There could be no art if you struggle to open your heart, if you struggle to stand vulnerable in front of everyone, if your emotions are locked.
I watched a session with someone coaching a student; the teacher was very happy with the result, but sadly the student did not express anything, absolutely nothing ! I could not hear anything, just flat notes, his music making lacked the power of touching one's heart, it failed to steer any feeling in me, and it was supposed to be a love song !? Why ? Because the first thing his teacher should have taught him is to reach deep down to his emotions, open his heart and show them to the world. Of course, that could not happen over night, and the whole 'teaching' process should have been very different ...
Suppressed controlled emotions and art don't go together.
Listen to Sarah Brightman, whose every fibre is soaked in those deep emotions (also performing a love song), melting in front of the whole world, that crystal voice of hers soaring, because of that inner force of unsuppressed emotions, and a dare to get lost in them and share them with us.
A force that deeply touches, moves, changes, transforms ........ but only when the artist's heart is open so that emotions could flow freely.
Handel's 'Lascia ch'io pianga' from the opera 'Rinaldo', performed by Sarah Brightman bringing tears to our eyes:
Now, that certainly is moving.
"Musical work as reflection on oneself, (could be) sometimes unsettling, but necessary to the pursue of new paths. Learning music is learning about life. You don’t learn how to play an instrument (or to sing) without learning how to discover music through yourself."
Learning music is not only about learning, notes, and learning 'how to'. It is not only about learning any technique either ! Learning music and creating art is and should be intensely soul searching. It is about willing to change one's state of mind, dive deep into those sometimes painful emotions and not being afraid to express them and show them to the world. It is about willingness to pursue new paths, about dare to experiment, explore and change. It is about progress and development of the whole individual. Only then we can talk about art, something unique, something authentic, something that could touch, move, console, elevate, transform ...
And when we hear someone sing or play and that 'touching the heart' part is missing, we know - that kind of work has not been done. It is not about technique, or talent, or style, or anything similar. It is about an approach to music and an approach to 'teaching' music that has been lacking its most fundamental and most essential part.
'Lascia Ch'io Pianga' Context & Song's Plot Setting
The story takes place in Jerusalem at the end of the 11th century, at the time of the first Crusades. At the end of the first act, the knight Rinaldo sits with his lover, Almirena in the garden. All of a sudden the evil sorceress appears and abducts Almirena. At the start of the second act, Almirena sits in her captor's palace garden mourning her predicament. Having been taken away from the love of her life with no hope of ever escaping, Almirena can only pray for mercy.
Italian Lyrics
Lascia ch'io pianga
Mia cruda sorte,
E che sospiri
La libertà.
Il duolo infranga
Queste ritorte,
De' miei martiri
Sol per pietà.
English Translation
Let me weep
My cruel fate,
And that I
should have freedom.
The duel infringes
within these twisted places,
in my sufferings
I pray for mercy.
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