For some people, today is a major shopping day. For others, it’s a day when post-Thanksgiving diets are begun (only to be abandoned by December 1st, when the “holiday diet” of cookies and candies begins.) For me, it is a day of repose. The only thing on my agenda is to eat leftovers.

Whether today is a “go get ’em” or a “no way am I taking off my pajamas” day for you, today’s piece will hit home. Like yesterday‘s Carmina Burana, you’ve heard the beginning part of today’s piece, but probably not the whole thing. The Stanley Kubrick film 2001 – A Space Odyssey made this piece so popular that most people identify it with the film rather than the philosophical novel which provided the piece’s original name – Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

If you’re heading out shopping, listen to the beginning. You’ll know when to stop. But when you come back, with arms full of packages and wallet empty of cash, and you realize there’s something big missing from your life – you can fill that empty hole by listening to the rest of Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss.

Personal opinion about all of Strauss’ works: the horn is his father, he is the violin, and the waltzes are the Viennese audiences he had to write for (all three were love-hate relationships).

My favorite parts:

• the organ at 1:43 – the übermensch of instruments
• the über romantic string section, from 2:44-4:33
• the famous, creepy weird fugue that begins at 10:52
• the waltz at 21:04 – you can take Strauss out of Bavaria, but you can’t take the Bavaria out of Strauss
• so, pretty much, the whole piece

Gobble till you wobble!

Here’s some truly lovely music by Anton Dvorak which is a delightful digestive aid – his String Serenade. What makes it good enough to eat? Sweet, singable melodies, and predictable harmonies – no surprises, without ever being boring. The whole thing is about 30 minutes:

If you’re strapped for time, here’s the second movement, a waltz – in my opinion, the best part of the suite:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not much to say about this one! Pour a cup of tea and draw yourself a musical bath – courtesy of Ralph Vaughan-Williams.

Some quick notes about Vaughan-Williams :

• He loved and collected English folk music; its influence can be heard in all his music
• He was the son of a priest, but was an atheist; later, a self-described “cheerful agnostic”
• Despite the above, he wrote a great deal of sacred music and practically defined the hymnody of the Anglican church for a century
• He volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in WWI; the experience affected him (and, by extension, his music) profoundly
• His remains are interred in Westminster Abbey, near those of Purcell and C.V. Stanford

Vaughan-Williams’ music might be conservative when compared to his contemporaries, but it really hits home. The Lark Ascending is simply transcendent.