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“Watching” music
Mar. 8th, 2014 03:05 pmSensory memories are pretty well linked together, aren’t they? I can’t listen to “Bolero” without seeing the animated evolution scene in Allegro Non Troppo (along with a bit of Torvill and Dean), and every time I hear “Suddenly I See,” I picture Stacey shopping for her wedding dress (Gavin & Stacey). Now that I think about it, I’m not 100% sure this is a good thing. Is there some value to having a more pure sensory experience, focusing on just the hearing of it?
This came up today when I watched a bit of a ballet performance of “Scheherazade.” I love “Scheherazade.” I’ve got my own, vague, inchoate images that usually come up when I listen to it – Sinbad at the helm of his ship, fighting the storm; the procession of the Kalendar prince (whatever Kalendar may be). I grew up on “The Arabian Nights,” and I’ve always loved that aesthetic. A few weeks ago, we had a local ballet performance of “Scheherazade,” and I considered going, but I wasn’t feeling all that great, and sitting in an audience of ballet-goers isn’t always an optimal thing for someone sensitive to fragrances. I decided the next best thing would be to watch a recording of a “Scheherazade” ballet, and I got a Russian one from the library.
The interesting thing I noticed today, though, when I tried watching it, was that I didn’t really like having something to look at while listening to the familiar music. It was distracting! I couldn’t get caught up in the music – in fact, I kept forgetting it was there.
Later I tried “The Firebird” on the same DVD, and it was a better experience. I’ve heard “The Firebird” but not again and again like “Scheherazade,” so it was familiar but not important in the same way. The visuals were a lot better, too, much less cluttered, so that may have played a part in it. Of course, if I watched this DVD several times and then listened to “The Firebird” later, I’d probably get these visuals in my mind again.
So I guess for me, that’s a choice to make, for any piece of music I might care about. Do I really want to hear it when I hear it, and do I want my own, indistinct, mental pictures to go along with it, or do I want to hear it as background to what I see, with someone else’s imagery thereafter?
This came up today when I watched a bit of a ballet performance of “Scheherazade.” I love “Scheherazade.” I’ve got my own, vague, inchoate images that usually come up when I listen to it – Sinbad at the helm of his ship, fighting the storm; the procession of the Kalendar prince (whatever Kalendar may be). I grew up on “The Arabian Nights,” and I’ve always loved that aesthetic. A few weeks ago, we had a local ballet performance of “Scheherazade,” and I considered going, but I wasn’t feeling all that great, and sitting in an audience of ballet-goers isn’t always an optimal thing for someone sensitive to fragrances. I decided the next best thing would be to watch a recording of a “Scheherazade” ballet, and I got a Russian one from the library.
The interesting thing I noticed today, though, when I tried watching it, was that I didn’t really like having something to look at while listening to the familiar music. It was distracting! I couldn’t get caught up in the music – in fact, I kept forgetting it was there.
Later I tried “The Firebird” on the same DVD, and it was a better experience. I’ve heard “The Firebird” but not again and again like “Scheherazade,” so it was familiar but not important in the same way. The visuals were a lot better, too, much less cluttered, so that may have played a part in it. Of course, if I watched this DVD several times and then listened to “The Firebird” later, I’d probably get these visuals in my mind again.
So I guess for me, that’s a choice to make, for any piece of music I might care about. Do I really want to hear it when I hear it, and do I want my own, indistinct, mental pictures to go along with it, or do I want to hear it as background to what I see, with someone else’s imagery thereafter?