Music, music for a while shall all your cares beguile - Henry Purcell
This is the opening line from one of my voice exam pieces coming up in July. It's a slow Baroque piece and I really like the lyrics. It tells of how music can take all our cares away and charm even the most savage of instincts. The analogy Purcell uses is borrowed from Greek mythology. Alecto was one of the trio of fearsome furies and with music, you could even calm and soothe someone like her. Very cool stuff.
Anyway, music truly can move the soul, but it must be of the highest quality. By that I don't mean that it must be technically perfect, but that it must derive its source, and therefore its power, from the soul of the musician. There is nothing quite as lethal as the offering of one who has absolute unity between music, heart and mind.
Ok so this isn't the bona fide first-ever post of mine. I've been tinkering with this on and off for a couple of months now. Those who know me will understand why - I gotta get it presentable for public viewing! Well, it's definitely not pro (yet), but I've gotten the hang of it and am finding it strangely therapeutic and/or interesting.
Now why would I want a blog? Initially it was to satisfy the wonderment of what the rest of the world was getting into. But after reading some really terrific blogs and seeing the potential of it becoming a charter of my somewhat dreary life, I thought, hey maybe I could jump on the bandwagon. Of course when that happened I fully expected to fall right off in due time and not even think about it anymore; but guess what, it kinda grew on me!
So this is the 'offical' and 'carefully constructed' first post of this public slice of my life. I hope you all enjoy the coming journey with me. Feel free to post comments ya?