Music: the Governess of Emotions

“Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. She is a mistress and governess of those human emotions. . . which control men or more often overwhelm them. . .”

-Martin Luther

 

That is one of the best explanations of music that I have ever heard or read. Not only does it appeal to my interests (being a musician and all), but it also gives a reason for my passion. Music moves the innermost parts of our being. It is also supported Biblically: when Saul went mad, music was the only thing that could calm him. When I think about it in this light, I realize that this means that I have a lot of power. . . interesting.

I listen to lots of different musical styles. One of my favorite styles is the movie soundtrack. Why is that? Martin Luther answered it. Music moves your emotions, tugging at the part of you that is buried to deeply within us that we can’t always explain it. It’s not completely emotional, although that is a big part of it. It changes what we know. Lately I’ve been listening to the soundtrack from the movie Eragon (please don’t judge me by this movie; I’ve read the book too). There are three songs that I love from that movie: “If You Were Flying,” “Passing the Flame,” and “Together.”  These are perfect examples of my point.

“If You Were Flying” was scored for the scene where Eragon and Saphira fly together for the first time since they started their journey. This scene is one of excitement, joy, and wonder. Eragon basically falls from a cliff (on Saphira’s back), experiences flight, and finally sees Saphira sees, all for the first time, and all in the course of a two minute song. In the music, strings fly with the dragon, the melodies closely mirror the action and suspense, and there is even a fanfare for the climax of the scene. As the music can become the audio equivalent of what you see, that inner part of your being gets that much more involved in the story.

“Passing the Flame” and “Together” are even better examples of emotional involvement through music. “Passing the Flame” is from Brom’s death scene, and “Together” is played when Saphira seems to be dying. Each scene covers a dying individual trying to comfort Eragon, while Eragon does everything he can to stop this. The differences are that Brom passes his sword on to Eragon and then dies, while in the other Eragon spends nearly all his strength to heal Saphira. What is amazing about these songs is how I have the story memorized, and yet my heart wants to break every time I listen to this music. It’s the simplest music in the whole soundtrack; one is mainly a melody played by the strings, and the other is the main theme slowed down and vocalized instead of strings and brass. There is so much that draws you into this music and this scene; changing the instrument in this death scene changes the theme from being triumphant and adventurous to a memorial of the joy and life that existed before (in reality, this is the same melody that was played in the flight scene). It is true that Saphira does not actually die, but the music portrays the pain and sorrow they felt because they thought that she would. That is good music. It might not be considered a classic, but it does precisely what music is meant to do: alter the way we perceive something. It magnifies and enhances my emotions as I reflect on it. This is why I love it.