INSPIRATION FROM NATURE AS IMPETUS TO THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN MUSIC

Abstract

Music is usually not considered representational - it does not sharpen our perception of the external world, nor does it generally imitate it. Neither is music propositional - it does not put forward theories about the world or convey information in the same way as language does. However, when we analyze composers' musical language and personal inspiration, their music that juxtaposes the inner and outer worlds has meaning not only to interpreters but for listeners as well. My three recital programs presented here are those works that I believe have a strong connection to the creative process in music, especially dealing with the natural world. Nature bas been one of the most inspiring subjects for expressing a composer's inner mind and feelings. Nature not only describes the elements of reality, it also becomes a stimulus for expressing spiritual qualities and experiences in life. Music is the ability to express emotions audibly and is the spiritual language of emotion - this feeling of emotion was prevalent in the music of Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt. These composers' works contain extra-musical ideas that relate human life with natural settings, yet each composer's approach is personal and unique. Debussy and Ravel also shared a natural affection for using extra-musical titles, but they are more objective and concerned with sights and sounds to characterize scenes, rather than the more dramatic approach taken by Liszt. Natural settings such as bird-like songs, the whistle of the wind, and flowing waters have been put to music. Composers have employed techniques of tone painting and coloring to evoke these images through the music. It is the interpreter's job to understand a composer's vivid imagination and artistry in order to successfully deliver the composer's message to the audience.