Three Pieces

A few months ago I vowed that I would not buy any more CDs until the music industry gave up its policies of threatening and demeaning its customers and overcharging for its products. This has, shockingly, not yet come to pass, so officially I'm still not buying CDs (except for independently made ones, of course).

But one day I was listening to the local NPR affiliate, which mostly plays weepy classical music that I hate listening to during the day or, God forbid, when I'm driving and need to stay awake; normally during the non-NPR hours of programming I listen to CDs. But one day I was in the car and I had been listening to Morning Edition, and when I got in the car it was classical music. And it was the most incredible thing I'd ever heard. I listen through to the end of the piece because I knew that one way or the other I had to own this music.

It turns out I had been listening to Henryk Gorecki's Three Pieces in Olden Style. I needed this music. This was simply too wonderful for me to not own it. I checked out the Apple iPod site, but, perhaps not surprisingly, there was a dearth of 20th Century Polish Classical music there.

Not to be dissuaded I went to my favorite place for the buying of stuff, Barnes and Noble. I was happy to find the Three Pieces there, on a CD with the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. For such a dreary sounding piece of music, this is actually quite delightful, but still pales in comparison to the heavy strings of the Three Pieces. I bought the CD; it's a Naxos CD, which is a company that prints only classical music CDs and which, while probably still associated with the RIAA, at least seems unlikely to engage in lawsuits against innocent people.

I enjoy classical music a great deal (especially baroque music and Russian romantic and modern music) but am dreadful at describing it in an appropriately pretentious manner. The Three Pieces in Olden Style are three pieces for string orchestra, all fairly short (three to four minutes). The first is slow and lilting and builds gradually, as if it is the beginning of an epic journey. The second is a bit quicker, consisting of short bowed notes where the bass instruments play along in a little march while the higher strings carry a melody. It's quite different from the other two pieces and a nice counterpoint. The final piece is mostly long chord progressions; being a fan of minimalism, I love chord progressions. This one is notable for ending with a minor chord that just tears your heart out. I love it.

Most evenings I listen to the Three Pieces four or five times before I go to bed. I am, in fact, listening to them right now. I share this with you because, though the RIAA is in fact run by demons expelled from Hell, music still has immense power to bring joy into our lives. We must not lose sight of that fact. Though if you ask I will certainly play you my copy of the Three Pieces, I recognize that you may not love them as much as I do. No matter. Another piece of music will do the same for you. We must not let the industry that packages and sells that music destroy what music is and means.