Life would be very dull without music.
I’m grateful for:
- Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 (the Pastoral Symphony), especially the first movement, Allegro ma non troppo. One day I will experience this work being performed live.
- So hard to pick a single J.S. Bach work. At the moment I will choose Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 (lit. Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life). I’m just starting to listen to Bach’s cantatas. Amazing work.
- For Mozart… I will pick Die Zauberflöte, K. 620 (The Magic Flute). Unusual for me, as I don’t normally like opera. But, the overture. The songs. Ah, “Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja”, “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön”, “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”, “Pa-pa-pa”….
- From Collapse into Now (which is growing on me), REM’s Überlin:
I am flying on a star into a meteor tonight
I am flying on a star, a star, a star
I will make it through the day
And then the day becomes the night
I will make it through the night - And my all time favourite, So. Central Rain, by REM.
One Comment
Dear CW, did you listen to the ABC Classic FM countdown to the top 100 pieces of 20th century music? It was fascinating. I didn’t hear all of it but it reacquainted me with so many beautiful pieces. The final concert on Saturday night included Vaughan Williams’ A Lark Ascending, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Holst’s The Planets (they only played Mercury), and finally Elgar’s Cello Concerto. An absolute feast. This month I am thankful for Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, which my choir is learning for an Advent service.