Falling in Love
MUSIC Information:
- Before The Sun Goes Down
- C major
- 37 Measures
- Cello and Piano
- 2:55 min
- 3 Pages
“Love thy neighbor — and if he happens to be tall, debonair, and devastating, it will be that much easier.”_ Mae West
WHAT IS LOVE?
Love is a strange phenomenon; whenever I try to capture it in words, I find myself falling short, as if language can never quite capture something so vast and unexplainable. It takes so many shapes, that no single definition can truly contain it.
Throughout history, philosophers have tried to name its different forms — from passion and friendship to compassion and selflessness — and yet the question remains. What is love? A feeling, a choice, a force beyond reason? Perhaps it is all of these, or perhaps it is something we will never fully understand.
we sing about love
we praise love
we want to love and
we want to be loved
but keep asking
what is love?
A REAL THING
I can only tell you that when love happens, it often comes unexpectedly. It can certainly take you by surprise, and even hurts a little. Nevertheless, it is something most of us look forward to experiencing in life. Love is as natural as the air we breath.
Some of us plan our futures based on whether we fall in love or not. Some of us swear never ever to fall in love again. Yet, others spend their whole lives searching for the right person to love. One thing is certain: love is real_ it can happen to anyone, and it's everywhere.
CHEMICAL REACTION
The Western world distinguishes four types of love, each represent by a Greek word. Of course, there are various sources that define a number of other kinds of love, reflecting the complexity and depth of human emotion.
Affection (Storge)
Friendship (Philia)
Romantic (Eros)
Unconditional (Agape)
In an attempt to understand more about how our brains and bodies function, extensive studies and experiments have been conducted under controlled conditions on each type of love. These experiments have revealed a wealth of detailed information suggesting that love is fundamentally a chemical reaction.
A PROMISE
If we venture out into the world and look around, it’s possible to recognize human emotions for what they are. We may find that, indeed, the world is full of love—despite all the distractions and the havoc caused by unwanted events. Yes, there will always be love; it remains the promise of a better world.
Unconditional love is, perhaps, the most daunting of all, because it is the kind of love a person offers freely, without asking for anything in return. Is it even possible for someone to feel such love? Perhaps. For my part, I would like to think so. There are millions of people in the world, and I believe there is someone out there capable of such selfless affection.
SOMETHING WORDLESS
Is it possible to express love with music? Yes_ music gives us a way to communicate not only emotions, but also ideas. And even though, it is not absolute_ since the interpretation of music is deeply personal_ composers somehow manage, with impressive accuracy, to capture specific feelings.
Song writers have tried to capture these feelings in countless ways. Across genres and generations, they've reach for melodies, metaphors, and moments that might give shape to something essentially wordless. Music has always been humanity's most intimate language, a bridge between what we feel and what we can say. But the impossibility of fully express emotion is what keeps composers and song writes creating_ an endless attempt to turn love into sound.
Chaka Kahn couldn't have said it better than in her 1983 hit Ain't nobody, where every line captures the overwhelming joy and surprise of realizing one has fallen in love.
Captured effortlessly
That's the way it was
Happened so naturally
I did not know it was love
The next thing I felt was you
Holding me close
What was I gonna do?
I let myself go
The Icelandic singer Bjork recorded in 1997 a song that talks about love in a universal way. In that song title "All is full of love", she suggests that love is always around us even when we feel unloved.
You'll be given love
You'll be taken care of
You'll be given love
You have to trust it
Maybe not from the sources
You have poured yours
Maybe not from the directions
You are staring at
Twist your head around
It's all around you
All is full of love
All around you
LET YOURSELF GO
I've composed a piece of music I called "Falling in Love". However, it isn't about describing love directly, but about tracing the feelings it leaves behind_ the calm, the tension, perhaps the tears, the uncertainty, and of course the joy_ I wanted this piece to become a space where emotions can exist without explanation.
If you listen to this piece of music, I challenge you to think of the kind of love that has affected you the most, one way or another. In the end you may discover that, when you experience love_ and let yourself go_ becomes one of the most embracing and liberating feelings, one that enriches life beyond measure.