I’ve just reread this, your opening essay, and was touched by the openness you showed in your explanation of why you set up this newsletter. Very personal, but also very universal. Thank you.
Thank you, Richard — this means so much. It always feels like a trial by fire to write about myself (I spend so much time detailing the lives of others), so I'm glad to hear you found resonance and a sense of the universal in this piece. So thankful to have you here at SOB.
Wow, Michael! This felt like a piece of music in and of itself, movement to movement. Such a journey!! And I had no idea what to expect from this symphony, but how you described the single beam of light in the dark is precisely what I heard (complete with dust speckles!) I was also transported to my teenage self in the 90s listening to my parents copy of Bernstein’s Mass on vinyl. I’m not sure why, but it’s the same beautifully sad melancholia. I’m so excited for more (please!)
I'm so glad you enjoyed the read! Thank you for your kind words — I can't think of nicer feedback than finding the music within my musings on music. (And there are definitely sections of Bernstein's Mass that will make it into this newsletter down the road. Love your memories of discovering it on vinyl!)
This is a beautifully written manifesto/essay, Michael. You describe your newsletter as one which will connect with people seeking to "forge beauty" in their lives by presenting writing about classical music that encourages exploration and connection with musical works as "vehicles for finding calm." What a wonderful idea for a newsletter! And quite timely too. As you state, "In a time of ideological division, the erosion of civil rights, and perpetual doom-scrolling, this music helps me foster calm, beauty, and healing in my life."
To answer the question you ask in your essay, I hear in Górecki's symphony a hint of the transcendent. I remember my first encounter with this music. It evoked for me a sense of profound melancholy but also an awareness of the human record. It was roughly about the same period in my life that I'd discovered Claude Lanzmann's monumental documentary Shoah. But I could also hear echoes of Górecki in the imagery of Czeslaw Milosz in collections like Rescue or City Without a Name.
I'm looking forward to the next edition of your newsletter.
Thanks for subscribing, Dennis — so glad you enjoyed your time here! (I actually had the thought after writing my first draft, "Wow, I think I inadvertently wrote my creative manifesto.)
I love your phrase, "hint of the transcendent." That's speaks to so much of what fascinates me most about Górecki's symphony, and especially this movement. The zooming in and out from personal to universal, from light to shadow and back — it truly feels like experiencing two planes of existence all at once.
Thanks, Michael. It was a lovely piece of writing. And like I said, what a brilliant idea for a newsletter! I look forward to reading more of your work.
I’ve just reread this, your opening essay, and was touched by the openness you showed in your explanation of why you set up this newsletter. Very personal, but also very universal. Thank you.
Thank you, Richard — this means so much. It always feels like a trial by fire to write about myself (I spend so much time detailing the lives of others), so I'm glad to hear you found resonance and a sense of the universal in this piece. So thankful to have you here at SOB.
What an angelic voice Dawn Upshaw has. I listen to Classic FM sometimes so that was familiar to me. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you Michael!
(Also so sweet that you were listening to Beethoven while your dad listened to Paranoid. I did chuckle at that!)
Thanks, Jules! So glad you enjoyed — Upshaw's performance channels the music's profound beauty so perfectly. 💙
And yes — there was quite the wild mix of music blaring from my family's house growing up!
Wow, Michael! This felt like a piece of music in and of itself, movement to movement. Such a journey!! And I had no idea what to expect from this symphony, but how you described the single beam of light in the dark is precisely what I heard (complete with dust speckles!) I was also transported to my teenage self in the 90s listening to my parents copy of Bernstein’s Mass on vinyl. I’m not sure why, but it’s the same beautifully sad melancholia. I’m so excited for more (please!)
I'm so glad you enjoyed the read! Thank you for your kind words — I can't think of nicer feedback than finding the music within my musings on music. (And there are definitely sections of Bernstein's Mass that will make it into this newsletter down the road. Love your memories of discovering it on vinyl!)
Oh sweet!!! Can’t wait for that! Have such a blast creating this unique corner of the internet!
This is a beautifully written manifesto/essay, Michael. You describe your newsletter as one which will connect with people seeking to "forge beauty" in their lives by presenting writing about classical music that encourages exploration and connection with musical works as "vehicles for finding calm." What a wonderful idea for a newsletter! And quite timely too. As you state, "In a time of ideological division, the erosion of civil rights, and perpetual doom-scrolling, this music helps me foster calm, beauty, and healing in my life."
To answer the question you ask in your essay, I hear in Górecki's symphony a hint of the transcendent. I remember my first encounter with this music. It evoked for me a sense of profound melancholy but also an awareness of the human record. It was roughly about the same period in my life that I'd discovered Claude Lanzmann's monumental documentary Shoah. But I could also hear echoes of Górecki in the imagery of Czeslaw Milosz in collections like Rescue or City Without a Name.
I'm looking forward to the next edition of your newsletter.
Thanks for subscribing, Dennis — so glad you enjoyed your time here! (I actually had the thought after writing my first draft, "Wow, I think I inadvertently wrote my creative manifesto.)
I love your phrase, "hint of the transcendent." That's speaks to so much of what fascinates me most about Górecki's symphony, and especially this movement. The zooming in and out from personal to universal, from light to shadow and back — it truly feels like experiencing two planes of existence all at once.
Thanks, Michael. It was a lovely piece of writing. And like I said, what a brilliant idea for a newsletter! I look forward to reading more of your work.