Day 364: Organ Music (End of Year One!)

BrahmsCD58This is the last day of listening to Johaness Brahms, and the end of the first year of my three-year journey.

Tomorrow starts a new leg: the 11th century novel The Tale of Genji, noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu, and Enrico Caruso CD 1.

A strange pairing, perhaps. But it’s time for me to read some of the classics of literature I haven’t gotten around to reading.

 

And I’ve always wanted to hear the great Caruso.

But, that’s tomorrow.

Today, this morning, is Organ Music.

I’ve always liked organ music. Brahms’ organ music is no exception.

But it’s a tough sell because Brahms doesn’t seem to recognize a melody to save his soul. Like most of his orchestral music, concertos, and vocal music, this is just a collection of notes to my ears. There’s nothing for me to grab onto, nothing that touches my soul in a deep and meaningful way.

I know there are Brahms experts out there who argue with me about my opinion, and that’s okay. As I’ve stated all along, I’m no music expert. I hold no Ph.D. in Musicology. I’m just a fan of music from a wide spectrum of genres. I know what I like, and what I don’t.

I flipped out over Beethoven. Discovering his music was life-changing for me.

I was ho-hum, even negative regarding Haydn’s music. That bored me to tears.

Brahms falls somewhere in between flipped out and ho-hum. He’s not Continue reading