So I went to a concert at the Albert Hall last night (la de da!) for a Radio 3 Comic Relief classical music evening. They played one of my favourite pieces, Nimrod by Elgar, and I can honestly say it gave me goosebumps. I know what you're thinking, what kind of student goes to a classical shindig on a Monday night, is either extremely sad or needs a jacket to stop her getting chilly, and why on earth is she telling me this?
Well, I'm about to make a statement.
I LIKE CLASSICAL MUSIC.
There. I said it.
And no, I do not sit around on a Friday night with a glass of port in my smoking jacket listening to Wagner (the composer, not the X factor guy), nor do I claim to adore Tchaikovsky (or know how to spell his name - thank lord for Google), have posters of Pavarotti or even have a box at the Royal Opera house (shock. Horror.)
And there is also a phrase I don't understand - 'I don't like classical music'. Where would we be without it? Can you imagine not trying to sing the old British Airways advert (mooore commfort...) or indeed watching the X Factor without singing the EE EE AAH AHH doomed beginning? And films! Imagine watching a film, or even something on the television, without the music. Jaws, for example. That shark is out there somewhere, and you know it's coming. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum da dum dadumdadumdadumdadum! You might not even notice the music, but how rubbish would the films be without it? Granted only a small number of people could sing Brahm's Symphony no. 3 in F minor (don't worry, I can't either), but I bet if I asked you to sing The Star Wars theme tune, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, James Bond, The Great Escape, Mission Impossible (the list goes on) you could do it!
My music A level buddies will tell you that it's no mean feat when a composer writes a piece of music in an attempt to move, scare, or delight you - the amount of dissonances (horrible clashy notes), changes of key or instrumental techniques we had to study and analyse as to why they gave a certain effect was enough to drive us mad (and you only have to meet us to know it succeeded), but the effect when a piece of music is written so well that it can cause any form of emotion is amazing.
Classical music does something that mankind struggles with - it can portray emotion that cannot be put into words; it can describe a scene, feeling, or moment in life through some wood and bits of metal.
So next time you're browsing for something to listen to, give it a try. You won't like all of it i can guarantee you (John Cage is DEFINITELY not everyone's cup of tea!), but here are a few websites to give you some recommendations:
- http://www.kickassclassical.com/classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html - a good list of some that you'll already know, even if you don't know the names!
- http://www.halloffame.classicfm.co.uk/300-251 - the Classic fm Hall of Fame 2010, 300 top pieces voted for by the listeners, some gorgeous pieces on there
- http://www.last.fm/music/+tag/classical - good for some composers to have a looksie for.
And don't forget your smoking jacket. ;).
x
