I'm not the world's best piano player. Far from it, in fact (actually, I'm decent at the bagpipes, if you care to know). But sometimes, I can play inspired.Sometimes I play Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique--the adagio cantabile movement. I play while looking at the portrait of a family ancestor hanging above the piano. Sitting there in her Victorian dress, she reminds me of Glenn Close. Her eyes are warm, but I know she is sad. She was ill and never married, and I can see a kind of longing in her face.
I play her the adagio cantabile, one of most beautiful melodies ever written, and in my mind, she hears me.
And smiles.
piano
sonata
4 comments:
An aside.
Bagpipes.
Another reason to like your writing.
This makes me think of Look Homeward, Angel and "O lost and by the wind grieved, Ghost, come back again..."
Bernita,
Thanks for the reference. I'm embarrassed to say that despite being an English minor, I haven't read that work--or at least I don't remember it! ;)
I'm intrigued. After I'm finished reading my current books, I'm going to pick that one up!
Jason, I will confess this since I think my American Lit professor is safely dead, but,( psstt...eyes left... eyes right) I didn't read it either,and English was my major - but the poem enthralled me.
Your piece is charming.
I discovered your blog at TIV's and was intrigued after reading your constructive observation.
I play the piano, too, and this entry of yours truly resonates what I feel when I'm totally immersed in what I'm playing. I don't have a photograph of an ancestor to stare at but I do feel like I'm tapping into an energy that's bigger than me and I become a part of it until I play my very last note.
I'm looking forward to reading your other works.
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