Spiritual Quote of the Day (Stephen Schwartz and Leonard Bernstein, on ‘When My Courage Crumbles’)

“When my courage crumbles,
When I feel confused and frail,
When my spirit falters on decaying altars
And my illusions fail --
I go on right then.
I go on again.”—American lyricist Stephen Schwartz and composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), “I Go On,” from Mass (1971)
 
More than many people, Leonard Bernstein, for all his worldly success and acclaim, must have felt “confused and frail” in his private life. But I can’t think offhand of another American musical figure who excelled in so many ways: composer, conductor, pianist, educator, author.
 
All of that makes me anxious to see the upcoming biopic Maestro about him starring Bradley Cooper. I’m not going to get into the controversy surrounding the actor’s use of a prosthetic nose to simulate his subject. (In "The Well-Tempered Ear," blogger Jacob Stockinger has a thought or two on the subject.)
 
But, if the whole hullabaloo exposes more viewers to his life’s work (yes, including the much-debated Mass), all to the good.