Music to Die for
I was having a discussion this weekend with some friends about a choir that sings to people as they are dying. I suppose some people would find this morbid, but to me (and my musician friends) there is nothing more natural. It turned out that a number of us not only had our funeral music picked out, but we also had “last pieces” picked out for our final hours of consciousness.
A friend of mine, in her early 20’s, needed a very risky surgery; the doctors said she had a 15% chance of dying during the procedure. She asked if the “Agnus Dei” from Faure‘s Requiem could be playing as she was given anesthesia; if she died, she wanted her last thought to be of the music she loved. She survived the procedure, and a year later, I was honored to participate in the performance of the Faure Requiem that she conducted. Now, when I hear that piece, I can’t help but think about her bravery.
If I had to go through what she did, I’d choose Chopin‘s Nocturne in Db. Oddly, this piece doesn’t have any significant meaning to my life. I just think that the last 16 bars (4:48 to the end) would be the perfect soundtrack for a sweet death.
That made me cry. And it’s funny you posting this today because at the gym I was able to bench press 95lbs- the most I’ve done since the surgery ( before I was benching around 120) and so the whole event has bed on my mind this morning.
I was 31 btw 😉
congrats on your bench pressing achievement! I’m not sure I could do that now, and I’ve not had any life-threatening conditions.
And it was an honor to have you play!
Last mov’t (but really last two minutes) of Sibelius 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qSp2ecoRyi8
love it! Have you ever heard Mahler 9? it’s so long it will make your butt sore, but the ending is so sublime that I find it hard to even breathe while it is playing.
Yeah we saw the LPO a few years ago. Beautiful but depressing, imo!
Last week I met with my pAstor to discuss my funeral bulletin I prepared. Not terminal to the best of my knowledge. Would pref r r the Durufle!
“Music Thanatologist” I believe, was the subject. And I know it is probably a bit obvious, but I’d have to go with the Barber Serenade for Strings.
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