An Die Musik (To Music)

Instead of my usual November or December Fall recital, the next student performance will be held in Winter, on Sunday, January 8, 2023.

An Die Musik is the title of a lied by Franz Schubert, written in 1817. Lied, the German word for song, is a term for setting poetry to classical music.

Du holde Kunst…

The lyric begins, Du holde Kunst and translates to English as:

You, noble art, in how many grey hours
Where life has ensnared and encircled me
Have you kindled my heart to warm love, 
Have you transported me to a better world!

I first became aware of this song a number of years ago when I sang mezzo-soprano voice in Aurora Chorus. We sang this lied in German. “Du hold Kunst, in wieviel grauen Stunden, …”

An Die Musik

This is the title for the Winter recital. When I think of how “life has ensnared and encircled me” the last three years, it has been Music that has saved me, “kindled my heart to warm love” and “transported me to a better world!”

Students are actively preparing music from a wide variety of genres. From the Andante movement of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Mozart to You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder. From Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose to John Coltrane’s Equinox .

It’s all music that can transport you to a better world.

As Professor Dumbledore says in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here!”

Herr Schubert, Prof. Dumbledore and I are all in agreement about the universal magic and power of Music to heal and inspire.