Music is a unique medium in which a range of emotions that underlie the human condition are played out: our quest for love, health, happiness, and meaning, the ecstasy of finding what is hoped for, the despair of losing it, the anxiety of existing without knowing why and so forth. It seems obvious then, that to enjoy music to the fullest, it must be felt. This is easier said than done, for the art of listening is something that must be acquired through time and discipline. We must teach our minds to keep still, and our ears to breathe in every note so that the music flows to every part of the body and becomes visceral, not just audible. This is the art of making an emotional connection to music. It is what good music is meant to be, and listening right respects the intention of the work.
The Emotional Landscape of Music
In this section, I provide examples of the range of emotions composers of classical music try to express in their works, from the fiery to the restful, from the fitful to the meditative. Some of the pieces are quite long. So, feel free to jump around the selection, and choose the pieces that speak most to you.
I begin with a work by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart is known for his melodic, expansive and graceful compositions, here’s a composition where he shows how music can translate heroic effort and strife into intense musical textures – the dramatic first movement of his Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, K. 310.
Tender expression requires a slow, gentle pace. For an example of how the feeling of being whole is communicated in clear, simple textures, we turn to Mozart again and consider two of his beloved slow movements: the andante from his Piano Concerto in C, No. 21, K. 467, and the adagio from his Violin Concerto No.3, K. 216.
Andante Movement from the Piano Concerto in C, No. 21, K. 467 (Mozart)
Adagio Movement in the Violin Concerto No. 3, K. 216 (Mozart)
For a work that portrays intense heroic struggle resolving into victory, we explore the first two movements of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (the Emperor Concerto), where he achieves a sublime rest in the second movement suggesting the hero’s victory, and by extension, ours. Here is the celebrated Emperor Concerto, performed by the great pianist, Arthur Rubinstein.
The Emperor Concerto, 1st Movement by Beethoven
The Emperor Concerto, 2nd Movement by Beethoven
Some sounds may open up inner rooms and gardens. A recent composition by Tobias Picker (b. 1954), Old and Lost Rivers, creates such an imaginative space. The haunting ambiguity of its harmonies stirs childhood memories of days spent exploring riverbeds in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Have a listen and see what memories it stirs in you.
Estonian composer’s Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel has a meditative effect of a different kind. In contrast to the relaxed flow of Picker’s composition, the music here is ‘Tinntinabular’ in style – a term coined by Pärt himself to describe his minimalist, meditative compositions. Translated as ‘Mirror in the Mirror’, Spiegel im Spiegel is enduringly popular for the calm, still environment it conjures, transporting listeners to a place that is a world away from the noisy and frantic one that most urban dwellers inhabit.
Many of Pärt’s music possess a quality that suggests mystical or spiritual awakening. This is the case, for example, with Da Pacem which Pärt composed two days after the 2004 Madrid train bombings. It is a choral piece that evokes shared empathy over tragedy with a hint of hope that transcends this world, feelings which are created by the composer’s subtle techniques of composition such as chant-like voicing and rudimentary harmonies. The text is a 6th or 7th-century hymn based on biblical verses 2 Kings 20:19, 2 Chronicles 20:12,15 and Psalms 72:6-7. The work’s duration is about an hour, but the first movement, Da pacem Domine, which takes just 5 minutes, will give you a good idea of the musical structure of the entire work.