A gem! They say a mother's voice can heal. Tightly constructed and powerful up until the moment the last notes fade out, this is a love letter to two mothers who've found different ways to make grief go away.
This is a great little piece, being at once entertaining and intelligent. It recounts in a light, literary manner the narrator’s search for a violin that will reproduce a specific sound—a sound that has been hauntingly playing in her head. She compares searching for a violin to looking for a true love. Impressively, this comparison really rings true. She is looking for something that will complete her and fulfill a certain nostalgic ideal born from childhood. Most musicians feel that their instruments are living things. It’s a kind of mystery that I’ve always suspected can only be really grasped if you are a musician; but his piece helped me to see how each instrument can be unique and alive, possessing its own personality and history. For Catherine Girardeau each violin is, in its way, The Red Violin.
Comments for Linda's Gift
Produced by Catherine Girardeau
Other pieces by Catherine Girardeau
Rating Summary
2 comments
Emon Hassan
Posted on May 21, 2005 at 10:11 AM | Permalink
Review of Linda's Gift
A gem! They say a mother's voice can heal. Tightly constructed and powerful up until the moment the last notes fade out, this is a love letter to two mothers who've found different ways to make grief go away.
Jonathan Goldstein
Posted on March 27, 2005 at 09:36 AM | Permalink
Review of Linda's Gift
This is a great little piece, being at once entertaining and intelligent. It recounts in a light, literary manner the narrator’s search for a violin that will reproduce a specific sound—a sound that has been hauntingly playing in her head. She compares searching for a violin to looking for a true love. Impressively, this comparison really rings true. She is looking for something that will complete her and fulfill a certain nostalgic ideal born from childhood. Most musicians feel that their instruments are living things. It’s a kind of mystery that I’ve always suspected can only be really grasped if you are a musician; but his piece helped me to see how each instrument can be unique and alive, possessing its own personality and history. For Catherine Girardeau each violin is, in its way, The Red Violin.