Many moons ago the late Helen Hayes was a guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show on the same night as Marilyn Horne. After some scintillating aria (and a commercial break), the great actress seriously asked, "That's all very wonderful, but why can't we just get on with the story?" Many people in the audience laughed in agreement. Unfortunately I don't remember what well-composed answer came to that earnest inquiry. But I have encountered the same question many times since then.
To a musical 'insider' the answer is obvious: emotionalism. Whether it's Disney's Little Mermaid, Sondheim's Demon Barber of Fleet Street, or Carmen the Gypsy (Romany, please!), deep feelings are expressed and/or inner thoughts are revealed in a moment taken somewhat out of time.
I think that even Helen Hayes must have had some inner sense of this. Even non-musical people like some kinds of music themselves. Research shows that there are many musical places on both sides of the brain. In other words, we're hard-wired for it.
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Nice start! I've been blogging since April...it's fun. I'm going to the annual Garden Bloggers Conference in Chicago this spring! Are you'll still in the snow?
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