Or rather - a thing. The sum total of what my mama did for me is far beyond a mere blog post.
I get pretty nostalgic for her this time of year. She passed away January 30, 2001, and her birthday is Valentine's Day, so this period in between often catches me thinking of her and missing her. It doesn't help when a best friend passes away, either, when it comes to putting me in a morose mood.
Anyway, she loved classical music and musicals as well. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky impressed her greatly, so Sis and I grew up listening to The 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker Suite, and Swan Lake, among others.
The selection wasn't limited to Tchaikovsky by a long shot. She picked up a collection of classical music for children that Sis and I about wore out. It featured some pretty good stuff, IMHO.
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Oh yeah.
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This was before VHS and having the Disney versions available. No matter. We had our imaginations, and the music certainly painted quite a picture.
While I'm not the classical affectionado my mother was, some music she didn't collect managed to find it's way to my appreciative ears. For instance, I can't imagine she'd find anything amiss with these two:
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I heard The Planets on the local public radio and even have a CD somewhere. Oddly enough, the first time I heard the snippet from Romeo and Juliet was in the movie Exotica. I really liked that movie and recommended it to Mother. She found it unwatchable. Not from the Prokofiev, though.
And, of course there is Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. I love the smell of napalm in the morning....smelled like.....victory.
Intertwined with memories of my mother are these pieces - and how, without her, it would be very likely I'd lack the ability to appreciate this.
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5 comments:
Sorry for your loss. My mother has been gone for some years now, but I miss her too. You only get one.
My mother has alzheimer's and hasn't spoke to me in some time. She's been gone for awhile even if she is still 'alive'. God Bless...
All The Best,
Frank W. James
What a nice tribute to your mother, who was also my Aunt Mary Jo. I think both of our mothers were raised by parents who weren't educated themselves, but helped to foster an appreciation of music in their children. -Cousin Steve
What a lovely tribute to your mother. I'm sure she's pleased that she raised a damned fine son.
Thanks, everyone. It's been a pretty tough week.
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