Soundtracks... FOR YOUR LIFE!

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sibelius2.jpg

Over a decade ago, I was going about my job observing teachers teach at the Governor’s Honors Program, and I dropped in on Dave Adams’ class to see how World War I was going. When I got there, Germany was still posturing, the U.S. was still smug and quiet, and everyone still hated France. While Europe parleyed, music played. I complimented Dave on the music, and he offered to make me a copy of the CD, which he had put together from his collection. He called it his Music for the Soul CD; its contents represented music that resonated deeply for him.

The idea of creating a CD that was filled with music that had special meaning for your soul is right up there with the “10 books for your desert island” meme, but unlike your mythical shipwreck, this is one you can actually do.

I set about making mine and eventually ended up with this list:

  1. Allegretto, mvt. 1 of Symphony No. 2 in D, Sibelius

  2. Prelude, mvt. 1 of Cello Suite No. 1, J. S. Bach

  3. “Juice of the Barley,” an English country dance

  4. Allegro, mvt. 1 of Piano Concerto No. 2 in b minor, Dohnányi

  5. “The Hours,” from the movie soundtrack of the same name, Glass

  6. “Komm, eilet und laufet,” mvt. 3 from Easter Oratorio, J. S. Bach

  7. “Towards the Dream,” from Dreamtime Return, Roach

  8. “Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in A major,” from the 24 Preludes and Fugues, Shostakovich

  9. Fratres, Pärt

  10. Canon in D, Pachelbel

  11. “The Breaking of the Fellowship,” from The Fellowship of the Ring, Shore

I’ve created playlists for that 4-hour drive home from Valdosta every summer (matching the mix of relief and grief and joy I felt after the end of every GHP) or for heavy-duty meditations in the labyrinth or for getting ready to lay out a burn, but choosing your “soul music” for a CD limits you to around 70 minutes of music. That limitation makes you refine your choices quite a bit.

I used to listen to this CD nonstop in the car; it segues nicely from the Fellowship music back into the Sibelius, creating a grand loop of different textures and moods. When the iPhone/Pandora era started, I listened to my CD less often, but it’s never gone away.

Every couple of years I listen with an ear to seeing whether it’s still my “soul music,” and amazingly I’ve only made one change: I recently replaced #9, the Pärt, with “Wait,” by M83. Yes, my soul has changed a bit.

What this has to do with my creativity I’m not sure, but I thought it was a nice enough project that I should recommend it to my readers as a serious TASK AVOIDANCE.