8/23/2024

Classical music

This story tells us a few important things.


Quiet environment and, with string instrument, appropriate reverberation are necesasry to have classical music appreciated by people.


Even more importantly, we should be psychologically ready to listen to it. A person, a passionate lover of classical music, with the history of severe depression used to tell me that she has lost will to listen to it, however she used to love it in the past. It is a process that requires our psychological energy to devote ourselves to classical music. To those who are too busy or are occupied by the other things, classical music won't smile. At first sight, classical music, especially that of Bach, sounds unfriendly to us. However, when we are willing to know of it, it always respond to us with prosperous gifts.


This story seems to have occurred in reality and was reported on a major paper.


Quote a post in Facwbook; 

 “ In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
The Love Rabbi-Yisroel Bernath

5 comments:

  1. What a story! It's a fascinating study of human nature. There is one thing which is not mentioned, and that is recognition. The 2000 people who walked through the subway may not have heard the piece by Bach before, and went on their way unaffected. A Bach lover would have stopped and been amazed. So it's not really fair to compare the concert-goers with the passers-by.
    I'm sure you have experienced many times that moment when you're in a crowded place and hear a snatch of some music you love on a radio, and you were transported.
    John

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    1. You are right, John. Bach's music won't smile at us by itself. Sometimes unfriendly and even grumpy if we won't concentrate on it.
      BTW, I have recently got CDs for the other key board music like French suites etc. They are played by piano. The pianist is Andras Schiff. Soft touch and translucent sound from piano. I am, however, a bit perplexed by a lot of grace notes, especially, long trills. I know Bach and the contemporary have played grace notes even though Bach himself has not put them in the score. I have been too accoustomd with fewer grace notes in performance by Sviatoslave Richter. Grace notes often sound too ornamentous to me. How should I do with this? I am really perplexed.

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  2. The works were written for the harpsichord which has non-sustaining notes, unlike the piano. So trills were often written in the score to create an illusion of lengthening. Further ornamentation was often left to the performer's own choices, apart from F. Couperin who insisted that his markings were not to be embellished in any additional way.
    I'm not an expert but I think written harpsichord ornamentation does not sound well on piano.

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  3. Replies
    1. So I should purchase new CDs performed with harpsichord, right? Even with piano, certain note does not sound continuous. Even with piano, pedal use may elongate certain note but it is not so continuous as string instrument or voice. That characteristic of piano may cause turbidity of 2nd interval of notes in grace notes. It seems a new world of harpsichord is opening to me! Now I know why Richter has not play grace notes so often in his performance of the Well Tempered Clavier with piano. Thanks for the comment, John. The world of music is still profound

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