...And All Will Fade To Silver Glass...

This last weekend, the director of the youth orchestra I work for asked if I would lead one of the younger groups in a watered-down arrangement of music from "Return of the King." I'm a big fan of the movie, so I agreed. It was supposed to be simple: melodies from the movie with all the hard stuff taken out. I pulled it out and started rehearsing it... mostly "music to kill orcs by." Then we got to the part of the medley that featured the song Into the West. That's where I lost it.

Three years ago, Into the West was the "goodbye" song that I used to close out my end-of-the-year choral concert... and more specifically, say goodbye to my graduating seniors. You have to understand: I work at a 7-12 school... so I get to know the kids very well... 6 years in some cases. This means I can be kind of a wreck at graduation. The melody of this song brings me back to a moment standing on that stage where I can barely see the stand in front of me because I have tears welling up in my eyes. And I remember every face that was looking back at me... *Sigh* They don't tell you about this part of teaching... how you grow to love them, and then they leave. Every last one of them.

So yeah.... I had to stop and gather myself And these sweet orchestra kids... looking at me and wondering what was wrong. They had never seen me as anything but cheerful and silly... I didn't know how to explain it to them. Part of me wanted to say: "You know in the movie, when Frodo and Gandalf leave at the end... and they're saying their goodbyes... and everyone's crying because they're overwhelmed by the fact that their friendships are being concentrated into a single meaningful moment? Well, every year I have moments like that with my seniors, and this song reminds me of one of them." Maybe I should have. It's simple enough for a child to understand.

Phht.

...silly little song from a movie.... It's not like it was Beethoven's 9th, or the Barber Adagio. And yet what power it wields.

From Immortal Beloved:

Ludwig van Beethoven: What do you think? Music is... a dreadful thing. What is it? I don't understand it. What does it mean?

Anton Felix Schindler: It - it exalts the soul.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Utter nonsense. If you hear a marching band, is your soul exalted? No, you march. If you hear a waltz, you dance. If you hear a mass, you take communion. It is the power of music to carry one directly into the mental state of the composer. The listener has no choice. It is like hypnotism. So, now... What was in my mind when I wrote this? [in reference to "Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 47" - "Kreutzer"... ] Hmm? A man is trying to reach his lover. His carriage has broken down in the rain. The wheels stuck in the mud. She will only wait so long. This... is the sound of his agitation. "This is how it is... ," the music is saying. "Not how you are used to being. Not how you are used to thinking. But like this."