Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Romance for Flute and Piano

Emerging from soundlessness,
quiet pools, small eddies,
tiny swirls of motion
dance, slow, stand.
A single note of perfection
holds for an extended moment,
a shining, crystallized rivulet
of sound, and then
the music flows
again into silence.

Last week, my wife and I attended a program at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis called “French Impressions,” a group of selections by Jacques Ibert, Claude Debussy, Lili Boulanger, Camile Saint-Saens and Carlos Salzedo. Only four instruments were played – flute, harp, viola and piano. The Sheldon is an old building, well maintained, with one of the most acoustically perfect auditoriums in the country. Musicians of all kinds love performing there because the sound is wonderful. (There’s also an art gallery connected to the theatre, with the paintings of Max Lazarus currently the main exhibit.)

The selection played before the intermission was "Romance for Flute and Piano" by Saint-Saens. The musicians were Mark Sparks on flute and Peter Henderson on piano. It was stunning. When the lights came up for intermission, I sat there, staring at the stage, and then scribbled the poem above on the back of a program insert.

You can hear the music by clicking on the link below (it's a university recital, not the one at the Sheldon).



This poem is submitted for One Shot Wednesday, hosted by One Stop Poetry. To see other poems, please visit the site. The links will be live at 4 p.m. Central time today.

15 comments:

Robin Arnold said...

I always imagine that the word heartstring is what stitches together what we hear and see with what we feel. Your poem is a beautiful heartstring of words. Thank you.

Maureen said...

Oh, that must have been a wonderful concert. Each of those composers creates such beautiful visual impressions. The flute can be magical.

Your poem picks up the importance of held and silent notes. It flows like the music you're describing.

S. Etole said...

both your poem and the selection below are beautiful ...

Claudia said...

sigh - yes - can hear the music in this...beautiful glynn

Laura said...

I feel the motion and emotion as you lead us through this music via your words. Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Behold the power of the note, to move and to stir...and how it flows, even in mere words. Particularly enjoyed "a shining, crystallized rivulet of sound" - now there's sensory elation for you, words that gave voice and image to music! Beautiful.

Carrie Van Horn said...

Glynn this is glorious....the beautiful poem...your lovely memory shared, and the music!
Bravo indeed!

hedgewitch said...

Thank you so much for including the music. As I was reading I was attempting to imagine the sounds. You did an excellent job of describing both the sensation of the actual composition on the ear and the inner response we bring to it.

Brian Miller said...

lovely...i love hearing music by an artist...and your words played so well with it...nice one glynn

signed...bkm said...

Stunning perfomance thank you for sharing....the sound inspirational as it was for you piece of writing..thank you...bkm

Anonymous said...

Amazing musical refrain Glynn. Love your words they set the piece off nicely

Jerry said...

Most excellent tight write. It's funny how music can leave you speechless and then you find something to write on. So glad you did.

Anonymous said...

Precise, articulate and pitch-perfect to the moment. Writing about music is a fun challenge. I gave it a try to day to with a inside look at a tune off Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue."

Beachanny said...

I am flying today reading your poem just after Claudia and the blackbird and I again see colors and movement through your words and in its accompaniment. Beautiful art..such a rich gift. Thank you. Gay @beachanny

Shashidhar Sharma said...

Hi Glynn

I could almost feel I am there listening.. beautiful capture...
'The music flows
again into silence'
Perfect...

ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/02/whispers-night-along-sea.html
Twitter @VerseEveryDay