I am not ashamed to admit certain pieces of music bring tears to my eyes. And I know that I am not alone. Simply watch an André Rieu concert to see the tears of audience members freely flowing.
Much has been written about music and its power to move us.
Two musical phrases that remain with me constantly are “If music be the food of love play on”, a well known quoted line from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
The late American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie apparently often said “there two types of music, good and bad, everything else is a matter of taste”.
How right he was.
One of my great passions is cooking. At home, alone, with supportive music, I am lost in a world of my own making.
Recently while preparing a spicy sweet potato and butter squash soup I switched to YouTube and selected one of my favorites, André Rieu. His orchestra and singers never fail to please.
Despite my many years in the kitchen, I still shed tears while chopping onions. This time around my onion inspired watery eyes were supplemented by gushing tears while watching André Rieu & Laura Engel performing Bésame Mucho from a live 2015 concert in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
I think its probably the best version of Bésame Mucho I have ever heard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNCxzbW9mtY - brings back so many memories.