What is Your Music of the Night?

Chel Owens

This morning whilst sorting laundry, I was treated to a rare concert. One of my house guest’s eight children is quite proficient at piano; as such, she was giving our lovely not-quite-as-prestigious-as-a-grand-piano some exercise.

Beginning with “The Phantom of the Opera,” she worked her way through to “The Music of the Night.” -At about an Allegro. I think Michael Crawford, wherever he is, felt a jolt. Heaven help me, I had to stop her.

First I exhorted her to slow down. Then I used words like, “hypnotic” and “seductive.” I finally pulled out YouTube and our portable speaker and let The Master explain it to her.

As a child I would lay next to the speakers in our family room and allow the entire 1986 original London cast to wash over me. Envelop me. Yes, even hypnotize and seduce me. My sister and I pored over the included playlist, read its stage notes, pictured in our minds what the music and speaking parts outlined.

I saw the daring, terrifying phantom descend into the masquerade. I trembled with pleasure at the image of his masked form waiting just behind Christine Daaé’s mirror. And I wept inside whenever I heard his echo to the romantic interchange between Christine and Raoul (skip to 4:03).

My poor visiting piano player didn’t know any of that, of course. How could she?

After I returned to my laundry, I thought about music. I thought about S. Chersis mentioning books as a craving and how that put me in mind of songs that I must listen to until satiation.

Phantom is not the only music I’ve loved. It’s not the only music I still love and still need to ingest periodically. I also cannot live without Chopin, The Pixies, Offenbach, Led Zeppelin, Book on Tape Worm, Evanescence, Weezer, Holst, Eminem, Prokoviev…

When I use the word “love,” I do not exaggerate. These songs and others reach a part of me that nothing else can and help me to feel again.

Does anyone else ever get that way with music? What songs speak to you? Have you any that always have and always will?

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Plug into your favorites, and read what I wrote this past week:
Wednesday, June 26: Delved into our secret tastes with “Have You Any Guilty Pleasures?”

Thursday, June 27: Re-blogged Lunch Break Fiction’s fantastic story, “Where the Wild Things Were.”

Friday, June 28: Winner of the Weekly Terribly Poetry Contest. Congratulations to Bereaved Single Dad!

Saturday, June 29: Announced the 32nd Weekly Terrible Poetry Contest. The theme is ‘Little Willie’ poems. PLEASE ENTER!

Sunday, June 30: Nothing. Still have house guests.

Monday, July 1: Re-blogged The Pale Rook‘s piece about self-value and creation. She’s an amazing writer and artist; check her out!

Tuesday, July 2: “Wilhelmina Winters, Ninety-Seven.”

Wednesday, July 3: Today.

I also posted all this week at my motherhood site. I wrote “A Return to the Dentist,” “A House Full of Kids is a House Full of Love,” and “A Very Short Parenting Poem.”

 

Photo Credit:
Mpumelelo Macu

 

©2019 Chelsea Owens

33 thoughts on “What is Your Music of the Night?”

  1. In 1964 I saw the film “The Phantom of the Opera”. It was the only movie I ever screamed with fright at during the opening credits! The extracts of opera and organ during the movie I found mesmerizing and have always remembered it. I’m not a great fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version, although I did learn a piano piece written by his father, again in 1964. It was called “Presto for Perseus”. (Perseus was the Lloyd Webber’s family cat.) At present my “music of the night” would be the music of the Italian composer Barbara Strozzi. She was a contemporary of Bach. I find her music profoundly moving.

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  2. Music is such a powerful language. There are so many different kinds, genres, and sounds that appeal to me. My ultimate awareness of music I liked came at age 10, when a friend introduced me to psychedelic era Beatles (specifically, I am the Walrus). I understand the appeal of ALWs catalogue, though, and share the fascination with good dramatic melodies. So much good music in the world and so little time!

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  3. Music does that for me as well. Too many to mention all. They either take me back to a specific time in life or have lyrics that hit home or music which just gets to my sole. Recently ‘Gone Away’ by 5 Finger Death Punch (a cover really) always hits home for obvious reasons.

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    1. True as well. My included Book on Tape Worm song was one I listened to as my grandmother slowly gave into Alzheimer’s.

      I will listen to yours. I have a few favorites where I prefer the covers, like ones sung by Daniela Andrade.

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  4. I’ve been a fan of Rod Stewart for as long as I can remember. Both my parents liked him, which is probably why that happened. “The Killing of Georgie” (1976) is probably the song that I can listen to over and over and keep getting something out of even though I wouldn’t call it my favorite song.

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  9. I am a Fiddler on the Roof fan and have referenced my love for Chava’s Song several times on myblog. Counterbalance that with a splash of Eminem’s Love the way you lie and a sprinkling of Cyndi Lauper’s Time after Time and I’m catatonic….

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  12. Quite the nice variety of music–Chopin to Eminem!

    I can’t imagine feeling any other way about music…it’s definitely important to me. My Chemical Romance (yeah, yeah…) and Skyhill definitely speak to me, to name just a couple.

    (Also thanks for the mention!)

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