Rubaiyats of Lote-Tree

Music is one of the Powerful Forces in the World and to me it is certainly more powerful than the words we speak or the thoughts we write down. It is the closest thing we have to the Transcendental : the Experience that goes beyond words and language or the mere cereberal activity of the brain.

Life without music no dobut would be colourless, dull and boring. But Music either works for us, or it does not and there is nothing else to it. Classical Music - no, don't be scared - aspires to our mind as well as to our heart.

Here are some of my favourite "classical" tracks :-)

1. Puccini's - Madam Butterfly - "One Fine Day"

First in the list, though not in particular order of favourites or anything, is "One fine day” and it is from the opera “Madam Butterfly” by Puccini. It is about a Japanese lady named Butterfly, who falls in love with an American sailor called Pinkerton. Pinkerton promises Butterfly that he will return to take her back to America, but he never does. So with a broken heart Butterfly sings “One fine day, over the green hills he will come…” But he never does. It is the nature of humanity to yearn for things that will never happen. So the music speaks directly to our soul, of this longing for someone who never comes to us and yet we still hope they might come, one fine day and set us free from our pain...

2. Beethoven's - "Moonlight Sonata"

The second on this list is by Ludwig Van Beethoven and is called “Moonlight Sonata. It was composed in the summer of 1801 and was dedicated to Countess Giulietta Gucciardi to whom Beethoven had an unrequited love. And there is also speculative story that goes something like this: Beethoven loved someone so deeply that he referred to this person in his letters as his “Immortal Beloved”. The music may have been borne out of that or something else or it is as some Beethoven Scholars speculate a lament for the dead. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it's not. Either way the music is moving both for the lament for the dead and for the pain of the unrequited love.

3. Mozart Piano Concerto No 23.

The third on this list is by Mozart and it is simply called “Piano Concert No 23.” Mozart was a child genius. He was writing complex music by the age of six. Though he has given us some of the world’s most beautiful music, he died young and penniless and was buried in a pauper’s grave.
To me, “Piano Concert No 23” is one of the most serene melodies in the world. When I listen to this music something enters into my soul and makes me weep with joy and sadness. This melody touches me so deeply that I cannot explain why. Perhaps, it does not need an explanation. Perhaps it should remain unexplainable.

4. Rodrigo - Concerto De Aranjuez

The fourth in the list is by the blind Spanish composer Rodrigo and is called "Concerto De Aranjuez". It is a brilliant piece of music. When I hear it I am standing in a lush green field. There is a gentle breeze that dances with flowers. The sky is delphenium blue. My eyes scans the horizons, climbs the gentle slopes of the distant mountains, and then travels along the streams with sparkling waters. And then it comes the final. The melody lifts me up in it's warm embrace towards the cloudless sky - higher and higher and the it gently brings me down to the earth again...

5. Bach's Brandenburgh Concertos No 5.

It's pure musical meditation. Pure joy!

6. Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5.

7. Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Spring

8. Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake

9. Mozart - Eine Kliene Nachtmusik

10. Nyman - Heart Asks Pleasure First

11. Delibes - “Lakme - Flower Duet”

12. Strauss - "Blue Danube"

13. Holst - Jupiter

14. Beethoven - Symphony No 5

15. Beethoven - Symphony 9 - Ode to Joy

I hope you enjoy some of these tracks. If you don’t it doesn’t matter. Music should speak to us. If it does not, it is not for us. All musical tastes are therefore subjective. If we like it, we like it. If we don’t, we don’t. Music rises beyond any cerebral activity. Yes, it is true you need intelligence to write music but appreciating music is something that goes beyond any intelligence. Like all art therefore, music touches something deep inside us and we respond to it without understanding why. It can move us to tears or fill our hearts with joy. It can uplift and inspire us and make us forget for a while the harshness of the world...

Some music however takes time to grow on us while others drop off easily from our consciousness and is then forgotten forever. Good music therefore becomes our close friends. In time of need, we turn to them so that they can comfort us with their melodies...