Could you imagine life without music ― if you could, have you really ever lived truly?
"Without music, life would be a mistake." ― Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche once wrote, "Without music, life would be a mistake", and not for a second would I dare to doubt it. Something profoundly subjective, yet evermore defining on whether one has truly reached inside oneself, to the true core, the utmost inner, of Oneself ― like love, music shares a passion of nigh transcendental nature, if not transcendence itself. Can you say that you have lived if you have not understood music? Then again who has understood music? It has a definite abstract nature. As does nearly everything. Another question that arises is if music must be subjective; do we all feel it differently?
In his magnum opus Either/Or, a monumental work, Kierkegaard has composed a magnificent entire chapter on music, and a spectacular piece, perhaps the best ever, Mozart's Don Giovanni. Even a non-opera fan could surely like this piece. In Chapter 2, which is part of the first part, 'A' the aesthete introduces something that even he, impatient and cynical, thirsty pleasure-seeking whore, could once be in solitude with, namely, Don Giovanni, or particularly the art of opera; the heart of music. Thus, it seems that even the greatest philosopher-poet delivering unworthy of our time prose ― however faithfully in his pseudonym he may be ― defines music as the highest form of art, above poetry.[1]
Music affects deeply, emotionally, intellectually, and psychologically, and as Wikipedia perfectly states, "it can assuage our loneliness or incite our passions." Even Plato understood the vitality music has on the human mind:
Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form. ― Plato[2]
This is perhaps the first view on music as therapeutic, soul clenching, a way into the soul; our heart. Through personal experience, I can confirm its definitive therapeutic nature. Nothing necessarily heals, but music comes close. It just hits deep within, unhinged, as if it knew what to do, time after time. Pain, alas, music says: "no more!" What a wonderful discovery. Unworthy of our times.
As said, Music shares all spectrums of emotions, music is all of the feelings, it follows one through both success and failure, from ups to downfalls, and from therewith back up. Because this blog text has a more personal emphasis, I will share some of my life's most essential songs in the following part.
Through melancholy, in empty halls of spectators, and along walks alone across a neverending bridge:
Through the delightful moments of beauty, to love, 'lovin', and missing something so desirable, intuned with a passionate live-version:
Through bitterness, hard-fought battles; pain, tears, and depression:
And finally, one of the greatest, a duly legendary message. Sometimes you must refrain from worrying. Life has a way of surprising, and often, eventually, every little thing will be alright. The Anthem:
But enough of "my songs". Enough of the philosophical discussion. What is music? Perhaps a vibration of the soul. Maybe a way for recovery, for healing of a broken heart, or for a bird to learn to fly again and reach her nest. Whatever it may be, it is something that is always there for us. Something positive about digitalization in our modern world.
Music is always there for you. Through every emotion, through every difficult task, we are faced with. It never disappoints. It listens, it even cries, it shines.
A wise man said to me once: "Whatever it takes, wherever my road leads, music will always find a way into my heart."
I will leave you with T.S. Eliot's thoughtful words:
“[...] Or music heard so deeply, That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts.”[3] ― T.S. Eliot
[1] More on Kierkegaard's Either/Or, a must-read book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwmI8kOSWM
[2] cited as Plato in Wordsworth Dictionary of Musical Quotations, 1991, p. 45. ― albeit a work has not been specified ― more: https://voices.no/community/index.html?q=colgrocke061106
[3] Four Quartets, No.3"The Dry Salvages", V: http://www.davidgorman.com/4quartets/3-salvages.htm
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