Klarinet Archive - Posting 000276.txt from 2005/05

From: ormo2ndtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] Less painful example of context, worth considering (was: Wagner
Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 01:06:46 -0400

The Robert Shaw Chorale is one of my favorites. Today I happened to
put their Christmas album in my car's CD player while I was waiting for
my daughter --- not because I'm in a Christmas mood, but because I enjoy
their singing and I wanted to hear some of it. (for me, it was a sad
event when Shaw disbanded his chorale)

....anyway, a passerby told me somewhat viciously that I should "Grow
up! Christmas is nine months away!" Major holidays are stressful to
some of us, and presumably she didn't want to be reminded.

Rather than correcting the lady for her arithmetic, I held my tongue.
But I realized that her reason for anger did not involve musical values.
If she had said "I hate choral music!" or "You're playing it too loud!",
I could've empathized. But her stated motive was an exact parallel to
condemning Wagner's music because of its cultural associations rather
than because of its musical values.

It's a bit easier to recognize and to consider the effect of non-musical
associations when 'hot buttons' such as bigotry are not involved.

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