July 2012 - Classical Music

Bach, J.S.

• Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt (Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven)
• Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn (Walk in the way of faith)
• Mein Gott, wie lang', ach lange? (My God, how long, ah long?)
• Komm, du süße Todesstunde (Come, thou sweet death's hour)
• Nur jedem das Seine (To each only his due)

Beethoven

• String Quartet No. 6
• Septet
• Symphony No. 1
• Piano Sonatas 11 to 15
• String Quintet

Faure - Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra

Back to the Bach after a break! Sorry, I just wanted to say that...  but yes, I re-embarked on exploring my box of cantatas.  With reasonable results, but to be honest at the moment the different pieces tend to blur into each other and I find it hard to comment on anything in particular.

With Beethoven it's easier. Probably because these pieces are more familiar, but also because I respond really strongly to many of them.  This month's listening included a group of piano sonatas where the experimentation with form is noticeable, although my favourite of the bunch is probably the most 'conventional' one in that sense, the sonata in D major Op.28 known (not unreasonably) as the 'Pastorale'.  And that was immediately followed by another personal favourite, the string quintet Op.29.

One of the more disconcerting effects of keeping track of my music listening using spreadsheets is that I can see just how long it is since I last listened to something.  And in the case of classical music, where I've been keeping records for several years, it can come as a shock.  I have memories of getting to know Op.28 that are quite specific and vivid, and it feels like it was only a short time ago, but then Excel told me I hadn't listened to it for nearly two years.  By the time I get to some later Beethoven works, I'll hit things that Excel tells me I haven't listened to in over three years.

Yet I can still hear many of them in my head.

I have more music than it seems I can sensibly listen to, but I'm continuing to add to it (more purchases on the way as I write...).  Does it really matter? I'm not sure. The more music I have, the more any given work in my collection is likely to sound interesting and fresh when I get around to revisiting it.  The fact is that I find most things in the collection rewarding, and I rarely buy anything that hasn't already been considered for a while before purchase.

I sometimes don't know what depresses/scares me more, the vast amount of great music to listen to, or the far vaster amount of mediocre music that is hiding it.

The best solution seems to be to keep listening, and keep responding, and just accept that this is how things are.  I'm just one person among billions past and present, and even if only a tiny fraction of those other people manage to produce something that amazes, moves or thrills me, there's going to be a lot of those amazing, moving, thrilling moments to find and enjoy.

And really, one of the main functions of this blog is to try and let other people know about some of those moments, to share them.  Not that this particular post is doing a particularly good job, I grant you. But I hope that people occasionally read something that makes them go and explore a new musical avenue, even if it takes several years.