Animated Thoughts: Art Comes in Many Forms, pt. 5

Did something a little different this holiday season. For a couple months now, Fever has been advertising a candlelight music program at one of the churches in my area. I'm not really into "people" events, per se, but I do love attending the church candlelight midnight services on Christmas Eve. And I have been listening to a lot of Mozart and Vivaldi lately--in addition to the Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 soundtracks. So, after a little back-and-forth where I looked for legitimate excuses not to go, I begrudgingly bought the ticket a couple hours before the performance (Bah, Humbug!).

Wasn't sure what to expect and I admit to being a little crestfallen about how it wouldn't be a "true" candlelight performance--the "candles" would be those fake candles with LED lighting. Not a big deal, really, but over a short period of time you start to see repeating patterns in the "flickering" of the LEDs. Again, it's a minor quibble, but it kind of takes me out of the immersive experience when the candles synchronize for a second or two and the pulsing looks like a wave of light and shadow washing across the candles more akin to a stock ticker. It's kind of hard to explain, but the 'Beta Movement' was there, I assure you.

In the end though, it was a very nice program and I'm glad I attended. The performers were very skilled at their craft and effortlessly built a rapport with the audience. The playlist itself was solid. In addition to a couple traditional Christmas songs, they added in a little Vivaldi, some Debussy, and some Tchaikovsky. But the highlight of the evening for me was when they played a selection from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Op 71.

Once the string quartet started playing that set, I was instantly transported to the world of animation and saw dancing flowers and faeries in my mind's eye as I heard "Russian Dance", "Waltz of the Flowers", and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". Forty-six years after the first time I saw it, Disney's Fantasia is still one of my favorite animated features of all time and it still holds such a treasured place in my heart. 

Pixar director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist Madeline Sharifian once said "Classical music makes tiny worlds feel so grand." I would add that there's just something about animation that makes classical music so accessible.

As we prepare to close the books on 2024, I hope everyone out there has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with wonderful memories of family and friends. :)

* * *