The transportive power of music

[Soubasse]

A perrenial subject which I suspect most of us would ponder on a regular or semi-regular basis, but today it just really took me by surprise which is why I thought I'd share it here.

I was doing the most mundane of tasks - marking exam papers - and because my office desk is so cramped (admittedly by my own doing) I take the bundles of papers, mark sheets, etc and spread out over two or three desks in the classroom. Having a good quality hi-fi system in the room is a boon as I'll tend to put on some CDs. Usually it's something that fits into my "zone out" mentality such Tallis, Part, Tavener, even Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream or Sigur Ros.

Today, I happened to grab a compilation disc of primarily string works. It's actually still one of my favourtie discs - a free one that came with an old edition of Q magazine and was billed as a "modern guide to contemporary classics."

After the noteworthy fare of Tavener Protecting Veil, Barber Adagio (of course) Glass Facades and Reich Eight Lines, we reach that most superlative of string pieces Vaughan-Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

Now, by this stage, I was knee-deep in these wretched papers, mumbling to myself ("oh, knock it off, how on earth can you mistake a perfect fourth for a minor third?!" "No, an Interrupted cadence is V-VI NOT IV-I you twit!" and so on ...) 9-10 minutes into the VW and there is that magnificent crescendo, and there in that instant (in the manner of my Jehan Alain quote) it COMPLETELY transformed me. I was removed from this oh so boring, mind-numbing task, and transported to a moment 9 years ago when I previously heard the piece in its entirety (from start to finish). This was when my wife and I were approaching Lincoln Cathedral and it was at this same point in the music that this magnificent structure practically rose up from the ground and stood in all its glory before us.

I dropped my pen, leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes and even started crying. I hadn't really been properly listening to it - it just ... took me! It was such a surprise! I'm at a loss to figure out why, things are not so bad in my life right now, so it's not like I'm overly depressed or anything (well, apart from having to teach!). I'm also curious as to why this particular moment in Lincoln came so overwhelmingly to me since I've listened to the Fantasia plenty of times since and not necessarily been reminded of that moment.

All in all, in immediate retrospect, it's made me glad that I can still do this, that music can still work on me that way and that it can happen with a piece I know very well (and could damn near transcribe from memory) but still never tire of it. At the risk of offending poets, writers, painters, sculptors, dancers, etc, I can still find music the most noble and imaginative of the arts .... but that's just me.

So, take it or leave it, but if anyone else has any similar accounts, I for one would like to hear them.

Thanks for your time.

Matt


(PS: Mods, feel free to move this to what you may consider a more appropriate forum but I thought I'd start it here since it fits into "classical" music)

 

[dll927]

You don't mention the level of your educational pursuits, but I assume it's college.

Maybe, as much as anything, your piece is a partial explanation of why professors always take so long to return graded exam papers.

Unless things have changed since I attended college nearly a half-century ago, professors rarely teach more than 12-13 hours a week, about half of what public school teachers do. Throw in a few office hours (which might be used for grading papers), and that's the week for them. Yet it seems to take a minimum of a month to return those papers. Why???

 

[jhnbrbr]

I think you're rather missing the point of the thread dll927 !

Matt, I can certainly identify with your experience of the powerful emotional effect of a piece of music, and also with the association of a geographical place with music - which is obviously a by-product of in-car entertainment. I'm not ashamed to admit that music sometimes makes me cry too, and I think that is mostly what I am looking for when i listen to music, because however weird it may seem, to be made to cry by a piece of music is my idea of having a good time! I agree with you that music is the art form most likely to have this effect. There was one occasion when a novel made me cry, but i can't imagine ever being affected to that extent by a painting or a sculpture. As to why music should have such a strong effect, that is surely a great mystery which we are a long way from understanding.

 

[Soubasse]

As to why music should have such a strong effect, that is surely a great mystery which we are a long way from understanding.

Probably one best left alone as well. I admit, I'm as curious as all hell, but I still don't think I'd want to know that answer to be honest.

Being moved to tears by music is still a very powerful thing IMO because you are potentially seeing someone at their weakest, and if someone's guard has been let down - or got at - to that extent, it can be as alarming as it is intriguing (particularly if it's in a public environment).

I witnessed something like this first hand, strangely enough at another English cathedral. When I first visited Gloucester, I was keen to see the cathedral (as I was most UK cathedrals really!). There was a rather amusing exchange between another couple of toursits as I was walking in. In a nutshell, girlfriend was trying to get boyfriend to go inside, boyfriend was being humourously obtuse with excuses like "I'm not religious, what if I get struck by lightning or something?!" and generally playing up the "tough guy" image. They both came in not long after me, by which stage I'd had time to get my breath back having had it taken away by the amazing architecture, the vaulted ceilings, etc. I could hear muffled talking further down the nave and I suddenly realised that it was a Sunday (one forgets these things when on holidays) and it was the middle of morning mass. The talking ceased and then, the choir started singing! It was a beautiful motet by Ouseley the sound of which was, in that environment, really quite heavenly and I was (once again) in raptures. More significantly though, I happened to glimpse that the lad from the aforementioned couple was standing slack-jawed at this magnificent sound. When I happened to glance at him a short while later, he had his eyes shut and there were tears running down his face, and it was quite obviously all because of this piece of music which in all likelihood, he'd never heard before, and was most likely not in the habit of listening to that style either. It really put a very charming spin on my first visit to this lovely building.

Anyway, I'm rambling again.

Oh and dll? I teach at secondary school level and I was marking Yr 9 exam papers the results of which were due today. I now have the splendid prospect of report writing to look forward to (for about 12 classes, due next week) and this is done over and above the approximately 26 hours per week of teaching time. Being a College Professor sounds fantastic right about now!:grin:

Matt