music for the soul

The other evening I was escorted into the depths of my soul by the wonderful playing of the young British pianist Freddy Kempf who touched the audience with his interpretations of Bach, Busoni, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Liszt. What a selection of great composers. It was an evening of wonder and I so much wanted to share it with everybody and say that, without classical music, the true meaning of life cannot be understood because at that moment I was in a state of nirvana. Yet, of course, that is not quite true as different people can become touched by the inspiration of many different types of profound creation. But then, so many people are never touched at any point in their lives by anything at all and that is a tragedy. So sad. Their lives remain empty and unrealised. Of course, good music is a primordial massager of the soul and it should be the right of every child to have some exposure to its healing qualities.

In my life, I have been blessed with many experiences of the Arts, especially ballet and dance, theatre and film, I have read much of the great literature, I have seen many a great painting exploring different elements of life, I have witnessed a thousand different examples of the wonderful exhalation of human creative energy exploding in a myriad of ways. Yes, I have many wonderful memories. Yet, for me, the performance of classical music is surely the greatest of all the art forms, the one that can take me closest to God. Sweet harmious sound is so utterly primordial that it can touch the soul so often. The heavenly vibrations of music are our link with the universe and they remind us of our very source of being. Yes, they are God-given and I give thanks for them. For a moment, at that recital, I was truly transported to heaven. Oh joy.