The content of a couple of posts reminded me that life can be very challenging. The events and circumstances of our daily lives can sometimes make it very difficult indeed to rise up, face the day, and do what needs to be done. We all have those bad days when it all seems so overwhelming, when we are unsure if we are up to the task, when we come to the conclusion that all is vanity, life is crap, and it's all going to hell anyway, so why bother? Or, it may be that a personal loss is so devastating that it shakes us to the core and makes us question and doubt the very structure and meaning of our personal lives. Whatever the reasons, sometimes we just feel BAD.
What music have you found to be the antidote to such emotions? What music has helped you to get through such times? It might be music that is overtly inspirational, perhaps religious in tone, or it might be something that is not meant to be inspirational but has proven to be so to you. It might be something that you heard only once but that helped you at that particular moment, or it might be something to which you return time and again to to lift your spirits.
A few examples from me:
Granados---Spanish Dances for piano
Many years ago I contracted a bad case of influenza. Bedridden and miserable, I lay there with the radio on the local classical radio station, drifting in and out of sleep and consciousness. I woke up as something unfamiliar was playing which caught my ear and focused my attention. It was the Villanesca from the Spanish Dances of Granados, played on the piano by Alicia de Larrocha. I don't know why, but at that moment that music was the perfect balm: soothing , reassuring, telling me everything was going to be all right. It was some time before I was fully well, but that music started me on the road to recovery. I enjoy it to this day.
Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly---Gary Burton Quartet
Icarus---Ralph Towner
I list these two together because I have used them both as music that I have played in the morning to inspire me to take on the challenges of the day. They are both tuneful and rhythmically propulsive pieces very well performed by the musicans involved, and represent for me the musical introductions to each of the artists, the first music I heard by either of them. Coincidentally, the subject matter of each title is concerned with flight.
I have many more examples, but I want to hear from you. Please list some of your own examples of music that has inspired you and helped you to get through the bad times.
Jas, this might make a good sticky, yes?
