Quote of the Day (Sir James MacMillan, on Music and Sacrifice)

“Music can transform our lives. We all have favourite musics, or even music that takes us by surprise, that we can in retrospect see as a crucial, defining moment in our lives, which has changed us in some way. But in order for music to do that, I think the human soul has to be ready to sacrifice something, sacrifice a certain amount of our time; something of our attention, something of our active listening. Music’s not something which can just wash over us. It needs us to sacrifice something of ourselves to meet it, and it’s very difficult sometimes to do that, especially the whole culture we’re in. Sacrifice and self-sacrifice – certainly sacrificing your time – is not valued anymore.”—Scottish classical composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan, “High Priest of Music,” Classic CD, May 1999

The image accompanying this post of Sir James MacMillan was taken Aug. 9, 2012, at "Meet the Composers," a panel discussion hosted by Music Director Marin Alsop, at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and provided by CTV Santa Cruz County.

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Dag Hammarskjold, on Forgiveness and Sacrifice)

“Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who forgives you—out of love—takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.” — U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961), diary entry for Apr. 17, 1960, in Markings, translated by Leif Sjoeberg and W.H. Auden (1965) 

Quote of the Day (Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, on Sacrifice and Awareness of an ‘Alternate Path’)

“Sacrifice is being aware of an alternate path and continuing on the one that might be less comfortable, guided by some belief that the greater good is being served. I see true beauty in sacrifice. I see something essential and elemental. You need to be humbled; you need to be reminded of your role in the lives of others.”—Wilco guitarist and frontman Jeff Tweedy quoted in “Soapbox: The Columnists: WSJ. Asks Six Luminaries to Weight in on a Single Topic—This Month: Sacrifice,” WSJ. Magazine, June/July 2019 issue

(Photo of Jeff Tweedy taken Jan. 22, 2012, by Tristan Loper. Inquiries: info@tristanloper.com)