Thanks, Kate! I hadn't heard that Amy Beach work and now I'm obsessed. These are such great selections, I think I'll have to devote a future Melancholy Mixtape to just birdsong-inspired works! 💙
And The Marginalian boggles my mind. How does Maria stay so prolific year after year after year?! 🤯
Such an inspiring story on every level! Popova's sentences are just so magical:
"... inside each person, even the loneliest, dwells a secret garden of delight waiting to bloom under the warm rays of tenderness ... perhaps voice only exists to give tenderness a vessel."
And I'm so glad my mixtapes bring you calm and beauty while you work! I'll have a new one out in a couple of weeks. 💙
This was really enchanting, Michael. I think the Bartók was my favourite this time but all three were very enjoyable - also I love learning things like this:
"In Schoenberg's vision of atonal music, a composer isn't allowed to repeat a pitch until they've used the other 11."
Thank *you*, Jules — so glad I could send some enchantment your way today! The Bartók is such a magical experience, the first bird to enter the scene always brings a huge smile to my face. 💙
Gorgeous selections, Michael. I’m a big fan of all three composers, and always love listening to Barbara Bonney. Two more bird-themed pieces come to mind: Brahms’ ‘Die Nachtigall’ and Vaughan Williams ‘The Lark Ascending.’
Thank you so much for posting such inspiring music. I enjoy reading your interesting commentary as well.
Thank you, Anne — I’m delighted you’re enjoying the words and music I share. (The Vaughn Williams almost made it on the list here! What a bounty of beautiful works to choose from.) 💙
What are some of your favorite Bonney recordings? I love that we can turn to her for everything from Purcell to Strauss!
Wow 🤩 Bartók's was remarkably unique to my ears! It felt more like a play or film score, so visual! That he didn’t finish the last 17 measures of his final concerto is both haunting and oddly hopeful. Like our last breath isn’t truly the end of us.
I totally agree — the Bartók is so cinematic! And we can’t help but to feel drawn in by the mystery of a score left incomplete: Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Art of Fugue, Mahler’s Tenth Symphony (which I’ll be covering in a 2025 essay). Love your framing of the immortality of art here. 💙
Thanks, Kate! I hadn't heard that Amy Beach work and now I'm obsessed. These are such great selections, I think I'll have to devote a future Melancholy Mixtape to just birdsong-inspired works! 💙
And The Marginalian boggles my mind. How does Maria stay so prolific year after year after year?! 🤯
Such an inspiring story on every level! Popova's sentences are just so magical:
"... inside each person, even the loneliest, dwells a secret garden of delight waiting to bloom under the warm rays of tenderness ... perhaps voice only exists to give tenderness a vessel."
And I'm so glad my mixtapes bring you calm and beauty while you work! I'll have a new one out in a couple of weeks. 💙
This was really enchanting, Michael. I think the Bartók was my favourite this time but all three were very enjoyable - also I love learning things like this:
"In Schoenberg's vision of atonal music, a composer isn't allowed to repeat a pitch until they've used the other 11."
Thank you!
Thank *you*, Jules — so glad I could send some enchantment your way today! The Bartók is such a magical experience, the first bird to enter the scene always brings a huge smile to my face. 💙
These are just gorgeous, Michael. I'm listening while relaxing after a long day of unpacking in London.
So glad to hear you’re settling in to London, Kate! I hope these moments of birdsong proved a healing potion for you as they did for Bartók. 💙
Absolutely, they do 💙
Gorgeous selections, Michael. I’m a big fan of all three composers, and always love listening to Barbara Bonney. Two more bird-themed pieces come to mind: Brahms’ ‘Die Nachtigall’ and Vaughan Williams ‘The Lark Ascending.’
Thank you so much for posting such inspiring music. I enjoy reading your interesting commentary as well.
Thank you, Anne — I’m delighted you’re enjoying the words and music I share. (The Vaughn Williams almost made it on the list here! What a bounty of beautiful works to choose from.) 💙
What are some of your favorite Bonney recordings? I love that we can turn to her for everything from Purcell to Strauss!
Michael, what a balm. Thank you. I especially appreciated hearing about the bird aiding in Bartók's healing.
It's such a beautiful story, isn't it? Thanks for reading, Chloe. 💙
Wow 🤩 Bartók's was remarkably unique to my ears! It felt more like a play or film score, so visual! That he didn’t finish the last 17 measures of his final concerto is both haunting and oddly hopeful. Like our last breath isn’t truly the end of us.
I totally agree — the Bartók is so cinematic! And we can’t help but to feel drawn in by the mystery of a score left incomplete: Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Art of Fugue, Mahler’s Tenth Symphony (which I’ll be covering in a 2025 essay). Love your framing of the immortality of art here. 💙
Ooo, Mahler! I can’t wait!