Music is expression using tried, creative skill
in writing music for musicians who are drilled
in playing techniques and ensemble work.
The writer tells them what to say and when to speak.
The conductor with the baton and sat on the stool in front
is the go-between the writer and the musos. He’s the one
who knows how to get the best from everyone and everything.
I love the cello with its mellow middle range and gliding glissando
served with rich vibrato or proud, aggressive forzando.
The violins come in with frantic abandon or schmaltzy recollection.
Moods more sombre and reflective can be handled by the viola section.
They both depict tempers or frowning brows like smouldering coals
while the bass speaks in calm legato or finger-plucked pizzicato.
The harp is for all-embracing, non-aggressive heavenly souls.
I found that, with woodwind and brass, you’re more part of the sound.
You blow, vibrate, squeeze, shake and direct your musical speech
to listeners who’d otherwise be out of reach and distant.
The brass and woodwind section give a definite direction to all that’s said:
even the horns with their forlorn, far-off call have an appeal we can hear.
The trumpets are brassy, the clarinet, oboe and the rest, flossy and airy.
Them whispering, speaking, screaming and listening together is music to my ears.