When it was made public that Patti Smith was invited by the Pope to sing in the Vatican Christmas concert, which takes place on Saturday, the reaction of most religious and musical worlds was shock.
After all, Patti Smith, known as the punk godmother, had sung in “Gloria”, the classic album “Horses” (1975): “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine”
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The idea of Smith singing for a packed audience of cardinals, bishops and perhaps even the Pope came to be presented with an exercise in hypocrisy.
Smith, met with the Pope in St. Peter’s Square in 2013, is not, in any way anti-religious. This fact is reflected not only in his work, filled with religious images and letters, and in their own statements.
“I had a strongly religious education and the first word in my first LP is Jesus. I thought a lot. I am not against Jesus, but was 20 and wanted to make my own mistakes, did not want anyone to die for me. I continue to support this girl of 20 years, but evolved, “said recently when asked about participation in the concert and the famous phrase about Jesus.
Earlier, in an interview to the magazine “Rolling Stone”, deepened the question: “Actually it was a declaration of identity and not so much about Jesus He was the vehicle but was stating my existence.. was to define the type of artist who was to come in the rock domain & amp; roll and the type of artist who I was. ”
It can be said that Patti Smith is so religious? That depends on how we understand the term.
“I believe that there are good things in every religion. But religion, politics and business, all these things have become so corrupt and so mixed with power, that does not really interest me any of that. But interested me much for the human condition, “he told” Rolling Stone “the artist.
The organization of the Primavera Sound announced Friday the presence of Patti Smith at the festival, 4-6 June 2015 in Porto.
Singer “open Bible”
Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Smith left the faith, but continues to read the Bible. .
“It’s all there – creation, betrayal, lust, poetry, prophecy, sacrifice does not matter what religion is, or if you do not even have religion: these stories continue to be relevant to what the people now live and are beautifully written passages, “said the artist to” New York Daily News. ”
The Portuguese musician James Cavaco, who is also pastor of a Baptist Church and punk rock fan, sees no contradiction in going from Patti Smith to Rome and assign it to this interest in the Bible.
“In the United States people are used to go to the biblical text, if only to get angry with him, but it is healthy:.. Go to the biblical text if only to us zangarmos with him later brings encounters. Today Patti Smith is playing for the Pope has certainly to do with the fact that she has an open Bible, “he says.
Cavaco, who is a fan of “Horses” and read the memoir “Just Kids” (2010), goes further: the proximity of the singer with religious themes is natural, given its path, argues .
“The Patti began writing before making music and Christianity is par excellence a writing faith. So someone who writes, even if do not believe, it makes sense to have a close relationship with Christianity, even if it is not a belief relationship. A singer, a writer, like Patti Smith, near the Church, even if in these things, I absolutely normal and natural, “he says.
“What I find is that Patti Smith is a person who realizes that religion is too important a thing to be rejected and disposed of easily,” he concludes.
A religious work
You can not hear the work of Patti Smith without realizing the many biblical references.
“Horses” and “Easter”. The religious themes through Smith’s career
One of his albums is called “Easter” (1978), which means “Easter”, and comes in the booklet disk, a quote from St. Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my career …”
In the original passage in the Bible, where the ellipsis, reads: “I kept the faith,” the artist may have left out on purpose.
At the same album there is a song inspired by Psalm 23, crosses drawn by hand under each artist name that contributed to the songs as well as a picture of Rimbaud and his brother on the day of first communion .
In another song, “Constantine’s Dream,” the singer tells an episode happened during a stay in Italy, when he had an apocalyptic dream in which he saw St. Francis of Assisi to cry. Upon waking up, went to the nearest church to pray, only realizing later that it was precisely a basilica dedicated to St. Francis.
It is thus clear what Patti Smith says in an interview with “Seattle Weekly”, in a 2010 interview when asked about the fact that she and the artists of his circle had dealt with religious themes: “The story of Christ lends itself to creative expression. When you think about it, almost all the great artists they put Christ in his work. ”
He concludes, pointing out that had nothing to do with any particular church: “I always had my own relationship with God.”
The Vatican concert takes place on Saturday at 18h00, 19h00 in Rome, in the auditorium of Via Conciliazione. In addition to Patti Smith, who will sing with his daughter Jesse Paris, acting Bob Sinclar and Cristina sister, a nun who became famous on “The Voice” of Italy. Tickets cost between 75 and 250 euros and the funds revert to charitable purposes.
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