Beethoven’s 6th in F Major

The ritual began on a small southern campus during my college years.

A very quiet campus on Sunday mornings, bucolic in every regard, as far
from cosmopolitan as it was from Mars. Recall gentle rains falling and the
pitter patter of eaves dripping, the foliage and pine trees deep dark green and
alive. I had discovered Classical music a few years prior to this period and
from my small collection I would choose a Symphony or Piano Concerto
and sit back and read a book or newspaper and listen to the pieces. I called
them pieces. Pieces of music they are, and while not being a music critic
therefore lacking the vocabulary to describe what it was I was listening to, I
knew what I liked. I did not like Beethoven though I had never listened to
him unless forced. Felt at the time that Ludwig received to much credit for
his works and though I could recognize the 5th Symphony from one bar, that
famous opening, I set out to try and find what it was that was so great about
this composer.

Eventually upon a Sunday morn I inserted the 6th Symphony

“Pastoral” CD into the player and felt immediately that it was the right piece
of music for a peaceful and tranquil day. The delicate notes, beautiful and
serene, producing a calming effect upon my mind, body and spirit. The
piece became a staple of Sunday mornings for many years. I learned later
that Ludwig’s visits to the country had produced this “program piece”
though he warned not to take his labels to literally and allow the music to be
familiar from what we know of country life. Imagine the pleasure of leaving
the city and driving out into the country, a relaxed peaceful feeling, leaving
your cares behind, life is going to be ok, there is hope springing eternal
throughout.

The first movement dances about, merriment for the peasants, you
have arrived in the country, the awakening of happy feelings, peace at hand,
the simple life, a walk thru the wood and the paths and the trails, all the
while brushing against nature physically and ethereally, a freeing rush of
joy. A bubbling brook or a large stream flowing by, deer and squirrels and
birds, all here in this place you visit, this glimpse of nature, this return to the
natural world away from city streets and noise. There is a festival in the
village, a street fest, an amateur band plays, children frolic and parents
inspect the sellers’ wares, food is abundant and varied. The wind gathers
speed and clouds form as the peasants break down the small tents and tables
and prepare for a storm. Hear the rain falling, thunder in the distance, the
festival is over and the storm, a brief barrage, last only a short while, a
reminder of the force of nature. Those living outside the village return to
their wagons for pedestrian journeys home, thankful for the abatement of the
storm, some breaking into various provincial song as darkness approaches
and the setting sun’s rays angle upward from the horizon as clouds break
apart.

Many years have passed since those college days, but certainly the
piece was right for this morning, another quiet Sunday with rain falling,
saturating the ground. Early spring has come, unchanged and unfailing, as
constant as is Beethoven’s Sixth in F Major. The Symphony is over now
and the CD player has turned over to Pat Metheny Group “Quartet,” from
1996, the intro and “when we were free,” verily blasting me out of the
tranquil setting produced by the 1808 composition. It is time for activity.
One cannot stay in the country forever nor can one remain in a serene and
passive state at all times. The Sixth is a place to visit, a temporary space to
relax the mind and allow musical notes to create images in your brain,
removing oneself from the cares of the world and resetting the many
avenues upon which he has traveled during the week. So relax the mind,
put on Beethoven’s Sixth and allow the music to lead you to your own
conception of country life and experience one the greatest compositions by
master Ludwig.

For more info on the Sixth Symphony see below:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5478661

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_%28Beethoven%29

Major T 3-29-2010