Endless
Information:
- Source: Approved Measures Notebook
- Key: D Major, B Minor
- Measures: 48
- Parts: Cello and Piano
- Duration: 2:45
- Pages: 4 Pages
“Now a soft kiss- Aye, by that kiss I vow an endless bliss.
John Keats
Hello!
There is a music book sitting in my shelf that I have not played in a while. It contains piano sonatas by composers from all over Europe. The title of the book is: Keyboard Sonatas of the Eighteen Century. In the book’s cover it also reads: “Little Known Masterpieces” published by Schirmer’s Library of Musical Classics.
One of the sonatas included in the book, was composed by Manuel Blasco de Nerva, a Spanish musician born in 1750. There is not much information about his life, which by the way, was cut short at the age of thirty four. There are, however, a number of recordings available of his surviving works for the keyboard, which total a number of 30 sonatas.
Music keeps surprising me, after reviewing Manuel’s piano piece, I realized with awe, how satisfying it is to play his Sonata IV in G minor. Even after all this time_ almost three hundred years since it was composed_ it feels as if I had enter a familiar place where I know, I will always be welcome.
Needless to say, I’ve incorporated a few measures from the 2nd movement into my own composition, which goes by the title: Endless. I have borrowed four measures to be exact. With this composition for cello-piano, I wanted to capture my desire of a world full of things I wish NEVER END. An invented world where at least, we are capable of slowing down the motions around us, to enhance our lives. Sure, and why not?
Things I wish never end:
Riding a roller coaster
Drinking strong coffee
Listening to silence
A soothing melody
People’s lives
People’s lives are, for sure, the most valuable, and I have heard many times, when music composers passed away, that they had been immortalized as a direct consequence to their music, therefor, it’s easy to think they would live forever, what a wishful thinking. Understandably, what in fact lives among us is the composer’s work, as well as their amazing musical ideas, and we hope it would be forever.
But that gets me thinking: The contradiction between wishing to live forever, and knowing one day I would die, is a souvenir courtesy of life. A cruel and cold-hearted notion if you ask me. Nonetheless, I am enjoying life, I truly am, and pieces like the Sonata IV that enhances my existence, helps me keep a certain balance. I have a lot to live for.
But I have to admit that now and then, I go through the difficult process of accepting the idea of mortality, even though, I am not afraid of dying. The predicament of wishing-but-not-able-to that humans live under, it truly gets under my skin. However much I’d like to live indefinitely, I know one day my life will end.
I have read things like: “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die”. Or even worse: “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”. Those are just fool’s consolations, a poetic way to deny the force that keeps humans disoriented. For reasons unknown, people love to lie to themselves. But the truth is: We all will die, plain and simple.
I wonder if Blasco de Nerva was afraid of dying. Did he ever think that one day, three hundred years into the future, someone would be enjoying and playing his music compositions?, Did he yearn for endless time? Was he a happy person? Many more questions come to mind, but clearly, the answers to all my inquiries at this point, would be plain speculation.
The one thing I cannot speculate about is his music. I’d invite you to listen to his thirty piano compositions that had survived. Go on, take the time to listen to his works full of fresh ideas and mathematical impossibilities. I guarantee you’ll experience something a bit strange, maybe a little sadness, perhaps a touch of nostalgia, a drop of grief, some confusion and for sure, a lot of joy. I know you will wish it will never end.
For my part, I assure you, every time I play "Endless” I’ll be thinking in all the possibilities life offers. I see the world around me bright and full of hope, at the end of a long day, I can even fall into the deepest sleeps and vow, just like John Keats, of an endless bliss.