Music in nature

[Ouled Nails]

I have sampled a lot of it in a remote location and, curiously, Mahler's not it. I get annoyed by all the noise generated, all the themes pushed forth at a stressful pace, all the "sound effects." It clashes with wildlife sounds too much.

How much does the place you're in influence your taste?

 

[Contratrombone64]

Ouled - not entirely sure of what your question is, but I'm thinking you're wondering if us, as composers, are interested in or affected by our natural environment, is that so?

 

[Ouled Nails]

As I said, Mahler's symphonies strike me as music best appreciated in one's living room or in a concert hall. Play the same works in a peaceful natural environment and, to me, they become too invasive (like a military invasion!).

The question, stated differently, is does a particular location or environment, such as on the edge of a quiet lake, affect your appreciation of some composers, styles, even genres? Or are you so immersed in any work that you are totally oblivious to what surrounds you?

 

[Corno Dolce]

Great question ON,

When I am in the mountains Mahler's symphonies and Richard Strauss's *Tone Poems* do fit rather nicely with the dramatic surroundings.

 

[Ouled Nails]

But not that well with the loons.

There were days, and nature can be interesting this way, when wind would take the center stage except for a couple of hours after sun rise and around sun set. Without wind, the lake became like a mirror, not a single ripple, with the tree line being almost perfectly reflected in the water, like a mirror. The Alpine Symphony, which I had brough along, did not fit in that environment. I know 'cause I tried it, this very year@ Cow bells or not, it was simply too noisy, too boisterous.

Reaction? Argh, why all that noise? Is it really necessary?

I don't know where Mahler is best heard but it is not in a windless, totally quiet morning or evening along the shores of a lake. That I can attest to.

 

[wljmrbill]

I somewhat have the opposite feelings. The music tends to place me in an enviroment (by closing the eyes and listening: puts me into an imaginary place without being in a set place). I was always taught to feel the music as well as play it. This may explain my feelings when I listen to music also.

 

[JHC]

Quite honestly (if I am grasping the question correctly) I find any music intrusive if I am in the country trying to be at one with nature, so to speak.

 

[shampa]

It basically depends on my mood which i am listening to.yes but i cant stay without music.

 

[Montefalco]

Interesting question, ON.
For music that really suits the environment, I think it's hard to beat Sculthorpe (at least in Australia, anyway). His music seems to be written to 'accompany' (for want of a better word) Australian landscapes/climates, which makes it ideal to listen to when out walking in remote areas.

 

[Contratrombone64]

yeah, Sculthorpe was rather like Vivaldi: they both wrote the same music over and over and over.

 

[JHC]

It is beyond my understanding why anyone would go into the beautiful isolation of the countryside and want to listen to anything that would detract from this peaceful environment.
Music (classical) is best heard at the original volume ‘as near as possible’ to hear a symphony at the level of a whisper is just plain pointless.
Also, I live in a beautiful quite area and get so annoyed when some idiot arrives in a car, winds the windows down and turns the volume way up to listen to his/her music. :smash:

 

[Montefalco]

yeah, Sculthorpe was rather like Vivaldi: they both wrote the same music over and over and over.

What do you mean 'was', Sculthorpe is still very much alive! :grin::grin:
If someone writes the same music over and over, that just means that if you like one thing by that composer, then you'll like everything else they wrote.

 

[marval]

I am with Colin on this, not sure I would want to have music when I have all of nature to listen to. Also as with Bill, listening to music takes me to places, depending on the music as to where it takes me.


Margaret

 

[Ouled Nails]

It's a question of how much time one spends in nature, no? Say you spend fifteen days, same location, no one around. Are you going to always listen to the birds, the wind, every minute of the day? And why not find a musical match for that beautiful sun about to set? You've got an hour before it gets dark, what will it be? Just start the camp fire early?!!

No. There's a time for classical music in nature. I cannot conceive of any prolonged stay without it.

 

[Ouled Nails]

Oh, and there's that time of the day, around 3 pm, when everything is set for whatever you want and you've got nothing more to do. You see the hammock, four feet away from the lake, and it looks inviting. You settle in with a cloudless sky for panorama, and enjoy the rest. Hummm, where's my CD player?

 

[Corno Dolce]

ON,

I didn't necessarily mean listening to it while one is outside. Mahler's Symph's and Strauss' Tone Poems are, imvoho, are for *inside* use, ergo, when one is in one's easy chair in the living room or maybe in one's bedroom.

 

[Ouled Nails]

The Alpine Symphony can be listened to in a rather flat Maine natural environment (well, there is that mountain on that horizon), but it can prove somewhat hyperbolic when staring at the diamond giltters of the sun's reflection on a lake. And, frankly, the cow bells just don't fit! (sarcastic expression withheld)

 

[Corno Dolce]

Hi ON,

I have felt that the Cow Bells add a *bucolic* nuance to the *Alpine* - If one lets one's imagination really wander one can even smell the Alpine Pastures with little and pungent whiffs of cow patties :grin::grin::grin:

When I lived in Hawaii I saw the *glittering diamonds* when the Sun playfully casts its rays on the surface of the Pacific.

 

[zacharygriver]

The music tends to get in an environment closing your eyes and listen I put in an imaginary place, without being in a fixed location. I was always taught to feel the music and play. This may explain my feelings when I hear music.