Awake

New Music

Finally broke down and bought some new music last night. For some reason, I've had "The Moldau" in my head for the better part of week. It's one of my favorite songs but I've never owned a recording of it. This song is actually associated with one of my earliest memories of classical music. When I was at Rock Creek Elementary, one time in music class, our music teacher had us sit at our desks with a blank piece of drawing paper and some drawing utensils (can't remember what exactly) and he instructed us to listen to this piece called "The Moldau" and draw what we heard. I don't remember exactly what I drew, but I remember the feeling—that amazing feeling—of drawing the music. It was this wonderful yet simple amalgamation of creative expression. It felt like freedom to me.

My nieces love music. So I found an album with a recording of "The Moldau" along with a bunch (well 30, in fact) of other known and not-so-well-known classical pieces. The tone of the album makes it perfect for quiet reading time in the afternoon and it'll be great exposure for them to some of the great music of history. Not to mention excellent dancing material. So the first album I bought was 30 Toddler Classical Songs, Vol. I.

The recording of "The Moldau" on 30 Toddler Classical Songs (Vol. I) wasn't as nuanced as I prefer, so I picked up an album of Smetana and Dvořák, too. It has all the pieces of "Ma Vlast", including, of course, "Vlatava" (aka "The Moldau") and, as it turns out, the very enjoyable Dvořák symphony piece that I heard the Oregon Symphony play after the intermission on Monday night. So the second album I bought was Smetana: Má vlast; Dvorak: Symphony No.4. The album is quickly becoming a favorite.

My brother, Brant, has a friend from SPU, Lacey, who is a musician and fellow percussionist (she also plays a mean timp). She is, I'm proud to say, my facebook friend. One day, she indicated that she was a fan of Arvo Pärt. Knowing Lacey to be a talented musician and as such privvy to musical knowledge I can only dream of, I added an Arvo Pärt "station" to my Pandora Radio (click here to listen). I found myself repeatedly giving the "thumbs up" to his "Fratres" pieces and have been meaning to pick up an album featuring them for quite some time now. So the third album I bought was Arvo Pärt: Fratres. I am quite convinced that James Horner was inspired by these pieces when he wrote the soundtrack for the movie "Sneakers". Perfect parts eerie tension and beauty.

Finally, I have repeatedly mentioned that I attended the Oregon Symphony's performance on Monday night featuring Edgar Meyer. I had heard him but not known it and so for me, he was a new discovery. I enjoy bluegrass and am leaning strongly toward learning that style on my violin. I think it would be fun to learn how to improvise and play from a chart, instead of just from musical notes on a page. So once again I have Pandora to thank for helping me to discover a new album. I bought Telluride Sessions not only because Edgar Meyer plays, but because it is an amazing collaborative work of Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Mark O'Connor, and Edgar Meyer. (More about the album in this wikipedia article, "Telluride Sessions".)

So now I have some new music. Sigh. I feel better now.