A 5th

“It is almost a literal fact that there is not a trace of cheapness in the whole body of his (Beethoven’s) music.  He is never sweet and romantic; he never sheds conventional tears; he never strikes orthodox attitudes.  In his lightest moods there is the immense and inescapable dignity of the prophets. He concerns himself, not with the transient agonies of romantic love, but with the eternal tragedy of man.  He is a great tragic poet, and like all great tragic poets, he is obsessed by a sense of the inscrutable meaninglessness of life.” – H.L. Mencken

One of the most beautiful of glories of great music, is that it leads each of us to a place or state of mind or soul, that before hearing it, we weren’t familiar with.

Beethoven, for me, always leads me beyond the meaninglessness of life, to the wonder, the beauty, the power, the perfection and majesty of what awaits us in the next life.

If you’ve never listened to complete piece (Beethoven’s 5th Symphony) beyond the familiar opening notes, it is the grandest of journey’s of emotions that is never cheap – a journey discovering emotions and knowledge known deep within our souls, but, perhaps, can’t be understood, buried in the quagmire of offerings from the modern era – a glimpse of the glories of what awaits us once our stint on this insanity of a planet reaches its final crescendo.

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Tonight’s musical offering:

Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 – West–Eastern Divan Orchestra ~ Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Photo credit: W.J. Baker (held the expired copyright on the photograph) [Public domain]