Vengeance

Many months ago, in what feels like years ago, I blogged that driving while listening to the Chorale (Symphony #9) by Beethoven gave me great pleasure. The reason might be that the audio system is better than I thought; I've never had an automobile that came with a CD player, and it so happened I was doing California driving almost as a necessity the distances being so great. Hence, the boredom of driving was relieved by music listening. I got tired of Bible Chat (The CRI in NC) and other talk radio. (Speaking of which, I confess I miss Howard Stern.)

My wife is not mad about Classical Music. Yet, one day when she got in the passenger seat, section three (Third Movement? I'm a musical ignoramous) of the Chorale was playing, that part where a very long, and therefore arresting forced pause in the ongoing music, a long held note, dissolves into the sweetest, most ingratiating, lovely melody unfolding. My wife said in hushed tones, "My! How lovely!"  She was semi-hooked. (What she REALLY likes is karaoke

Main Entry: kar·a·o·ke
Function: noun
Pronunciation: "kar-e-'O-ke, k&-'rO-ke, "kä-rä-'O-(")kA
Etymology: Japanese, from kara empty + Oke, short for Okesutora orchestra
: a device that plays instrumental accompaniments for a selection of songs to which the user sings along and that records the user's singing with the music

and is saving up to buy an elaborate version of that contraption about which I know next to nothing.)

A few months went by. When Mark Andrew (age seven months) was alone with me in the car I repeatedly played the entire third movement over and over. It's L O N G, as the whole work is an hour and a half or more, and suddenly, out of the blue, Mark Andrew sang along with the music! I was flabbergasted! His dear sweet infant voice got amusingly tangled up with it so much he was almost laughing and 'singing' at the same time.

More time passed. During an onrushing family conversation the Beethoven got left on and ran over the third movement and, into the highly dramatic 4th Movement in which an enormous, glorious choir made up of hundreds of voices sing an anthem of Joy. In the middle of this cacophony Mark Andrew began to 'sing.' His mother was transfixed. The rest of us couldn't stop laughing with glee, astonishment and happiness.

Pssst. Soto voce OK? I believe Ludwig van B (1770 - 1827) has another fan, Mark's mother! Ha ha ha ha ah, shhhhh.....lest she go into denial.

Barry

http://journals.aol.com/bbartle3/Vengeance/

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• #1 Comment from aimer
  10/3/07 7:02 PM | Permalink

  Perhaps you have a budding musician in Mark Andrew. What a lovely entry! --Sheria