Music Says What Words Cannot

I have been surrounded for pretty much my entire life. In my mom's belly I listened to all the smart baby music, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc. After I was born I grew up listening to my sisters play piano and sing in school. I had my fair share of musical instruments myself. Not being a fan of violin, or piano, or flute, I decided instead to sing. Since elementary school and onward, I have been in choir every single year. At Penn State I joined the Oriana singers, the all-women singing group. However, what's special about this semester is we're joining forces with the Glee club (the all-boys group) and Concert Choir (the cream of the crop) to sing Brahms' German Requiem. The whole hour and ten minutes of it. Oh boy, Messiah's Hallelujah Chorus ain't got nothing on this monster.

A total of seven movements, Brahms' requiem was unique for his time. A requiem is a song for the dead, usually played during funerals or mass. Brahm's Requiem is indeed a song remembering the dead, but it is in most part comforting the living, and focusing on all of the emotions that comes with grief and loss, but also love and recovery - that everything will be ok. In the fifth movement of the requiem, a soprano sings a solo, and it almost makes me cry every time I hear it. Originally, the requiem was only three movements. Then he added another three to parallel his first three movements. Then, Brahm's lost his mother, and he wrote the fifth movement to remember her. He puts this movement in the middle of the requiem, where it stands alone with no other movement to partner with it. Roughly translated, the soprano sings, "when you are sad, I will comfort you," and then the chorus sings, "comfort me, as a mother would." Knowing the background on this movement, it drives to to tears, knowing that we are singing the pain of Brahm when he lost his mother.

Music is the only thing that makes me feel like this. How strong and how powerful it can be, while also being warm and gentle. Listening to music is one thing, singing and embodying it is a completely different thing. I think the reason why I never gave up choir was because I loved feeling all of these emotions. I love conveying these emotions and meanings to people that want to listen, and feel these emotions with me. When you hear a good piece of music, it sticks with you. For singing, it's no different. I've sung a lot of peaces over the course of eight or so years, but Brahms is going to stay with me for life.

If you're a fan of classical music or don't have anything to do this weekend, the Penn State School of Music will be performing the Brahms German Requiem at Eisenhower Auditorium at 7:30pm, Saturday April 14. Adult tickets are $20, and student tickets are $10. I really really really really really think if you want to listen you should do it in person. The feels get so real. But I understand the weekend is you-time, so we are also livestreaming the concert (the stream will go live an hour or so before the concert)! Come listen to a once-in-a-lifetime concert and support our school's music program!

Brahms has a great beard!

Spring's First Flowers - Blooming Near You!

Alright, so we're getting another wave of snow and huge gusts of wind. It might not feel like Spring, but the flowers are telling us otherwise. A few species of flowers have already begun to wake up, and I've been enjoying looking at them all come to life. Something about seeing this new life makes me super happy inside, and I encourage them to keep on growing and being beautiful while they last. More species will definitely pop up as spring progresses, but here are the few that have already arrived on our campus:

Snowdrops by Wikimedia 

These adorable flowers were the first ones to bloom, still with a layer of snow on the ground too! These small, white bell-shaped flowers are called Snowdrops - a very appropriate name. I know a lot of these grow in the mulch patches around the trees by Pollock Road. At first I thought these were a tiny white daffodils, but it turns out they weren't! This species of flower bloom during Winter, though I guess they had a bit of a late start due to all the snow we got from those snowstorms. Speaking of daffodils...

Daffodils from Pixino

I had these bright yellow flowers all over my neighborhood. I would always look forward spotting the new daffodils of the season and loved how much energy they gave to the green hills by my house. The ones in my town always bloomed rather late, around late spring or beginning of summer. I knew summer was coming close if I saw daffodils in my front yard. However, the ones on campus are blooming right now! There are a patch of them growing in front of the Paterno Library next to the mall. I guess they must be different species if they're blooming at such different times. Apparently some may even bloom in autumn. Personally I think daffodils aren't the greatest smelling flowers, but they sure do look great. 

Witch Hazel by Kristine Paulus

This one I've also never seen before at home. This flowering tree has little yellow flowers that cover its branches before it grows in its leaves. I don't remember where I saw this tree, but I'm sure it's around the Library... or maybe the HUB? Similar to the daffodil, some species of witch hazel bloom in the fall, or they can bloom in the spring like this one on campus does. I've only seen one or two of these trees, but perhaps there are more scattered about the campus. So far this has been the only tree to flower since the end of winter, but I'm sure more will follow suit as it gets warmer.

One last flower I'd like to mention is the Mountain Laurel. One, they're everywhere on campus, but they're dormant right now until the summer. Two, mountain laurels are Pennsylvania's state flower! These flowers are very thin and delicate, and also incredibly beautiful. They can range from reds, pinks, whites, and even purple in some species! I know flowers might be a bit of a lame topic to talk about to some people, but I appreciate the color and liveliness they give to a landscape. I'm done with the white, brown, and blues (thanks road salt) of winter, and I'm craving color! I do however give my condolences to those who suffer from  pollen allergies. May you live these last few days of clear air in peace. 

White Mountain Laurels