The old piano in the old house

The old piano in the old house

Dr Abe V Rotor



An old house in Cebu, photos by Matthew Marlo Rotor

I hear Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven on the piano, in deep concentration about a girl wishing to see the moon and the stars in glorious sight even though she was blind;

Music to make the blind see through the inner eye, the deaf to hear through the inner ear - senses cut from the outside world only to be connected to an internal world;

I hear Tosselli's Serenade in violin in the middle of the night in complete silence except the throbbing of the heart of a lover longing and pleading for the sweetest answer;

Music is the radiance of the morning sun 'til sunset and into the lovely night for those in love, the kundiman of Abelardo and Santiago, Hating Gabi (Midnight) of Molina;

I hear Alleluia or the Messiah, the greatest religious song ever written, which Handel composed in isolation for days, emerging with heavenly light on his face;

Music that brings us closer to God, and God closer to man, a communion of Creator and creation, an expression of the highest level of reverence to the Supreme Being;

I hear Brahm's Lullaby the greatest composition that makes babies smile, babies crying to stop and settle on their mother's breast or in their crib guarded by angels;

Music that is universal to baby and mother, the origin of prototype melodies, inspiring our own Lucio San Pedro to compose Ugoy ng Duyan in a compatible melody;

I hear Czardas by Monti, typical Russian, vibrant and quick yet romantic and classical,
a challenging piece to play with virtuosity on the violin accompanied by piano;

Music that tests the ultimate of skill in playing a musical instrument, alone and with accompaniment, virtuosity on the stage, flawless and finesse;

I hear Requiem of Amadeus Mozart, his last and his own, commissioned by an unknown patron. Was he a ghost, or Mozart's? Music accompanies us to our grave;

Music that laments, bringing out the sorrow and pain in the saddest hour, yet kind and soothing, calming the bereaved, releasing them from pain and prison;

I do not hear them anymore - Beethoven, Tosselli, Handel, Brahms, Monti, Mozart et al - they're no longer around, not in the old house, and the piano is forever silent. ~