I hope no one read the previous version of this post because I am re-writing it. If you did read it...here is my explanation:
The songs I put on here are all pretty much recent favorites and after I wrote this I thought about the songs I put and how, in probably a month or two, I would get tired of listening to them and move on to new favorites. This is not a good recipe for a lasting favorite, and so I'm starting over.
The lasting favorites I have (the ones I will never get tired of listening to) are all instrumental. Lyrics have a way of mussing things up--distracting from the music with unnecessary jibber-jabber. The kind of music that speaks to you without lyrics, to me, is a masterpiece...a real work of art.
I had the very fortunate experience of being in the school orchestra from 6th grade on to 12th. I play the violin (a noble instrument; however, I always wanted to play the cello...it's my favorite string instrument in existence). During this time in orchestra I was exposed to all kinds of beautiful music. Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary, New Age, etc. All kinds of composers--Beethoven, Copland, Sibelius, Haydn, Elgar, etc. In this kind of educational forum, I was able to discover music...really discover it and it's meaning to me. This is where I began composing and letting my soul speak itself through my music. I am not good with words. I never have been. But music? Totally different story. I can speak with music.
All-time favorites (in no particular order):
"Finlandia" Sibelius--the melody for the hymn "Be Still My Soul" was taken from this piece of music. Sibelius was from Finland and wrote this as an anthem for his country. He wrote the beauty of his country into this piece.
Beethoven's 5th (1st movement)--I will never forget the feeling of finishing playing this piece on stage. I felt completely empowered and entirely on top of the world. (And I remember playing this on stage the second time and being so angry at the horns for being out of tune and ruining it all.)
"Adagio for Strings" Barber--Just listen to it and you'll understand. I can't really put into words what this song does to me.
"Enigma Variations-Nimrod" Elgar--This piece is just filled with hope and believe it or not, when we performed this song, I cried. It moves me that much. I still cry.
There are a number of composers these days that have an amazing talent and I find the ones I love the most are the soundtrack composers. For example, Hans Zimmer. I love his pieces. It's probably the "Romantic" in me because most soundtrack compositions could fall into the Neo-Romantic category and my favorite period of music is the Romantic period. There is also Harry Gregson-Williams, James Newton Howard, and Howard Shore.
These are my real favorites. There are many more, but these songs have stuck with me for a long time and influenced me and the music I write. I am awe-struck when it comes to music. I love the duplicity of it. It can be so complex and intricate, but then another piece could be so simple and provoke a greater amount of emotion. I've done enough talking. Now it's time to let it speak for itself:
"Adagio for Strings" Barber
"Finlandia" Sibelius
"The Gravel Road" James Newton Howard
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