I came across something extremely exciting the other day: the perfect musical complement to the idea the Annual Review.
It’s epic.
It’s about 83 minutes long, depending on which recording you listen to.
Namely: Mahler’s Second Symphony, called the Resurrection Symphony, is going down on New Year’s eve at the National Theater Concert Hall here in Taipei.
I know that not everyone likes to listen to classical music, and that’s fine.
But bear with me.
The text of the fifth movement, the finale, is epic. And it fits in perfectly with the idea of an Annual Review. You know, of remaking yourself. Rising again after a rest or fall. Fighting for what you believe in. Conquering pain and death. Dying in order to live again. (Fight Club, anyone?)
Here’s the text. Listen to this before you make a mind map of your goals. It will bring inspiration.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
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I always like live music better than recordings because it’s a more full-on sensual experience. With live music, the actual sound waves from each instrument in the orchestra will bounce into your body.
It’s like the sound that the Cello and Trombone and all the other instruments make physically interact with the atoms in your body while you’re sitting there listening. Hat tip to my friend j; for pointing this out.
Tip for Extra Inspiration: Close Listenings are ALWAYS Better.
If you have about fifteen minutes to spare, do a close listening of the choral section of the fifth movement. The chorus comes in around the 20 minute mark in the version here on Spotify. (Grooveshark, Spotify, or Youtube)
Go through it with the text in front of you. Try to follow along in the English and the German (even if you don’t speak German, like me) as they sing. I guarantee you’ll get more out of a concentrated listening than if you just had it on in the background.
Let Mahler’s words send you into the New Year on a powerful note. Let them remind you that our time is finite, and we should cease from trembling in order to rise again.
Happy New Year!
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PS:
If you’ve ever wanted to get into classical music but weren’t sure where to start, I recommend any of Mahler’s symphonies. He’s known for extremely huge brassy sounds, emotion, vision, feeling, boldness, and generally just everything associated with the word “big.”
For example, he claimed of his Third Symphony that “My symphony will be something the like of which the world has never yet heard! . . . In it all of nature finds a voice.” Basically, he said he had captured the entire spirit of nature and everything in it in his music. Bold, no?
His Symphony No. 8 is popularly known as the “Symphony of 1,000.” If you ever want to see something musically grand and epic and inspiring on a stage, go check out the finale. I still can’t believe how many musicians they have fit on a stage to conduct this piece, even though I’ve watched the video 30+ times.
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Other Posts in Annual Review Series: