Piece of the Month: Jules Massenet, Méditation from Thaïs
For this month, I have chosen a really great, strong and powerful piece! I’m sure you’re wondering what it is, sooooooo. . . . . . (I really need drums right now): Méditation from the opera Thaïs by the amazing composer Jules Massenet. This piece for the violin makes me shiver every time I hear it. Here are some facts about the composer:
So, first of all, his full name was Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (1842-1912). Massenet was a French composer (I’m sure you recognized by his name that he was French). He was admired for his lyrical music and especially for his operas. Massenet was born on 12 May 1842. He was the son of an ironmaster who lived in Paris. At age eleven, the boy entered the Paris Conservatory. Years and years after that, on 16 March 1894, the premiere of his opera Thaïs blessed this world with the beautiful melody of the violin solo Méditation. The solo describes the beginning of the conversion of the opera’s heroine to Christianity. It is a slow, very spiritual piece.
Caricature of Jules Massenet by Sem (Georges Goursat, 1863-1934) (Wikimedia Commons)
I’d like to talk about Thaïs-Méditation’s hidden wonders. For me, and I’m sure also for many other people, music is calming, and there are certain pieces that provide that special vibe (other pieces maybe make you excited, or a little bit gloomy or just a complete wreck). Thaïs-Méditation is for sure one of the pieces that give a calming vibe. When I was small and had trouble falling asleep, I would ask my parents to play it on my CD player. Even after all those years, I still love this piece so much. I listen to it almost every day.
Please comment below: what is your go-to fav calming piece?