the RAI Electronic Music Studio in Milan, the West German Radio studio, and the ORTF Studio in Paris, providing a meeting ground for the avant-garde musicians. Sofia Gubaidulina, Sergei Nemtin, Alfred Schnittke, and Edison Denisov were among the composers regularly working and meeting there.

Martynov helped to form a rock group called Boomerang at the Scriabin Studio. For them he wrote a rock opera Seraphic Visions from St. Francis of Assisi (1978).

Vladimir Martynov is also known as a serious ethnomusicologist, specializing the music of the Caucasian peoples, Tajikistan, and other ethnic groups in Russia. He also studied medieval Russian and European music, as well as religious musical history and musicology. While even at Soviet times this field of study was considered generally acceptable, it also allowed him to study theology, religious philosophy and history. Vladimir Martynov began studying early Russian religious chant in the late 1970s; he also studied Renaissance music of such composers as Machaut, Gabrieli, Isaac, Dufay, and Dunstable, publishing editions of their music. He became interested in the brand of minimalism developing in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s: a static, spiritually-inspired style without the shimmering pulse of American minimalism.^[2] The timeless quality of chants and the lack of a sense of bar lines in Renaissance polyphony entered into his version of minimalism.^[3]

At about this time, he began teaching at the Academy of Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad.^[4] There was a period of consolidation in the early 1980s where he wrote music specifically tailored for use in church services, then resuming writing original music in his minimalist style. Among his works from this period is Come in! for violin and ensemble of 1988 which was performed by Gidon Kremer and by the composer's partner, Tatiana Grindenko.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, he has written works that take on large Christian themes, such as Apocalypse (1991), Lamentations of Jeremiah (1992), Magnificat (1993), Stabat Mater (1994), and Requiem (1998). One of his major compositions is a nearly hour-long piece called Opus Posthumum (1993), devoted to the idea that "a man touches the truth twice. The first time is the first cry from a new born baby's lips and the last is the death rattle. Everything between is untruth to a greater or lesser extent." He also composed a much shorter Opus Prenatum and a work called Twelve Victories of King Arthur for Seven Pianos (1990).

He has recordings on Le Chant du Monde's imprint "Les Saisons Russes" and on the Moscow based independent label LongArms Records. In 2009 London Philharmonic gave the world premiere of his opera Vita Nuova.^[5][6] The opera premiered in the U.S. at the new Alice Tully Hall on February 28, 2009.

Vladimir Martynov has authored several books and seminal articles on musical theory, history and philosophy of music.^[7][8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• German Music Label Troubadisc with SACD release, biography + forum