š Good morning from Florida. Iām Michele, and this isĀ The Right Note,Ā a mix of the most interesting things Iām reading, writing, and learning about this week.
I've written in my opera newsletter how there are periods in my life when I listen toĀ Vivaldiās Four Seasons RecomposedĀ by composer Max Richter on repeat.
When was the last timeĀ youĀ listened to the same song over and over and overā¦?
Iāve always been curious about what happens inside our brains when listening to the same music.
I remember one long weekend in high school; my song was āI Can't Make You Love Meā by Bonnie Raitt. My boyfriend had broken my heart, and I must have played that song a thousand times. My gut is thereās a correlation between how young you are and how quickly heartache cycles through your system. I am not sure I wanted to feel better that weekend. But I canāt help but think I got to the other side faster because I let myself indulge in the pain for a bit.
According to a study done by the University of Michigan, people listen to the same songs for comfort. The rush from dopamine might be why we love listening to the same songs repeatedly.
Freud wrote about repetition as āthe desire to return to an earlier state of things.ā
I pick up Max Richter when I feel a little down, but also when I am hopeful about the future, and I need help seeing what is on the other side.
I strongly recommendĀ the entire piece, but āSpring 1ā is one of my favorites. I've never heard a piece that I would want to play at my wedding and funeral.
It represents symbolic endings and new beginnings.
Itās hope, love & growth all wrapped into oneāthe perfect Spring filled with rebirth and renewal.
InĀ Vivaldi's Four Seasons Recomposed, neo-classical composer Max Richter completely reimaginesĀ Vivaldi's beloved baroque work The Four Seasons.Ā
Every movement from VivaldiāsĀ Four SeasonsĀ creates images from the season in question. The energy of the strings might evoke a bird, a squirrel, a bee, or a seedling breaking through the soil.
I've heard Richter say that just because you recompose something doesnāt mean that the original wasn't good enough ā it just means that you care about it enough that you have to get deep into it. That you learn so much more about it than you did before when you have to take it apart. You realize which key elements must stay versus those that need to be blown up.
Richter says that as a child, he lovedĀ The Four Seasons. But as he grew older, that passion faded.
Itās beautiful, charming music with a great melody and wonderful colors. Then, later on, as I became more musically aware ā literate, studied music, and listened to a lot of music ā I found it more difficult to love it. We hear it everywhere ā when you're on hold, you hear it in the shopping center, in advertising; it's everywhere.
For me, the project is trying to reclaim the piece, to fall in love with it again.
Here is the full piece if you want to listen.
Richterās recomposition preserves Vivaldiās original spirit but alters it just enough to make it sound like it was meant for todayās world.
I look forward to the future, but sometimes I need help seeing what is on the other side.
I hope it helps you see what is on the other side, too.
š See you next Friday,
Michele