Usually one thinks the time of reflection and renewal to be the start of the New Year. But somehow, I’ve always thought of it as the fall of the year—September to be specific. The heat of the summer begins to leave us, we return to our sweaters and crisp evenings, fires in the fireplace, the leaves bring us colors later on that thrill our eyes with their beauty, and we eventually settle down for the coming winter. The end of summer is a wonderful time to rededicate one’s self to our work and getting back to our regular lives. In the New York Post was the following article on values. I thought it so worthwhile that I am putting it in this newsletter in its entirety. It may be a little heavy for summer reading, but keep it around. Then the first chilly night, snuggle up with a nice blanket near the fire, and see if it says as much to you as it did to me. I hope that it will.

                                              New York Post, Thursday, May 25, 2000

 POST OPINION 

 The Vacuum of “Values”

George F. Will

Easton, Pa.

Here, at Lafayette College, as elsewhere in our Republic, the birth of which was nobly assisted by the man for whom the university is named, today’s peace and prosperity allows, indeed seem to demand, a preoccupation with the problem of teaching what are nowadays called “values.” Talk of values is a new, and regrettable, vocabulary for discussing a recurring American concern.

When the Marquis de Lafayette returned to America in 1824, his extended tour catalyzed the young Republic’s unease about what it sensed was a decline from the pinnacle of virtue achieved by the Revolutionary generation that was then passing. Then, as now, the nation was feeling its oats economically, but also was feeling queasy about whether its character was a strong as the economy, and thus about whether prosperity constituted progress.

Today it would be progress if everyone would stop talking about values. Instead, let us talk, as the Founders did, about virtues.

Time was, “value” was used mostly as a verb, meaning to esteem. In today’s politics, it is primarily a plural noun, denoting beliefs or attitudes. And Friedrich Nietzshe’s nihilistic intention—the demoralization of society—is advanced when the word “values” supplants “virtues” in political and ethical discourse. When we move beyond talk about good and evil, when the language of virtue and vice is “transcended,” we are left with the thin gruel of values-talk.

How very democratic values-talk is: Unlike virtues, everyone has lots of values, as many as they choose. Hitler had scads of values. George Washington had virtues.

Values-talk comes naturally to a nonjudgmental age—an age judgmental primarily about the cardinal sin of being judgmental. It is considered broad-minded to say, “One person’s values are as good as another’s.” It is nonsense to say “One person’s virtues are as good as another’s.”

Values are an equal-opportunity business: mere choices. Virtues are habits, difficult to develop and therefore not equally accessible to all. Speaking of virtues rather than values is elitist, offensive to democracy’s egalitarian, leveling ethos. 

Which is why talk of virtues should be revived. Tocqueville, who toured America not long after Lafayette did, noted that although much is gained by replacing aristocratic with democratic institutions and suppositions something valuable is often lost—the ability to recognize, and the hunger to honor, hierarchies of achievement and character. So democracy requires the cultivation of certain preventative virtues that counter certain tendencies of democracy.

So says professor Harvey C. Mansfield, Harvard’s conservative {who because of his opposition to grade inflation is known there as Harvey C-minus Mansfield}. He notes that a theme of American literature, writ large in the works of Mark Twain, is the effects of democracy on the higher qualities of people. To counter democracy’s leveling ethos, with its tinge of resentment born of envy of scarce excellence, universities, Mansfield says, should teach students how to praise.

Students should learn to look up, to the heroic—in thought and action, in politics and literature, in science and faith. After all, the few men and woman who become heroes do so by looking up, and being pulled up by a vision of nobility. Which makes a hero quite unlike a “role model.” A very democratic notion, “role model”: It is something anyone can successfully emulate.

The proper purpose of American higher education is not to serve as a values cafeteria, where young people are encouraged to pick whatever strikes their fancies. Rather, the purpose of higher education for citizens of a democracy should be to help them identify that rarity, excellence, in various realms, and to study what virtues make it excellent.

These thoughts for commencement season are pertinent to the political season. Whenever you hear, as you frequently will this year, politicians speaking of “values,” you are in the presence of America’s problem, not its solution.”

I hope this hasn’t been too long-winded for you, but it is a subject so important for all of us. We must see the heroic. We must be pulled up by a vision of the best we can be. We must dedicate ourselves to becoming excellent and knowing the reason why it is excellent. This is the time to get back to work and break ourselves of what our ego considers valuable, and rather, go into the realm of higher thinking, of higher being.

At one time the arts held their own against the word “values.” Now, it too is caught in this quagmire of personal likes or dislikes versus “virtues.” I remember saying to a close friend who was an ardent opera buff, that a certain singer had better get her act together, or she would really suffer for it in the near future. Her answer was, “Well! She can sing in my living room anytime she likes!” I said no more, and soon we didn’t hear from that singer again. I didn’t hear much from my friend again either. It is amazing how we can hold on to our values with no thought of whether there is any virtue in them. We must return, as the article states, to “the ability to recognize, and the hunger to honor, hierarchies of achievement and character.” What seemed like sour grapes to my friend was simply introducing her to reality. When our values are set in stone, no discussion can take place about the virtues of anything. Honoring any achievements from a virtue standpoint is simply out of the question. We can get stuck in our likes and dislikes and blind ourselves to the reality of what we are idolizing. As the article says, following a role model is easy, living up to a heroic person is quite another matter. We must know the difference between a role model and a hero. The former appeals to our sense of values, the latter to our sense of virtues.

And yet, more and more we read articles about people or organizations who are “catching on.” One such article was written by the Rosa Ponselle Foundation and appeared on the Internet. Here is the beginning of this sad story by the Foundation’s president:

“Discontinuance of the Rosa Ponselle INTERNATIONAL

                  Competition for the Vocal Arts

The Rosa Ponselle Foundation presented the last of its INTERNATIONAL

Competitions during the Centenary year of Rosa Ponselle in 1997.

Following the Competition, the Foundation made a determination not to

Offer the INTERNATIONAL Competition, and explained its position in the

Following communique to young artists and music institutions.

     Following the year 1997, The Rosa Ponselle Foundation decided not to offer its INTERNATIONAL Competition for the Vocal Arts nor the Rosa Ponselle “YOUNG NEW YORKERS” Competition to young aspiring opera singers until further notice.

     Given the paucity of competent trainers in the field, the decline in the technical and artistic achievements of our young vocal talents due to their inability to be adequately prepared for the demands of the art, The Rosa Ponselle Foundation will no longer expend sums of money within the INTERNATIONAL Competition, and “YOUNG NEW YORKERS” Competition formats to uncover our latest worthy talents. Since initiating the INTERNATIONAL Competition in 1984, The Rosa Ponselle Foundation has awarded, in cash prizes and study grants over $497,000 during its nine presentments. Above and beyond that figure, over $2,000,000 has been spent for hall rentals, accompanists fees, international jurists, their transportation, hotels, per diems, meal expenses, and PR and advertising. The above figures do not represent the costs expended for the 1996 Rosa Ponselle “YOUNG NEW YORKERS’ Competition nor the eight Annual Rosa Ponselle “ALL MARYLANDERS” Competition presentments. That figure would be placed at an additional $400,000.

     Without consistent and competent technical and artistic training of young singers, the potentials of our fine young talents cannot be realized. As institutional training will only provide for one lesson per week {when a young developing singer requires three to four}, it is pointless for The Rosa Ponselle Foundation, which bears the name of such an exemplary vocal artist, to sponsor the funding of young vocal artists who, through no fault of their own, are unable to be either competently or thoroughly trained.”

                        The article concludes with this sentence:

  “Perhaps the institutional programs shall, one day, seek to train our young vocal artists in a manner consistent with the need of the art.”

                                                                                                  Very truly yours,

                                                                                                    {Miss} Elayne Duke    Pr es

It is an appalling state of affairs when a foundation cannot find suitable singers to help finance their careers. How many terrifically talented singers enter the Julliard School or the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and are never heard from again? Why is this happening? Somewhere we have gone astray. An agent who handles singers stated in my living room one day that opera companies will not listen to a singer who has graduated from the Julliard School. Where have the virtues of great singing gone? It seems we’ve settled for some lesser idea of singing, and have put great value on everything except the soul of the human voice—the sound. We value good diction, we value high notes, we value acting, we value musicality—and yet without the unique color of each individual voice we have nothing. The voice has no virtue. What good is a Rolls-Royce if it has leather upholstery, power steering, power brakes, CD player, etc., etc., if it doesn’t run properly? Sooner or later the machinery goes faulty, and at best, all we can do is push it down the street. Unfortunately, in the case of the voice, it happens sooner than we think. Improper coordination of the body leads us down the primrose path. Even though people applaud us along the way, the end is all too soon in sight. As we grow older, we just get tired of pushing.

Introducing reality to a singer who has been led down the wrong path is a daunting experience. Even if the singer wants to hear the truth, it is hard to give up the things we were taught to consider valuable. After all, we spent a lot of time and effort {never mind the money} to acquire these values. In my case, the admission that I was in real trouble was a painful one. There comes a time however, when we either change our ways or quit. We must find another outlet for our souls. It’s not so easy to give all those years up, so the only way around the problem is to go through it. I can attest to the fact that it is well worth the effort to reinvent one’s self, if you will, and look at our art, look at ourselves, look at our lives, and start seeing all these in quite a different way. One need not value what great artists do or how they live, but there is always a common ground of integrity—of virtues—that communicates a special world to us, and takes us there with them. The artist leaves his everyday life, and goes into a detached, communicative, intuitive place. Here is where music lives and becomes the vehicle for the composer's score. This is where virtues live—not values. To be able to access this place for oneself is one of the most rewarding experiences one can have. There is a higher purpose which all of us can and must get in touch with if we want to continue growing in mind and spirit.

Becoming aware of the virtues in life is the backbone of our existence. They support us and give us an avenue for the higher life. Drugs are so popular because they help take us out of our life of values, or our inability to live up to values. We are all cognizant of the fact that the demand for drugs is running rampant. So many are not finding a purpose in their life—a reason for being here. Any activity that has virtues will supply this need. Virtues give us a drug-free high. Any activity that places a value on itself is a mere pastime.  How easy it is to get caught in the web of values because it is so self-serving. Most groups start out with the best of intentions, and then draw up rules and regulations that we must abide by, whether these rules and regulations have any virtue attached to them or not.  As a member, if we don’t live up to these values we are drummed out of the club. Our job is to develop new habits that lead us into the world of truth and freedom-- out of many things we have blindly come to value. Values, like drugs, are habit-forming. We must wake from our sleep state and become fully aware of how to recognize truth, and learn how to praise greatness again. We can also find our own authentic voice in the world and start taking credit for the effort expended. If you want to settle for second-best, stick to the old value system. How much more alive we become when we dare to be the person we were meant to be. Then we start to live our life for our uniqueness: not by someone else’s values. It is definitely a heroic decision.

The reason singing has gotten into such trouble, in my opinion, is that the wrong values have been placed on what makes a singer great. 40 years ago we had great singers. Now we have but a few. When Pavarotti and Domingo retire, there go about half of the great tenors in the world. IN THE WORLD! Talk about endangered species! Now and then a comet shoots through the operatic world, but no sooner do we see it— now it is gone! Someone was all the rage, and suddenly they’re put out to pasture. How many operas cannot be put into the repertory because we have no singers for them? Practically all of the Verdi operas have casting problems. Mozart also. You can’t push your way through those scores because your throat won’t live to tell about it. It’s sad when the diva’s voice dies before she does.

Here is one paragraph from a book of essays by Samuel Lipman, called “Arguing for Music—Arguing for Culture.” It is an excerpt from the author’s essay called “Reflections on Bach.”  It deals with performances of Bach on the Moog or the Yamaha synthesizers.

    “But the illusion that the electronics provided—of a music making no longer bound by physical limitations on endurance, accuracy, and strength—has remained, and has inevitably invaded the realm of Bach performance. Because music gains its greatness from the musician’s battle to tame and transcend his body, Bach when plugged in is nothing more than a feelingless robot, a mechanical trick calculated to deceive the innocent. Because Bach wrote so many notes, and because his many notes are so difficult to penetrate, he has been a prime candidate for this rootless brand of performance. It is in synthesized Bach that we hear the death rattle of sublime genius reduced to the level of wallpaper. Emptied of meaning and purged by quack science of humanity and divinity alike, electric Bach is fast, loud, cold and square. It lacks even the devil’s power to shock.”

   “Arguing for Music—Arguing for Culture.”  Essays by Samuel Lipman

As a colleague of mine said, “The electronic organ is not an instrument, it’s an appliance.” If this offends our sense of values, maybe the above paragraph will make us look at things in a different light. I’m even beginning to dislike wallpaper! Values change.

All this being said, we now have some idea “why talk of virtues should be revived.” We must always be on our guard not to fall into a state of complacency. We must dare to “identify that rarity, excellence, in various realms, and to study what virtues make it excellent.” This activity will keep us striving to bring out the best in ourselves. It will also attract others who are looking for a purpose in their lives and make this a better world in the process. Being able to identify great singing is a virtue—it becomes a “habit,” difficult to develop and therefore not equally accessible to all.” Striving to be a great singer is a concrete way of directing our energies on the path to this excellence. What a profound statement, “music gains its greatness from the musician’s battle to tame and transcend his body.” It is this commitment to excellence that separates the wheat from the chaff. Everyone would like to take the journey, but only those who make the decision to invest in a ticket are allowed on the train. Without this investment we get left behind. Hope you have your ticket in your pocket. ALL ABOARD!