Last night we went out to hear a friend's doctoral recital. The performance happened in two 30 minute sections. The first, our friend on piano accompanying two violins and a cello for straight traditional chamber music with no tricks or frills. The pull of strings grabbed us, seriously, like being yanked or snatched or swirled up into a musical vortex. It was actually enthralling. If your attention drifted a moment, you were relentlessly pulled back in by one of the four musicians. It is hard to describe, as all really good art should be. But even my children were shocked and pleased. They who did not want to go, who dreaded thirty whole minutes TWICE, who wondered if they might be allowed to bring books. My daughter asked, during intermission, if that had actually been thirty minutes.  Had it not been more like fifteen?  Indeed.

I remarked to Darling Husband as we left, that it was a deeper experience of musical harmony than I've had in a long time...possibly ever.  And that it is nice to be reminded of the majesty of art and the proper place art should have in our lives, immediate, inspiring, and emotionally moving.  Bravo!