Choreography by José Limón, Music Zoltán Kodály
Have you noticed that most conversations about concert dance these days emphasize the pleasurable experience of attending the performance. “I enjoyed it. You’ll enjoy it, too.” It seems to me that concert dance as an art form could have more appeal if we started the conversation about the meaning of a work. In understanding the meaning, the pleasure is magnified.
Case in point is MISSA BREVIS (1958), choreographed by José Limón with music by his contemporary Zoltán Kodály (“Missa Brevis in Tempore Belli”) with décor by Ming Cho Lee. The work was intended as a tribute to dauntlessness of the human spirit and human resilience following the destruction of war--seen first-hand by the composer and choreographer. The Limon Dance Company, as well as many other companies, have performed it all over the world. You might be tempted to attend a performance of this masterpiece because of the beauty of Limón‘s kinesthetic architecture or Kodály’s deft harmonies or go in curiosity to hear the prayers that were commonly said in Latin at every Roman Catholic Mass for nearly 4 centuries until Latin was set aside in favor of the local language. But there are profound aspects which call people to attend a performance of MISSA and they relate to the meaning. The meaningful pleasure is the reason why MISSA BREVIS ought to be on the bucket list of every person—and not just the “lovers of the arts.”
Writer-historian Lillian Moore wrote about MISSA BREVIS, following its premiere: "It has been a long time since the modern dance has produced a work so profoundly stirring, and so exalting. This is the song of a strong and simple people, a song of thanksgiving for deliverance from the unspeakable horrors of war. Its dances express a deep awareness of the wonder of life, and the transcendent joy at its resumption, yet every passage is heavy with the memory of unutterable suffering and irreparable loss. What cannot be spoken can be danced, and here the movement seems to spring directly from the heart. The entire ensemble seems swayed by one mass emotion. There is not a single decorative flourish; every movement seems necessary, beautiful, and right.....It revives one's belief in the nobility of the dance as a universal language."
During this stretch of the Anthropocene, when so much of the world is at war, when so many people feel disconnected from their neighbors, when suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the USA, it is vital that we use the performing arts to entertain, engage, and enlighten. So, here’s a tip to my fellow earthlings—you need to attend a performance of MISSA BREVIS. Limón Dance Company will revive the work in the 2023 – 2024 season in honor of the 65th Anniversary of the work’s creation. Where are you planning to see it?