Mozart or Paxil?

I feel that it is appropriate every now and then to get a tad personal in my writing here. Today I look to Mozart once again.

We just discussed the mammoth release of recordings for the 225th anniversary of this death, but that is not very personal. I turn to Mozart because there is no finer friend in times of emotional upheaval.

We have all had times when, for one reason or another, we find ourselves sobbing out of control. Our heart lugubriously crumbles within our chest, taking its time, each beat a small death drawing us toward the dissolution of all our parts.

I may or may not be doing that right now, at this moment, but I’ve done my fair share of sobbing — as unattractive as that may be. No one likes ugly-man-sob face.

Mozart enters that arena with profound grace, humor, balance, and hope. Not all of Mozart. This isn’t a time for the Jupiter Symphony or Papageno’s aria from The Magic Flute. No, no. It is the chamber music such as his Clarinet Quintet in A major K 581 that heals.

The effortless opening of the strings carries with it a stately resolve. The clarinet enters as a flourish of gold leaf decorating the powder blue of the quartet. One cannot help but feel as though everything is going to be okay.

The perfect balance of Mozart’s music resets the neurosis that cracks through our facade from time to time. I often wonder if Mozart wasn’t self-medicating.

Paxil or Mozart? Mozart has fewer side effects but they include refinement of taste, elevation of thought, and ennoblement of emotions. Use with care.