Soothing Stuff 1
Relax

With its emphasis on flowing melodies, rich harmonies and an absence of strong beats, classical music makes the perfect choice for those occasions when you want some aural relaxation.

Beethoven goes for a relaxing stroll in the country, past babbling brooks. You can even hear some vocal bird calls. The Mahler and Barber are quiet and still and speak of deeper, darker passions.

Then there are beautiful, passionate "songs without words". Ravel’s music is both chaste and sad; Warlock’s, slow, soft and moving. Massenet’s Meditation is an exotic opera interlude for violin and orchestra. The Myers, hailing from cinema, is a lovely song for guitar and orchestra. Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is a beautiful long flowing melody, originally written for voice, without words. It is best heard in its arrangement for orchestra.

I finish this selection with two magnificent tunes. The first is probably the most famous of all Mozart’s famous music, a lovely romantic song for clarinet and orchestra. The second, a beautiful tune from the tune man himself, Schubert. You’ll hear much more from these two.

1. Barber – Adagio for Strings
2. Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F major, "Pastorale" – 2. Szene am Bach (Scene by the brook). Andante molto moto
3. Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in c-sharp minor – 4. Adagietto. Sehr langsam
4. Massenet – Thaïs – Méditation
5. Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A major, K622 – 2. Adagio
6. Myers – Cavatina
7. Rachmaninov – Vocalise, op.34, no. 14
8. Ravel – Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a dead princess)
9. Schubert – Rosamunde, D.797 – Entr’acte No. 3
10. Warlock – Capriol Suite – 5. Pieds-en-l’air