If Birds Could Preach Poem by gershon hepner

If birds could preach would Francis of
Assisi have paid them attention,
despite his lack of comprehension,
thus showing them the greatest love?

Bernard Holland writes about a recital at Zankel Hall, “Mitsuko Uchida and Friends” (“The Clarinet, Speaking in Many Voices and Accents, ” NYT, May 21,2008) :
Ms. Uchida’s other “friends” on Saturday — recipients of grants from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in a program conceived by Ms. Uchida — were a kind of United Nations of splendid talent: a Swedish clarinetist (Martin Frost) , a Welsh pianist (Mr. Williams) , an American violinist (Soovin Kim) and a Swiss cellist (Christian Poltéra) . With Ms. Uchida now as pianist, the rest of the evening was Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time.” I have run out of adjectives and images to describe this great piece. It is in good part a series of soliloquies: for clarinet (bright and raucous) , cello (soulful) and violin (more soulful) . Messiaen is, as ever, the busy ornithologist, and his feathered friends chirp from every branch. In Messiaen’s unorthodox church, it is the birds who preach to St. Francis.


5/21/08