ripple
2022.11.21
Not wanting to go straight home, I dropped by the station building for no particular reason, and found a simple stage in the stairwell.
People were gathering around, and posters were posted, saying that there was going to be a musical event from now on.
A classical concert on a Friday evening.
A silver-haired madam sitting in the front seat was waiting impatiently for the concert to start.
I have no knowledge of classical music.
Even when I got hooked on Nodame Cantabile, I never bothered to find out what the music in the play was about.
I was taken to a classical concert at a school hall when I was in elementary school.
I was so tired of classical concerts in the hall that I had to fight against drowsiness, so I was not very good at it.
Listening to live music might be a good way to pass the time.
I’ve had those pre-holiday nights where I just can’t bring myself to enjoy it.
I felt as if listening to music would make it wonderful.
I ordered a pound cake from a nearby cafe and sat down at the counter.
In a daze, I hear a slow tempo and relaxing sounds.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, solemn, dark music begins.
The happy laughter of college girls and businessmen discussing the restaurant they are about to go for a drink pass by.
In a sometime drama.
There was a scene in a drama about a quartet of aspiring professionals playing instruments in a suburban aeon.
I loved that drama and remember it because I saw the same scene many times back then.
Each of the four musicians makes a piece of music with their instruments in front of a few people who can’t even be called an audience.
No one was listening to the classical music, and the only response was the Dracula theme.
A middle school boy passing by happily stopped.
I can only imagine how unreasonable and frustrating that must have been.
If it were true, it would be the dream of the characters to play proper classical music in the right place.
I wonder if the people who are making music here now are also people who, like the characters in the drama, will never be top-notch.
People wearing bright dresses for performance and playing instruments with serious expressions on their faces, who would be afraid to walk outside as they are.
I wonder where these people are going and why they are playing here and now.
Without knowing anyone’s background, the music just passes by.
For those walking by with earphones listening to music, they may not even know that there is a concert here today.
I hear a flurry of applause when the music ends after a rather short span of time, as if it were for a general concert.
The sound was rough, obligatory, and grainy.
Impressed, in passing, rather than impressed, was the more apt word.
Someone briefly added a commentary about the music, and then, as if in a stream
and then, as if in a stream, the music moved on to the next song, and the next, and the next.
The music was rushed through, and there was no time to feel the afterglow of the music.
It was sad that there was no time to feel the afterglow of the music.
In the back seat behind me, a man said to me, “If you bought something at one of our stores, you can eat it.
You can eat anything you buy at our store.
A girl shook her head at the waiter and said, “You can eat anything you buy at our store.
She was about to leave without listening to the music.
She must have thought that since it was an outside counter, she could bring in something from another store, and I could see the look on her face as if she was flustered at having been warned.
The next piece played was an aria on the G string.
I thought, “I know at least this much,” and then the concert was over.
Without so much as a hello, a crowd of people left the stage.
The people bowing at the podium.
I could see the madam I saw first, who remained in her seat until the end of the concert.
I don’t know if the music is good or bad.
But I am sure that the time with music has become a little less depressing.
I finish my pound cake and leave the table.
It was still a depressing Friday night, but I decided to buy something I liked and go home.
