I love to sing. I love music. I love the spirit of the music.
Over the years, notation of music has helped us understand an era, and that era’s expressions of emotions, feelings and love.
I watched my mother sing the songs of her era. Those that deeply touched her soul were sung with eyes closed. Her voice reflected the spirit of the song.
I’m not sure we can always notate what happens in the spirit. We can find ways to describe the tempo, the mood, the timbre of voice. Somewhere along the way, we have not yet been able to capture the spirit in print.
An actor will move into the role of their character, as outlined in the script. This method allows them to try to touch the spirit. A truly good actor runs the periphery of the character with ease. When there is no longer an act, but a sense of the presence of the character, then there is a great actor.
These artistic expressions, in music and acting, cannot be attained by notes or words or even videos. We know that a culture is truly dead when no one can exact the spirit of that culture from within their own beings. Yes, they can imitate, they can fashion a look that images the original – but the spirit and the letter are two different things.
