Where I live, this has been an unrelenting monster of a winter.
Snow. Ice. Eyeball-freezing temperatures. Tantalizing melts followed by quick re-freezes.
I have done more snow shoveling in the past five months than in the previous five years. And because we had partial thaws followed by further dumpings of snow, shoveling was a treacherous job: a confident thrust of the shovel would result in a spine-tingling thwack as the shovel hits the underlying layer of ice. Or, if you managed to avoid that, there was always the possibility of slipping on the aforementioned hidden ice, all four limbs flailing helplessly in four separate directions while your shovel flies into the neighbour’s yard.
As you can imagine, I am welcoming this week’s arrival of spring with teary eyes and open arms. Spring is a wonderful, fleeting season, and this year I will be cherishing every moment.
To do musical justice to the spring, you have to know how to write evocative music; Kris Bowers is a master evoker. His music has been the soundtrack for dance works by the Alvin Ailey dance company, and for the acclaimed film, “The Green Book.”
This song sets the scene for his 2014 solo album, and for the upcoming two months of (fingers crossed) beautifully mild weather.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. In the opening moments, the fluttering piano echoes the chirping birds.
2. The unusual, slightly uneasy chord changes reflect the changing moods of the weather at this time of year.
3. It’s so short-lived that it’s gone before you have fully soaked it in.
Recommended listening activity:
Dressing as if it’s 10 degrees warmer than it actually is.