Feeling kinda lonely today, all by myself in my room. Everybody else went to bed already. So I'm listening to some concert band music to try to cheer myself up, but it's not really working because every piece I've listened to has some sort of emotional meaning for me; a memory of playing it or hearing it performed live, and they're all so beautiful that I want to cry. For no reason whatsoever, here's a list.
1. "Second Suite in F" by Gustav Holst
This one isn't all that pretty, in the general sense of the word, but I remember playing it in band last year. I remember who had which solo, and how great we sounded at contest.
2. "Rest" by Frank Ticheli
This is one of my favorite pieces. I heard it performed live by the communiversity band in the town I live in, and although I've never played it myself with an ensemble, I hope to someday.
3. "Song for Lyndsay" by Andrew Boysen
The wind ensemble at my high school played this last year, and hearing it at the concert was an exceptionally emotional experience for me, because at the time, I had a huge crush on a French horn player. (If you don't know that piece, it features a gorgeous horn solo, flute solo, and horn and flute duet).
4. "Seis Manuel" by Shelley Hanson
This is another one of my favorites, which my band also played last year. I got to play the flute solo then, and I played it again this year at honors band.
5. "On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss" by David R. Holsinger
This is a concert band arrangement of the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul," and it is absolutely gorgeous. The wind ensemble is playing it this year, and I'm kind of jealous. I can't wait to hear it at the concert; I'm probably going to cry.
6. "Prairiesong" by Carl Strommen
This is yet another of my favorite concert band pieces. I love the contrast between the tear-inducing slow sections and the fast, hoedown-esque sections. This piece was on the communiversity band fall program as well, and my band director played the awesome flute solos. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go on JW Pepper and listen to it.)
It's amazing what music can do, isn't it? You can have a complete mood change just by listening to a single song, whether that be for better or worse. Music can help you feel better about life, or it can make you feel like your heart is being torn to shreds. But it doesn't only change your feelings, it helps you express them as well. Case in point, there are many times when I get a feeling that simply cannot be expressed through words. So I grab an instrument or sit down at the piano and pour out my soul that way.
There's a quote on the cafeteria wall at my school that says, "Music causes us to lose ourselves and find ourselves at the same time." This is so true. Music has the power to engulf us so that we feel like we're drowning in a sea of emotions, whether those be happy or sad, and at the same time rescue us from the sea of life and stand us up on dry, purpose-filled land. Just thinking about it makes me want to go practice. Alas, it's almost 10 pm. Maybe I'll conduct my imaginary band instead.
