“Music is enough for a lifetime,
but a lifetime is not enough for music.” 
– Sergei Rachmaninoff

If you’ve seen any of my other posts about classical music, which can be found here and here, then you’ll know how much I love it! On this post I’m sharing three amazing songs. One is solemn and sad, the other is a feel good song, and the last one is deep and dramatic. I hope you enjoy them.

1. Frédéric Chopin: Prelude in E-Minor (op.28 no. 4)

This song was played at Chopin’s own funeral, by his request. This sorrowful song will pierce your soul, but in a beautiful way haha.

https://youtu.be/ef-4Bv5Ng0w

2. J.S. Bach: Prelude Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major

This song was composed around 1717–23. It is uplifting and profound. This is on Master and Commander (a great and totally underrated film).

3. Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C Sharp Minor

Sergei was only 19 when he composed this extraordinary, passionate piece. Listen to this and you will be entranced. 

“To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts
– such is the duty of the artist.”
Robert Schumann

One of my very first posts I wrote on here was 5 Breathtaking Classical Songs. I adore classical music. There have been numerous studies on the benefits of classical music, which I may write about in its own post. I briefly talked about in the last classical music post about how my mother introduced me to classical music at a young age, so I completely agree with Luciano Pavarotti’s quote, “It is so important for people at a young age to be invited to embrace classical music and opera.”

Without further ado, here are 3 Classical songs that are exquisitely magnificent:

Morning Mood, Edvard Grieg
I’ve had this one on repeat for a couple months, I can’t seem to get enough of this uplifting melody! It’s incredibly moving. This was composed by a 5 foot tall Norwegian named Edvard Grieg for the play Peer Gynt.

La Cathédrale Engloutie, Claude Debussy
Simply elegant and breathtaking. Debussy amazes my soul. The title translates as The Sunken Cathedral and is based off a fascinating legend.

“This piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Sounds can be heard of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea.^[2] Accordingly, Debussy uses certain harmonies to allude to the plot of the legend, in the style of musical symbolism.

To begin the piece, Debussy uses parallel fifths. The first chord of the piece is made up of sonorous Gs and Ds (open fifths). The use of stark, open fifths here allude to the idea of church bells that sound from the distance, across the ocean.^[3] The opening measures, marked pianissimo, introduce us to the first series of rising parallel fifth chords, outlining a pentatonic scale. These chords bring to mind two things: 1) the Eastern pentatonic scale, which Debussy heard during a performance of Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris,^[4] and 2) medieval chant music, similar to the organa in parallel fifths from the Musica enchiriadis, a 9th-century treatise on music.^[5] The shape of the ascending phrase is perhaps a representation of the cathedral’s slow emergence from the water.

After the beginning section, Debussy gently brings the cathedral out of the water by modulating to B major, shaping the melody in a wave-like fashion, and including important narrative instructions in measure 16: Peu à peu sortant de la brume (Emerging from the fog little by little). This shows Debussy at his closest manifestation of musical impressionism.^[6] Then, after a section marked Augmentez progressivement (Slowly growing), the cathedral has emerged and the grand organ is heard at a dynamic level of fortissimo (measures 28-41). This is the loudest and most profound part of the piece, and is described in the score as Sonore sans dureté. Following the grand entrance and exit of the organ, the cathedral sinks back down into the ocean (measures 62-66) and the organ is heard once more, but from underwater. To attain these effects that reflect images of the castle, most performers use specific techniques with regards to pedaling and articulation to affect tone color. For example some performers use their full body weight to depress keys to create a rich sound. Also performers create a ringing bell sound by instantly releasing pedaled notes. Finally, the cathedral is gone from sight, and only the bells are heard, at a distant pianissimo.” (source here)

Swan Theme, Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Absolutely beautiful. Composed by Tchaikovsky for the ballet Swan Lake.

Big news! I published a book!! It’s called Light and Love. It’s a collection of Christmas poetry that I’ve written. The poems touch on subjects of light, love, Christmas magic, nostalgia, as well as grief and death. It’s available on Amazon as a paperback as well as a kindle edition. I’m running a promo on it and the kindle edition is available to read for free until Friday December 23, 2016.  If you do read it, I’d love to know what your favorite poem in the book is! Also, if you like it, it’d help a ton if you could leave a rating or review on Amazon. Here is the link to my author page on Amazon where you can find both formats of the book. In honor of my 8th wedding anniversary today, I’d like to share a poem from the book. 

Christmas with my Love

Christmas with my love, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be,
Nestled together by the fireplace, so cozy and warm,
Towering above us, is our majestic Christmas tree,
Illuminating our home with sentimental charm.

Gazing out the frosty window at the moonlit wintry scene,
Blankets of snow cover the fields around us,
And a dark pine tree forest sleeps in the distance.
The world is still, mesmerized by the snowflakes gently twirling down from the sky.

The crackling of the fire serenades us on this magical night.
Held in your arms, I can feel the beating of your beautiful heart,
The smell of your skin intoxicates my soul,
Flames cast a warm glow onto your handsome stubbled face,

Hypnotized by the flicker in your brilliant blue eyes,
You can see straight through me, no one knows me better than you.
You my darling are gentle and loving and mischievously alluring.
My dear, my love, what do you see in me?

Captivated by your deep voice softly singing carols,
My heart flutters as you pull me closer,
Slowly leaning in, your full lips delicately kiss mine,
I love you, I love you,

Your presence brings me peace,
With you I can let my inhibitions go,
Content to stay forever in this tranquil winter bliss.
Christmas with my love, my joy, my whole heart.

 “Sometimes in the great soundtrack of our lives there are no words, there are only emotions; I believe this is why God gave us classical music.”
―Anonymous

At an early age my Mom introduced me to classical music. I fell deeply in love. Some songs have a way of touching your soul. Originally  I wanted write why each song means so much to me, but sometimes things are too personal and sacred to share. So without further ado, here are 5 breathtaking classical songs. Enjoy!

1.  “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy

2.  “Pas de Deux” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky

3.  “Tristesse” (Etude no. 3 in E major, Op. 10 no. 3)  by Frédéric Chopin

4.  “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” (La fille aux cheveux de lin) by Claude Debussy

5.  “Dreams of Love” (Liebesträume) by Franz Liszt