Originally published on October 23, 2015 on the now-defunct Best American Poetry blog. Republished in The Trouble Clef.
Music: dreaming aloud.
Music notation: captured magic.
Music commissioner: investor in an intangible slice of immortality with his name on a score.
Chamber music: telepathy.
Composer: architect of silences.
Composer’s work: lonely labor, indistinguishable from alchemy.
Compositional process: distilling passion into sounds.
Composer-in-residence: a living ghost.
Sounds: material of creation.
Premiere: critic’s alert to sharpen preconceptions.
Program notes: gravely misleading listening maps.
Microtonal notation: signal to play out of tune.
Phrasing: the search for gravity.
Intonation: tracing the holy ghost.
How to practice intonation? Mentally outline the ideal future and then make it reality.
Practicing: doesn’t make anything perfect, but can create favorable conditions for accidental perfection.
Inspiration: The Muse doesn’t forgive those who doubt her.
Technique: that which requires constant work to be unnoticeable.
Virtuosity: If you are complimented for it, you don’t have it.
Tempo: (mostly) controlled flow of energy.
Meter: wagons in the train of Time.
Form: a map.
Unison: All is one.
Overtone series: proof of divine origins.
Fundamental tone: origins of the universe.
Accents: poking.
Expressions: desperate attempts of composer to communicate from beyond the grave, usually dismissed by performers.
Articulations: musicians’ blind spots.
Pedal: misty and mysterious soul of the piano – routinely sterilized and castrated by pianists.
Repeat: that which never happens.
Repeat sign: déjà vu.
Last tremolo: preparation for standing ovation.
Rests: never restful.
Harmonic: sound’s afterlife.
Fermata: the eye of time.
Vibrato: can cause nervous laughter.
Dolce: Tuck me in gently.
Espressivo: caffeinated emotions.
Molto espressivo: Make it double espresso.
Morendo: Did you hear anything?
Pianissimo: solo for the unwrapping of a candy.
Pianississimo: time for a hearing-aid’s buzz.
Caesura: Breathe while you can.
Glissando: stretching space.
Flautando: memory of a sound.
Sul ponticello: the beast within, which you have repressed all your life.
Con sordino: taking the diva out of the violinist.
Frullato: growling in public.
Staccato: touching burning music with fingertips.
Legato: spilled slurs.
Sforzando: a musical ouch.
Pizzicato: pecking the grains of notes.
Subito: wife poking her husband when he starts to snore during a concert.
Diminuendo: magic mushroom in wonderland. You become smaller and smaller – as long as you are nibbling on it. Unfortunately, you never get small enough.
Adagio: Think of your mortality.
Adagio molto: Think of your immortality.
Adagio religioso: Pray for salvation.
Allegro: the original definition (‘happily’) no longer applies. Think general level of anxiety.
Allegro molto: think increased level of anxiety.
Allegro con brio: playing with fire.
Andante: The original definition (‘leisurely walking’) is extinct. Think depression.
Moderato: Comme ci, comme ça.
Lento: works better than Ambien for male audience members above the age of 50.
Presto: No thinking allowed.
Vivace: Act first. Regret later.
Vivacissimo: Jump off a cliff. You may or may not have time to open your wings.
Stretto: condensing time.
Con moto: You’re running out of time.
Accelerando: seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Ritenuto: realizing what that light is.
Ritardando: Make every note count; you have very few of them left.
Rubato: loosening the reins.
Ad libitum: Create the illusion of freedom.
© Lera Auerbach – Excess of Being
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