“And may the odds be ever in your favor. ” Said Effie Trinket in Suzanne Collins’s “The Hunger Games”. That’s how I basically feel. I’m starting my masters next week, and I have no idea how I should feel. Should I do a happy dance? Should I continue to run around (in my awesome apartment that I moved into) in circles? Should I continue to study for the GAE (Graduate Advisory Exams) I have on Saturday & Sunday? Should I start picking my outfit(s) for those first couple of days? I. don’t. know. All I know is this (in points to be all professional like)
Continue reading “Ready? Set? Conduct!”
Month: August 2013
November
Oh hush, my darling
Oh hush, my love
I’ll find you in the morning
on the November sky
We’ll sing songs of our family
We’ll drink muddled wine (but hush)
(my darling) night is coming fast
After the dust and rain settles
We’ll find ourselves in a new light
We’ll find ourselves, we’ll do this right
Now, sleep my love
Rest, my child
for I will be here
guarding you in the dark
Hush, my darling
Don’t fret, my love
We’ll be together
We’ll be all right
under the November sky
Hush…
Oh, hush, my love
We’ll sleep it off
in November’s dark
I’ll sing for you
you’ll read to me,
but for now… I hope to be
the one who sets you free
Symphony as a Suicide Note
T
his is what people think of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony which he composed in 1893. Maybe it’s true since he died of cholera in November of 1893. This Symphony is rich with drama, complex harmonies and enlightening melodies in the midst of chaos.
This symphony has four movements:
1. Adagio – Allegro ma non troppo
2. Allegro con grazia
3. Presto: Allegro molto vivace
4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso
If you listen to the symphony you can perceive the Tchaikovsky’s lament for his lover with his cross-motifs as well as the stressandos in the strings. Also in how the melodies shift from one instrument to another with the orchestra’s background chords stressing or giving depth to what the melody is trying to express.
Many historians have said that Tchaikovsky was a master in the “evolution & development of a motif or melody” and wholeheartedly agree. Maybe he wasn’t the best composer in a “strategical point of view” (where we can differentiate part A from part B), but this is the whole point of his music. This is where Tchaikovsky’s music blossoms. Just as in his life, just as in his time period, his music reflects the chaos of life. The ups and downs. How everything overlaps. How everything starts harmonically and very elegantly and then it turns into nothing and everything at the same time.
Tchaikovsky’s music represents life itself. Not as other composers which is very structural (I’m looking at you Mozart) or too complex and have no time “to breathe” (as Bach’s fugas). In short, Tchaikovsky’s music is simply beautifully complex just as life is. Or maybe I’m just a big Tchaikovsky fan.
Si vous plait?
Wow. I’ve been away for a little while. How quickly time changes! I’ve been in the middle of settling in my new apartment in Illinois, as well as getting ready for my first semester of grad school. Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I’ll be posting further this week!
The art of musical poetry 