Comfort ye, comfort ye

[furtwaengler]

Do you ever wonder what's on the other side? I should quote the beautiful final passage of William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis:

So live, that when thy summons comes to join   
The innumerable caravan which moves   
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take   
His chamber in the silent halls of death,   
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,   
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed   
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave   
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch   
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

I found this improvisation on a CD, and it surprised me (there is no remembrance of producing it). I don't have the original file or a date, but I would guess it is from the spring of 2008. It is definitely the Yamaha grand in the auditorium.

There is one theme that is hinted at through the entirety, but rarely played in full, and I don't know if it is original or not; it is easy to be obsessed with. The mood of the piece is uniquely serene like a final conquering rest. It is not a free peace, but a peace won out of some struggle with affliction leading self out of self. There are hints of the struggle through out, and even recollections of devastating blows. However, it is not ever resigned...whatever was life's affliction is conquered completely, and this is the other side. For me it is a beautiful and tremendously satisfying find, and I'm happy to offer it to you.