by Alan Cohen
I was honored to meet Morton Lauridsen, a genius musician considered by many to be the world’s greatest living composer of choral music. He is widely respected for his stirring opus, “Lux Aeterna” (“Eternal Light”). Morton told me that one of his dear friends, a conductor who often conducts Lauridsen’s compositions, fell into a coma. After several weeks, doctors could not predict whether or not he would awaken.
Morton went to visit his friend, who was lying inert in a hospital bed. After a minute Morton began to gently sing the chorus of “Lux Aeterna.” Then, to onlookers’ astonishment, the patient raised his hand as if he were conducting a chorus. This was the first time the man displayed any activity since he had fallen comatose. Eventually he was resuscitated. (For a moving journey into Lauridsen’s music, watch the documentary Shining Night, available at innerharmony.com.)
