|
|
|
|
|
|
Let me explain why music is so deeply important to me. I had the opportunity to learn a special kind of appreciatioin for music at a very young age: at the age of three I was put into dance lessons, ballet, jazz, etc., and continued them until I was eighteen. And what is it to dance? For the professional dancer, for the ballerina, to dance is to make one's body a tool for a visual expression of the feeling and meaning of the music. The movements are not arbitrary; they are well thought out and intentionally designed, choreographed according to how the dancer herself is moved by the music; and thus, through her own artistic expression, expresses how she feels the meaning of the music. But of course, in order to adequately express such using one's own body, one must feel the music in one's very flesh, one must be moved not merely emotionally, but to be moved so much as to have a bodily response. And it is this that I began to learn so young, how to feel music both emotionally-psychologically and bodily. It taught me an appreciation for music that contributes greatly to how I experience music; for the music that I love and appreciate, it can never be merely background noise, and such treatment is, in my opinion, to disrespect this great art form; when I listen to music I cannot hlep but give it my full attention, it draws me in, it captivates me, and my love for the music cannot resist it.
My lessons in ballet exposed me to a great amount of classical music, and thus, I have a deep appreciation and love for much classical, all of the great composers throughout human history. However, there is another childhood experience that contributed to and reinforced my enjoyment of classical: throughout my time at elementary school, we were taken at least once annually to some auditorium where professional symphonies, orchestras, and such performed regularly. And so again, I was exposed, I learned to appreciate this great art when I was so young, so impressionable, and the impression it had on me was deep, is everlasting, and certainly valuable. Considering the fact that one could easily seek out such classical music, since it has such an established history, I do not share that here. Instead I share some music that I am also deeply fond of, for much of it is very non-mainstream, and I like to support that which I appreciate so much. In a sense, I realize that I like some of this music because it has characteristics that I notice are similar to classical music; in particular, most of it is without lyrics, and rather uses pure sound and noises for the expression of the feelings and meanings of the music; in other words, one must really listen to and feel the music in order to obtain some understanding of what it perhaps means, for it plays greatly upon the ways in which we, as human beings, can be emotionally moved by such sounds and noises when they are presented in a certain way. And is not that truly the power of music? Please Listen. Yumeji and Angkor Wat from the film, In the Mood for Love, which is, in conjunction with its sequel 2046, the most beautiful story ever told. |