Why does music do this to me?

There I was reading and writing,

The music playing as usual

When suddenly I stopped,

Stopped and was taken away,

Taken away to the world of music.

A piece came on the radio

And transported me to that place,

That place of emotive joy.

I just sat still and listened,

All else was forgotten.

I was in Chopin’s world,

A world of wonderful music

Where peace, love and joy reigned.

The piece finished and I came back,

Came back refreshed,

Refreshed and full of love.

We met for the last time,

The last time this term.

The choir gathered and celebrated,

Celebrated our success

Of the wonderful concert we had sung,

Sung a few days before.

We had sang our hearts out,

The audience enjoyed it so much

Everyone was smiling,

Smiling and so thankful,

Thankful for the music,

The music we had sung.

We sat around and talked,

Talked, ate and drunk

Discussing the choir,

The wonderful choir we had.

We went back home

Enthralled by our joy

And could not wait

Until we gathered again,

Gathered again and sang,

Sang our hearts out for the joy,

The joy of music.

What is it about music that stirs within me

Emotions of such varying colours and profound depths?

From those so long off days sitting with Dad,

Listening to the records spinning on the turntable,

Watching the awe on his face at the sounds

Being produced from a needle on the surface,

Of this large, round piece of plastic.

The power of the sound reaching into his heart ;

And mine.

That day we went together to a class,

And the man said to me, “Singing is only another instrument”

Opening my closed mind to the wonder of the voice in music.

A new world of wonder was now mine to enjoy.

The operas of Verdi, the Masses of Haydn;

The joy that listening to a Bach Cantata, brings to my soul

So much beautiful music, hidden from me

Because of my prejudiced, stubborn view of the voice.

My idea that music died with Brahms was a sham

When a friend said, listen to this, and opened my world

To the Appalachian world of Copland.

My blinkered sight changed yet again!

The music of most composers have space on my shelves;

That Fast Ride with John Adam, so thrilling;

The sparse music of Glass transforms me

Into moments of pure ecstasy no words can explain.

Messiaen, I once despised, but The End of Time

Sent shivers through me, so very, very moving when

Remembering the context from where it was created.

The String Quartet, a genre listened to many times

Confused me! It was hard to come to terms in my mind

To this music played by four instruments

I then LISTENED, and again I was hooked

Mainly by Dmitri and Ludwig,

But yet again Phillip transformed me.

Music, it has been there all my life.

I know so much, but realise

The more I know,

The more ignorant I am

And then there’s All that Jazz!

For another time and written in Swing.

So much music,

So little time.

It is there with me,

Music is always there,

Within me,

Within my soul.

I hear it and am transformed,

Transformed into a world of wonder.

For so many years

I have listened to music,

Classical and jazz,

Country and folk,

Pop and rock.

So many types

I love them all.

Music in my life

Has been there forever,

But even I hear new music

Which brings so much joy,

So much joy to me,

But makes me realise

That the more I get to know,

Get to know about music,

The more ignorant

I realise that I am.