Wednesday, June 16, 2010

One of the most amazing pieces of music ever written

is Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, op.11.

I know that when you read the title of the post you may have thought of many different genres of music that might well fit that declaration, for indeed there are many. And a good tune can be so subjective. But this is one of the most moving pieces I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.

I confess that last week when I was having difficulty with my hearing I was afraid of not being able to enjoy music in all its creative stereophonic glory as I can with both ears working. This is one of the gems I would have lost forever.

This recording was made just days after the 9/11 attacks and you can hear that in the playing as well.

So on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon in June with the days still getting longer, here is Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, op.11. Uncut. Do sit back and close your eyes if you trust your spouse not to do something troublesome while you are not looking.


8 comments:

  1. It is indeed a beautiful piece. In fact, just last night I was going to download it from emusic.com (but neglected to).

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  2. Very moving and listening to it helped me to be in touch with a part of myself that is overly anxious and needing to be soothed. Thank you for sharing it.

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  3. being a totally uncultured youth...isn't this the music from Platoon? ;)
    Lisa

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  4. Ihad no idea you liked this kind of music, Randy. Right on! Jean H.

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  5. "This recording was made just days after the 9/11 attacks and you can hear that in the playing as well."

    Yes, you can. It's unusual for technical musicians to add their own emotions to a piece, rather than trying to describe and highlight the composer's intended feelings. This make it a rather special recording and an unusually fine piece.

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  6. I don't know Lisa, I've never seen that flick.

    It's been in my collection for a long time and i just really enjoy it.

    And yep Jean I think I nearly enjoy something about most every kind of music.

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  7. Thanks. I pulled this up and sat in quiet before I went in to preach this morning. Just what I needed. Was this used in The Mission?

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