‘Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast’

Well, that’s not exactly how Pope Benedict put it, but he did enjoy a concert last night and remarked afterward about the great power and beauty of music.

In remarks made at the end of the concert, the Pope indicated that music “has the power to lead us back … to the Creator of all harmony, creating a resonance within us which is like being in tune with the beauty and truth of God, with the reality which no human knowledge or philosophy can ever express.”

That has to be part of what’s behind this amazing story of the dancing prisoners in the Phillipines. The prison boss says violence has ceased since the dancing started.

Reminds me of the terrific little ‘sleeper’ of a movie I saw last year, “Take the Lead.” It didn’t get much notice or great reviews. But those folks missed the deeper, human story and the great lines about life. Even that Wiki summary doesn’t capture the essence of the story that these inner city, disadvantaged kids were taught that they had dignity and could rise to a nobler character….through music and dance. When the principal threatened to pull funding for the innovative after-schol detention program, Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) makes a passionate defense of exposing these kids to culture and beauty, insisting “Everyone deserves a little culture”.

In the end, it changes them dramatically. And they bring more discipline, commitment, pride, respect and honor into their everyday lives.

Best of all, it’s a true story.