How J.S. Bach Inspires Creativity

November 20, 2014 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Hymn to Bach from my 7th album A Thousand Years, featuring timeless classics and hymns. If you enjoy, please consider ordering the CD, MP3 Album, or sheet music from the A Thousand Years store page. You can also download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

How can J.S. Bach’s creativity inspire yours?

Johann Sebastian Bach lived from 1685 to 1750 in Germany. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. There are over 1,100 known compositions. Somehow his music speaks to the soul, and I believe there is a reason why.

When I was taking twelve years of piano lessons from 1st through 12th grade, I was introduced to Bach’s Invention No. 8 when I was fourteen (also the year I wrote my first song). I knew this piece by memory for the next fifteen years, and would play it often. About ten years ago I came to deeply appreciate one of Bach’s greatest quotes…

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” Bach wrote the initials “S. D. G.” at the end of all his church compositions, and many others. This dedication meant Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God Alone). Bach’s music still lifts the heart and energizes the soul, and Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is still one of the most popular and well known wedding songs around the world today.

In tribute to Bach, I arranged Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring into my style blended with original composing. This solo piano piece opens my album December Peace (2009 Best Holiday Album, ZMR Awards). Listen to Jesu here. For the album A Thousand Years I arranged another famous Bach melody, Air on the G String, and combined this with the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy to honor Bach’s dedication Soli Deo Gloria. Listen to Hymn to Bach here.

I believe we all have one or two God-given gifts, passions and talents. Any number of skills and interests can be developed to become strengths, but when hard work and practice are put into something we love and are passionate about — and then we do this to the glory of God — the potential blessings are timeless and without limit.

What is your creative gift you are most passionate about?

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” — Isaiah 6:3

How Does Autumn Refresh My Soul?

November 17, 2014 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to World of Wonders from the album A Thousand Years as you read, featuring Amazing Grace. If you enjoy, consider purchasing the song, album download, or CD from iTunes or stantonlanier.com (where sheet music is also available).

What is you favorite season and how does it refresh your soul?

Mine is the fall, followed by spring, summer, and winter. Join me for a moment as I associate words with memories and ways “autumn splendor” refreshes my soul. I hope this triggers some special memories for you of your favorite season.

Invigorating: Feeling cool air and wind on my face
Adventuring: Building boyhood forts out of sticks and leaves in North Carolina
Captivating: Seeing the wide variety of trees and colors
Nurturing: Raking pine straw and blowing leaves
Cherishing: An early October wedding and Vermont honeymoon
Listening: Quiet walks in the woods help me hear God’s gentle whisper
Exploring: Driving in the mountains searching for beauty
Celebrating: Giving thanks for family gatherings and Thanksgiving traditions
Capturing: Photographing radiant leaves (like the one above I took this week)

The piano melody in World of Wonders is “singing” about breathtaking moments of beauty we can notice in nature, whether winter, spring, summer or fall. The emergence of Amazing Grace inside this composition is a symbol of God’s common grace in the seasons, how he cares for creation and for us. This great hymn also embodies the gift of His saving grace and forgiveness.

What comes to mind with the words “world of wonders” and “amazing grace?”

“Sing to God a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders!” — Psalm 98:1 (The Message)

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch; like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.” — Amazing Grace first verse; hymn written by John Newton in 1779, and joined to a traditional song named New Britain in 1835 which became its famous melody.

Have You Seen A Glimpse of Heaven?

November 7, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 1 Comment

Click above to listen to Eternity from my fourth album The Voice. If you enjoy, consider purchasing the song, album download, or CD from iTunes or stantonlanier.com (where sheet music is also available).

Have you seen a glimpse of heaven?

For me, these glimpses happen when I experience life’s greatest moments of beauty, adventure and intimacy (a concept inspired by C.S. Lewis and Ken Boa). This past summer my son and I stayed up past midnight and photographed a thunderstorm several miles out over the ocean. The lens would stay open for twenty seconds or so, and a few times we captured some amazing lightning flashes like the one below (notice the stars in the upper right from long exposure).

This image reminds me of a precious moment that combined all three experiences: the beauty of distant thunder and lightning, the adventure of staying up past midnight, and the intimacy of an unforgettable photo shoot with my son.

What is one of your life experiences similar to this?

As you are listening to the Eternity music stream, recall one of these moments and cherish it. Reflect on Ecclesiastes 3:11 that inspired me to compose Eternity. For me, the cello and piano represent heaven and earth, respectively, and a conversation between the two, where a welcoming grace meets a longing for hope. Below are some other quotes around this theme. I pray you see a glimpse of heaven in something or someone today. I would love to hear your comments.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. — Ecclesiastes 3:11

The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing to find the place where all the beauty came from. — C.S. Lewis

I believe in the immortality of the soul because I have within me immortal longings. — Helen Keller

We must meet the uncertainties of this world with the certainty of the world to come. — A.W. Tozer

People without a relationship with their personal Creator are hungering for love, happiness, meaning, and fulfillment, but nothing that this planet offers can fully satisfy these longings. — Ken Boa

If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world. — C.S. Lewis