Janos Gereben wrote: >The way I handle these contraditions and conflicts is by listening to >the music both "in the abstract" and focusing on the lyricism and passion >underlying any specific message. I have not done this in a deliberate, >premeditated way, but now that I think about it, I see a parallel between >response to the great stories coming from a belief system I do not abide >by (Mann's "Joseph and His Brothers," for example) and sublime music >inspired by the composer's faith, which I do not share. Musical, literary >and psychological gems from the context of archaic superstition remain >precious, regardless of the source. Intelligent words. I want to put it this way: when I listen to music with an orthodox religious message I concentrate on what all religions and all humanist notions have in common: belief in a big secret. Robert