Serenade
Photographers often feel compelled to apologize for "pretty" pictures. Beauty in art is out of fashion today, but the simple fact is that the world can be a very beautiful place. If some subjects seem banal through over-familiarity, it is all the more reason to look with fresh eyes.
Some forty years ago, I bought a recording of Johannes Brahms' youthful Serenade #2 in A, Opus 16 entirely on the strength of a beautiful landscape painting on the album cover. (This was in the days of vinyl LPs, when album covers were big enough to make an impression.) For many years, the Serenade was about the only Brahms composition that I knew, and I loved it.
As I was driving to work yesterday morning in a steady rain, Brahms' Serenade #2 came on the radio. It was a cool morning and the heater was on. In the rain, the muted colors of the Autumn trees glowed. The familiar sound of Brahms on the radio mixed with the sound of the rain, and I felt like I was wrapped in a cocoon made of music and rain-washed color.
The morning was absolutely common-place, and completely beautiful. I wish I could have shared it with you.
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