Join us at 7 pm this Monday evening, December 16th, for the final talk in our series, “Things that Gladden the Heart: Wine, Music, & Friends,” at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill with the presentation beginning at 7:30 p.m. We’ll see you there!

In this series we explore the beauty of the natural world and human relationships, taking our inspiration from the author of Ecclesiasticus, “Wine and music gladden the heart, but the love of friends is better than either” (40:20).

Monday, December 16, 2013

“Music as Conversation: Prayers to God & Instrumental Appeals to the Heart”

Thomas Bowers
Harpsichordist and Early Keyboard Technician

Melodies have brought new life to prayers and the psalms for millennia, and the rhetorical principles that underlie the music of the 17th and 18th centuries continue to move our affections even today. This talk will explore music as a conversational medium through the vehicles of chanted Christian prayer as conversation with God, and Baroque instrumental music as conversation with the heart. Join us for an evening of musical dialogue over a few drinks.

Thomas Bowers received his B.A. in Music and Philosophy from Florida State University. There he developed interests in early music, Christian chant, and instrument building, and he completed an internship in harpsichord building at Zuckermann Harpsichords in 2009. Thomas currently works as a harpsichord technician in the Boston area, and he is pursuing a Master’s degree in harpsichord performance at Longy School of Music in Cambridge. He leads Anglican chant from the organ of St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Quincy during a Thursday night sung Evening Prayer and Eucharist.

This Theology on Tap series has been designed by St Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Quincy, MA and by their rector, the Rev’d Eric Hillegas, and by the Church of the Advent in Boston, MA.