WAAAY OT: On transience, sad beauty, and The Western Tradition

["Dennis Moser" <sinsofmachaut@gmail.com>]

MASSIVE snip from the following only for the sake of brevity.

Anyone who has chosen to take offense, umbrage, or exception to my comments earlier today, please go read the following definitions of the word "maudlin" before addressing me on the list ...of course, feel free to email me off list about this.

http://www.answers.com/topic/maudlin
(an exhaustive, multi-lingual set of definitions ... surprising the number of cognates that show up there!)

http://www.english-test.net/gmat/vocabulary/meanings/109/gmat-words.php#maudlin
(a little lame, considering this one is for the GMAT)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maudlin
(One of MY favorites for specifically citing the etymology from Mary Magadelene's name ... )

http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/maudlin/
(I'd missed the whole drunken aspect, but I think it kind of goes with the "crying in your beer" turn of phrase)

http://www.dictionary.net/maudlin

So folks, please RE-READ carefully what I said. I was being critical of no one (well, perhaps just a wee bit about Percy Grainger, but only about his personal life ... still love his music) and was actually citing some examples of highly emotional music that I have been very much moved by and influenced by having listened to it or performing it.

Best to all in 2009,

Dennis "I've been known to be 'maudlin' a time or two" Moser

On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 6:15 PM, Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com> wrote:

Dennis wrote:
"One of the things that leaps out, from the Subject headings of a number of recent postings,
is the sheer level of maudlin nostalgia that we collectively seem to be expressing of late"


Dear Dennis,

Just to make sure where you are coming from in your otherwise excellent and informative post:

The Princeton Dictionary of the English Language defines the word 'maudlin' as

"bathetic: effusively or insincerely emotional; "a bathetic novel"; "maudlin expressions of sympathy"; "mushy effusiveness"; "a schmaltzy song ..."


If you use this definition,  then you are being critical of this discussion that we have been having
on sadness and beauty in classical music.   I just want to be clear that this was your intent.

If so, then I  take umbrage with your judgment.  
........or perhaps,  you just used the word incorrectly and this whole post is just me
breathing a bunch of hot air.

I look forward to your reply.

Rick Walker

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