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Last night I dreamed that my mother, my brother and I--and possibly some other people--were having dinner at the home, or possibly the club, of an older man who discoursed about the music of the Italian Renaissance and French Romantic painting with such erudition that I had no idea what he was talking about. He was so kind, though, that I didn't feel very intimidated; only filled with admiration. I had the barest notion who he meant by the painters, solely because when I was growing up we had a book about French Romantic sculpture, with a few painters for context. I was completely lost when it came to the music.
He was talking about a concert that was going to happen that night in the city below our table (in a dark, expensive room, in a long window, next to a balcony with a city view); the music of an Italian composer, P------i. I don't think, in retrospect, he could have been a Renaissance composer. I rather fancy 18th century. Our host was going to loan me some recordings so that I'd be prepared for the concert.
Our host spoke about this composer's works with absolute familiarity and the understated appreciation of the true scholar. He didn't say "This piece is wonderful, soaring, you'll love the--" (I don't know what one might love. I don't know anything about music.)
Instead, he said things like, "They sometimes refer to his [Italian term for a piece of music] as a [French term for a piece of music]--you may find that a meaningful distinction, or you may not, but yes, though it's a minor piece, it will reward your attention, I think."
I'm a non-musical person trying to evoke the speech of a music scholar from a dream. It was like that, but much more appropriate. I wish I could remember the composer's name and the words he used, so that I could ask![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
argus_in_tights whether any of it was real terminology I'd stored somehow out of conscious memory.
He was discussing a collection of short pieces rather than a longer work in parts. I think the composer had also written longer works.
And he was so kind, and he liked me. He set me two tasks, and I felt sure that if I completed them I could win his esteem, or a warmer emotion.
The first task was to write a poem about the music of the composer. The second was to write out a list of 55 ways you could disguise an ounce of brandy in another beverage. I immediately decided that I'd make the list into a small, beautiful Edward Gorey-like book to please him.
The prize he offered me was a small heap of hand-made chocolates encased in a thick layer of silver. It was very thick -- a stiff shell that the chocolates showed through in irregular spaces -- but I think you were meant to eat the silver as well.
Obviously, I'm going to write the list. But how am I going to write the poem, if I can't remember the name of the composer?
argus_in_tights?
He was talking about a concert that was going to happen that night in the city below our table (in a dark, expensive room, in a long window, next to a balcony with a city view); the music of an Italian composer, P------i. I don't think, in retrospect, he could have been a Renaissance composer. I rather fancy 18th century. Our host was going to loan me some recordings so that I'd be prepared for the concert.
Our host spoke about this composer's works with absolute familiarity and the understated appreciation of the true scholar. He didn't say "This piece is wonderful, soaring, you'll love the--" (I don't know what one might love. I don't know anything about music.)
Instead, he said things like, "They sometimes refer to his [Italian term for a piece of music] as a [French term for a piece of music]--you may find that a meaningful distinction, or you may not, but yes, though it's a minor piece, it will reward your attention, I think."
I'm a non-musical person trying to evoke the speech of a music scholar from a dream. It was like that, but much more appropriate. I wish I could remember the composer's name and the words he used, so that I could ask
argus_in_tights whether any of it was real terminology I'd stored somehow out of conscious memory.He was discussing a collection of short pieces rather than a longer work in parts. I think the composer had also written longer works.
And he was so kind, and he liked me. He set me two tasks, and I felt sure that if I completed them I could win his esteem, or a warmer emotion.
The first task was to write a poem about the music of the composer. The second was to write out a list of 55 ways you could disguise an ounce of brandy in another beverage. I immediately decided that I'd make the list into a small, beautiful Edward Gorey-like book to please him.
The prize he offered me was a small heap of hand-made chocolates encased in a thick layer of silver. It was very thick -- a stiff shell that the chocolates showed through in irregular spaces -- but I think you were meant to eat the silver as well.
Obviously, I'm going to write the list. But how am I going to write the poem, if I can't remember the name of the composer?
argus_in_tights?
