The rules of classical music etiquette have always seemed strange to me. I'm glad I'm not the only one for whom this is true. I'd be hard-pressed to think of another genre in which the proper response to music designed to be danced to (not symphonies, obvious, but various lesser chamber music-type pieces), or otherwise inspire intense emotional experiences, is to sit quietly and still and act as though it's not affecting you at all.
(There's actual a similar point to be made about religious liturgies. Don't want something that's always and only chaos, but the idea that one should stand or sit impassively while the rituals are being performed in front of you also seems odd.)
"Thou shalt not extinguish thine anger, but shall master it,
that thy conscience may not be blunted by adjustment
to wrong causes."
-The Dutch Ten Commandments to Foil the Nazis
1 comment:
So true. I find it bizarre to think about how long it took me to realize that the pieces in a Baroque suite were actually dances.
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