“Each great art song builds up around itself a tender interior world inhabited by its performer, its listeners, and the ghostly specters of its story, its time. There is no better venue for this than the living room of a friend.”
— Emily Nelson
These pictures are from a private house concert featuring soprano Emily Nelson and pianist Rachel Matthews. A small crowd of forty or so gathered in the living room to drink in the lovely sounds of Brahms, Debussy, Faure, Ravel, and more. It was absolute magic. Many of us cried, we were so moved.
That night I met two other people who host the same sort of classical concerts in their own homes.
Amazement.
I’ve been to other house concerts — the avant-garde, indie, folksy kind. They’re thrilling. It’s live music, up close, without filters, where you can soak up pure sound and then stand around with the performers and talk about anything from the meaning of music to the best neighborhood pub.
As I left and drove past the house, I looked up to the backlit, curtained windows. If I had just been strolling by, I would never have known the depth of talent and emotion unfolding just behind the wall. I felt awed and thankful and realized the most remarkable things happen all the time without making the evening news.
What would our world be like if these kinds of things did make the news? Every day? The way they actually do happen?