Monday, May 10, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Class today was the beginning of the study I had hoped we would have here. I loved our bit of form analysis we did on Mozart's Requiem. While no, I did not understand every bit of the theory we covered, but I am definitely making progress and I really like that. I think this study here will make me a much better musician—or so I hope. I enjoyed the theory and form analysis much more than the discussion about our responses to the pieces. The emotional, spiritual and psychological responses of listeners to pieces is surely extremely important, but I think the things—the music, including its form, chordal structure, etc—that create those feelings or affects, are almost more important than the responses to the music. If a composer or musician can understand those constructs, then he or she will be able to best convey those things to his or her audiences.
I've thought a bit more about my comment about the effect of live music on listeners and have come up with a few other ideas:

When people use their resonators to the fullest extent, they produce many overtones, which are, for some reason, arresting to the attention. Sister Hall calls it “making our endorphins dance.” But there is really a physiological, spiritual, psychological response to those overtones produced which makes us devote our full attention to what's going on musically.
Unfortunately, even with the recording technology being as advanced as it is, it still can not capture those overtones and when we hear recorded music, we simply can not achieve the same effect as when we hear it live. This really interests me, even after writing a 20 page paper on it two years ago. I still want to know what is happening mentally when those things happen—when music locks “air-tight,” if you will.

We went to Evensong tonight at Southwark (pronounced “Suthik”). I was fairly underwhelmed with it, but whatevs. I think it may have been the tuning or maybe the underdeveloped children's voices. But whatever it was (or wasn't, as the case was), it didn't really strike the chord for me.

We're seeing the Tallis Scholars tomorrow night. I think I might wet myself.