Water in Music

Here’s a change of pace for you.

My last post was about water in words. I had not planned to write today about water in music but when I learned that it is this week’s theme one of my favorite radio programs Exploring Music , I felt the need.

Listening to Bill McGlaughlin’s program is often part of my early evening routine. I have learned so much about music from Bill and this week is no exception. The brief introduction to the topic on the WFMT website (WFMT produces the program; I listen to it on Wisconsin Public Radio) says:

In the 5th Century BC, water was classified as one of the four essential elements. Over the centuries artists, poets, philosophers and composers have returned again and again to the mysteries of water for inspiration. This week, we’ll focus on Water Music with works by Vaughan Williams, Mahler, Debussy and (of course) Handel.

Listening to water music is a very pleasant change from thinking about water shortages, bottled water, water pollution and all the other not so pleasant water-related topics. Actually, I have had a very nice day when it comes to water – I swam a half mile this morning, sat in a hot tub for a bit, and drank cool water to quench my thirst following an unusually warm spring day. And I washed the dinner dishes while listening to Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, which was written about a cave in Scotland but hearing it always takes me to Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park in Maine.

Yes, today was a good water day for me.