DOESN'T EVERYBODY NEED AN I'M-WORRIED-BUT-IT'S-GONNABE-OK PIECE OF MUSIC? MINE IS SCHUBERT'S DOUBLE CELLO STRING QUINTET--specifically the slow second movement, followed by the third.
The opening measures of the second movement of Schubert's string quintet (from IMSLP ) Right now on this December day when I would ordinarily be panicked about the many details of my imminent departure, I'm sitting out under the pergola peeling apples to the accompaniment of this soothing piece. I am reminded that I wrote about the Schubert piece earlier in the year in response to a wonderful article I had stumbled upon in "Aeon," a publication I had never heard of: "MUSIC AND RITUAL Why we love repetition in music" by Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis http://aeon.co/magazine/culture/why-we-love-repetition-in-music/ The subtitle was irresistible: "One more time Why do we listen to our favourite music over and over again? Because repeated sounds work magic in our brains" One reader offered a thoughtful comment: This is a fascinating topic that goes beyond music...I know one psychologist described y...