[Ads-l] When God plays the organ, even God comes to Mass

[Benjamin Barrett]

Thank you for those nice citations! The second one is especially tantalizing. BB

> On Dec 7, 2014, at 7:43 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Benjamin: Thanks for sharing an interesting quotation. Here are two
> matches in Google Books from a preliminary search restricted to GB.
> The matches are for a different phrasing of the saying about Bach and
> God. The first citation circa 1956 ascribed the statement to Amedee J.
> Ozenfant. The sometimes reliable Wikipedia states that Ozenfant was "a
> French cubist painter and writer" who died in 1966. Perhaps there is
> an earlier instance in French, or perhaps Ozenfant should be credited.
> 
> Year: 1956
> Book Title: American Painting Today
> Author:  Nathaniel Pousette-Dart
> Quote Page 62 (GB Page number)
> Publisher: Hastings House, New York
> Database: Google Books (snippet view; data may be inaccurate and
> should be verified on paper; text and page number are visible in
> snippet; a probe for "1956" shows that 1956 was the copyright date.)
> 
> [Begin extracted text]
> When J. S. Bach plays the organ, God goes to the Mass. AMEDEE J. OZENFANT
> [End extracted text]
> 
> 
> The second citation circa 1972 expressed skepticism about the origin
> of the saying, and asserted that it was crafted in a "modern mind".
> 
> Year: 1972
> Book Title: Rhythms of Western Art
> Author: John P. Sedgwick
> Quote Page 35 and 36 (GB Page numbers)
> Publisher: Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New, Jersey
> Database: Google Books (snippet view; data may be inaccurate and
> should be verified on paper; text partially visible in two snippets; a
> probe for "1972" shows the publisher name and 1972 year.)
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> No remark such as "when Bach plays the organ, God goes to the mass"
> describes the attitude of Renaissance art; it is a remark that could
> have been conceived only in a modern mind. To the Gothic mind it would
> have been ludicrously impious, and to Bach himself it would have been
> offensive at the very least.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Garson
> 
> On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 2:55 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: When God plays the organ, even God comes to Mass
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Sorry: When Bach plays the organ, even God comes to Mass. BB
>> 
>>> On Dec 6, 2014, at 11:52 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM> =
>> wrote:
>>> =20
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header =
>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>>> Subject:      When God plays the organ, even God comes to Mass
>>> =
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>> -----
>>> =20
>>> In "The Secret History of the World" (2008, http://bit.ly/1vs9IHh), =
>> Mark =3D
>>> Booth says that one of Bach's contemporaries said: "When God plays the =
>> =3D
>>> organ, even God comes to Mass." Booth says in his afterword that he =
>> will =3D
>>> provide citations at www.insideoutthinking.co.uk, but the URL has been =
>> =3D
>>> taken over, and I don't see this quote in the Wayback Machine =3D
>>> (http://bit.ly/1G2dUE7).
>>> =20
>>> In September 2012, the same quote appears in "Concord" =3D
>>> (http://bit.ly/1yqYN7W) but it is also unattributed.
>>> =20
>>> I tried using Google Translate to get a German hit, but not knowing =3D
>>> German, I have no idea if there are any hits.
>>> =20
>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>> Formerly of Seattle, WA
>>> =20
>>> Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/home=3D
>>> =20
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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