When classical music is a poem

Classical music connects with your soul, I often say. It can remind you of a story of the past or it can inspire you to create a new one.

Today, a cello has an important and exciting story to tell you. The story is continuous -- sometimes rhythmic, sometimes the cello tells you a sad event, sometimes he fills you with hope and the orchestra joins him in fervour.

The music, rondo for cello and orchestra by Daniel François Esprit Auber, is like a poem. The 'starting lines' are repeated throughout, as are a few other musical themes. It's like this:

-- starting line
scary event
sad event
hope
-- starting line 
event..
another event....
-- starting line

In fact, look at the title of this piece - it's a 'rondo'.

Wikipedia tells us that the term and formal principle may have derived from the medieval poetic form, rondeau, which contains repetitions of a couplet separated by longer sections of poetry. [Link]

So let's see a rondeau:

I walk in loneliness through the greenwood
for I have none to go with me.
Since I have lost my friend by not being good
I walk in loneliness through the greenwood.
I’ll send him word and make it understood
that I will be good company.
I walk in loneliness through the greenwood
for I have none to go with me. 
- anonymous 12th century poem - [source]

And this is how the music will sound to us, the story as narrated by the cello, a story in the form of a rondeau, heartfelt and full of passion. The opening strains of music, as well as a few other tunes, will be repeated throughout this engaging musical work.