Car tunes for this week: American folk opera "Porgy & Bess" by George Gershwin. I am also listening to the symphonic version that Robert Bennett arranged after the opera ended its run on Broadway in the 50s - there's just something about that combination of jazz, blues and classical orchestral makes you want to hum, whistle and tap dance along as the CD plays over and over again in the car (since I ain't got the $1500 6-CD changer that my dealer offered to sell me with the Shark). And of course, I never heard the opera quite the same way again after listening to all-time favourite preacher Tim Keller speak to a group of musicians in New York a few years ago during an open forum titled "The Journey of Love", a deeply incisive discussion on the main themes of the Gershwin opera - i.e. hope, hatred, prejudice and what it is that keeps modern folks from giving love to one another. I so wish we have more preachers like Keller who are able to bring out biblical truths from traditonal as well as contemporary art and culture.
Another thing to look forward to this autumn in New York.
