soulpope "Ever Since The World Ended, I Don`t Get Out As Much"
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Metaphysical Masterpiece
Tim Price on John LaPorta
In 1970 a Berklee College of Music student told John LaPorta when John asked him what something was he had written – “Oh, it’s metaphysical.” Those of you who knew John can only imagine what was going to go down
John politely told the student, and responds in his unmistakable falsetto voice… “Metaphysical ??!! “ ….Then said, “Give me a minute.” We were in the front hall, to the right as you came into the 1140 building. It had a turntable, projector and tape decks. John returns with a LP of Stokowski’s arrangement of Debussy’s La Cathédrale engloutie. I was 19 and had never heard it – Debussy of course, this no
John told us listen to this – gave us a mental image of the piece. Right off the top of his head, it was not a part of the class. He was on a roll!! Telling us, “The opening of the piece gently brings in the cathedral, out of the water, with a melody that resembles waves. Then after a section marked Augmentez progressivement (Slowly growing), the cathedral emerges and the grand organ is heard with a powerful fortissimo. This is the loudest part of the piece. The cathedral then sinks back down into the ocean and the organ is heard once more, but this time from under water. Finally, it is out of sight and only the bells are heard at a distant pianissimo.
The room was stone cold quiet. The piece played on the turntable. Minds were blown! John was far from done. He went on, explaining that, in 1909 and 1910, Claude Debussy wrote a series of 12 preludes for solo piano. Among them is the mysteriously titled, “La Cathédrale engloutie” which translates to The Submerged (or The Sunken) Cathedral. Describing how the piece depicts the rise of a cathedral from the water and subsequent return to the depths – complete with bells chiming, priests chanting, and organ playing. Via ancient legend in which the submerged Cathedral of Ys rises slowly out of the sea, its bells ringing and priests chanting, and then sinks slowly back again into the watery depths
The class was still quiet. He looks at the entire class and smiles in his way and said, “ THAT…IS METAPHYSICAL, BABY ! „….
John LaPorta transcends the range of human evaluation. His depth and wisdom was a life inspiration. John loved Stokowski and in the times I’d go to his office he’d see I was interested and talk about woodwinds in Phila Orchestra, and the depth of how heavy you had to be to get Stokowski’s approval. He worked with Leopold Stokowski as well. The imagery he used to describe him was deep. David S. Ware was in that class with me and decades later we spoke of that day
John pioneered the use of Greek modes for teaching chord-scales. Check him out with Mingus, or Google him on YouTube. For my tastes, the hippest jazz clarinetist. I also loved his alto playing and tenor playing.
From 1970 to now…. that is still in my mind. Vivid as the day I heard John run it down. THAT…is education. Never forgot it, and “La Cathédrale engloutie” is something I go to and listen to a lot. I can’t hear the word metaphysical without seeing John’s face or thinking of him.
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"Kunst ist schön, macht aber viel Arbeit" (K. Valentin)