Sunday, November 17, 2019

Vivaldi by candlelight


On a site called Secret NYC, I found out about these classical concerts by candlelight being performed inside beautiful churches around the city. Most were taking place in the West Village, but one featuring Vivaldi's Four Seasons, headlined by the Highline String Quartet, was happening right in our neighborhood, so I snagged a pair of tickets as a birthday gift for the man. Just in time, it turned out, because every candlelit concert stretching into January was sold out an hour later. I knew he would love the program, because we used to play Vivaldi's Four Seasons at a rousing volume in our car on road trips as young marrieds, before our kids were born and before CD players in cars became defunct. We'd hum along with the music, filled with heart-opening joy at this experience we got to share. I figured it would be fun to call back that feeling. And it was. The performance was thrilling, so emotively played and utterly immersive. It's always wondrous to me how four instruments can create such a robustly layered sound, now soaring, now dancing, now whispering only to us two. It felt like the most romantic of dates, both of us harking back to the sense we had when everything was brand new and we felt so incredibly lucky to have found each other.

13 comments:

  1. Oooooooohhhhh! I played in a quartet for years and it was incredibly intimate the four voices peaking the bodies speaking breathing together and Vivaldi the Red Priest loved violinists 🥰 I still listen to cds in my car 🎻

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  2. How gorgeously perfect! I am swooning at the very thought...

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  3. ¡Maravilloso! It is heartening to know of love that lasts and the part that music plays in that love.

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  4. How magical !
    NB I'm moving my blogging on you will see if you go to the "seductive landscape ".I'm telling you especially because I will never forget your tears and kindness after your love had the chest crack and then my love came back from the dead this time last year .XX

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  5. What a wonderful birthday gift. You remind how often I used to listen to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Sounds like something I will do today and think of you and your love. Thank you for that.

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  6. Hallo sis ,
    back again .The new blog created problems I had not anticipated so I'm back at "the seductive landscape ".Sorry if you made changes here .Would you be kind and swap back ? Thanks , hope to see you over at the blog again - You know I value your thoughts .

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  7. What a brilliant gift! It's wonderful to be able to evoke the early good memories of a relationship and make the years fall away.

    Happy Birthday to your husband :)

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  8. That shared history is a gift in itself. I'm glad you two had a good time.

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  10. The Fever Candlelight concert was a magical experience. The venue was beautiful, the musicians were incredible, and the music was simply stunning. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique and memorable evening. Learn More About Candlelight Concerts in NYC

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  11. I was skeptical about candlelight concerts at first, but I'm so glad I went! The music was amazing and the atmosphere was so peaceful and relaxing. It was the perfect way to unwind after a long week. Learn More About candlelight concerts in New York

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