La Musique

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Simply Classical

Classical music to me, can only be perhaps defined as unpredictable. Whether it be Bach's continuously unravelling melodies, or Bartok's powerful beat, or Mendelssohn's elfin touch, I find them alluring in their unpredictability.

Like why I can't understand Mozart would suddenly cut his melody off to insert in some obscure three-note motif, or a sudden staccato passage would emerge out of nowhere. Why Haydn should obsess over that particular chord progression, why he would go to such lengths to develop that simple motif.

But undeniably, perhaps motivated by the lack of passionate love in my life, my hearts goes out to the master of melodies, Chopin. His sublime melodies, be it in transcendental etudes, or bewitching passages of pure unalloyed rapture, reach a level that seems beyond human ability. When I first heard one of his compositions, Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2, my first thought was "Wow. This sounds straight from heaven."

Not that I've heard anything remotely from heaven before, but in all my time in MEP, while I thought I had been exposed to so many different kinds of classical and world music, even including the monotonous chanting of "The Hours" of Philip Glass, it was the first classical piece I had felt so drawn to.

Chopin was my first love in Classical Music.

8:15 PM