The Ritual Master One of the most poetic writers of the contemporary French litterary scene, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt has a rich and sensitive univers that transpires through every one of his books. Translated all over the world, he has known fame through novels and theatre, but this particular short novel has not yet been translated into English. However, because of the special place it holds in my heart, I wished to speak of it today, in hopes that it will soon be available for all to enjoy. A book of music and inner discoveries, of honesty and harmony, Madame Pylinska and the secret of Chopin.
The story in one phrase : A young man studying philosophy in Paris starts taking piano lessons from an old Polish pianist, in an attempt to master Chopin’s music as his aunt used to play it in his childhood.
How does it make me feel : A book that makes me hear music in the silence. It’s light but consistent, like a silk velvet, that smells of spring flowers, under a cold and steady rain. I feel slightly melancholic, like I usually feel when finishing a book I really loved.
Top 3 details :
- Number one : a lesson in classical music. By comparing Chopin’s style to other composers, we are lead to understand the intimate structure of classical music, as Madame Pylinska, the Polish piano teacher, constructs a pedestal for Chopin’s greatness. For Chopin lovers, her arguments are a beautiful expression of the feeling we have when listening to his music. For others, I wouldn’t know…🙂
- Number two : pairing words with sounds. I always admired Kandinsky’s approach to abstract art. In his essay “Concerning the spiritual in art” published in 1912, he points out one of the things I like the most about music : the fact that being the most non-material of arts, it has a certain ease in expressing inner life. Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt goes farther by saying “Chopin doesn’t begin composing from something. No mental image pre-dates his music. He doesn’t express feelings, he provokes them”. I would say that writers are confronted with a similar challenge. For even if words can awaken us to emotions, litterature is almost always analysed through the intellect, and not the soul. Chopin is the soul, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is slowly teaching us to pause the analytic mind and leave room for the abstract emotions.
- Number three : passionate pastimes. I could have said hobbies, but there’s a lack of elegance in the word that does not suit Chopin. So pastimes… in a world where we are encouraged to learn a skill, perfect it, and make a living out of it, the book is a praise to playing the piano simply for the pleasure it gives you. Developing more than just one of our centers of interest allows us to multiply the possibilities of accomplishment. So let’s keep our options open, you never know where happiness comes from.
My favourite character : Blonde, feminine, powdered, smelling of iris and lily of the valley. Aunt Aimée is the beginning and the end of the story, a central character in Eric-Emmanuel’s life and the image of a differently strong woman. The free spirit that did not wish to commit to anyone other than herself, she is able to understand the many stages of doubt, of frustration, of searching for the right state of mind to experience life at its fullest. She is a guide and a model for her young nephew, as she represents both glamour and inner richness.
Yin/Yang : As Yin a story, as Chopin’s music is constructed in a minor tone. In Taoism, the Yin energy manifests as faded, discreet, internal and receptive. In many ways, it is the same in Chopin’s pieces, as he is not the type of composer to energize you, nor does he strike me as an enthusiast. And the story is perfectly in line with this energy of discreet sentiment and elegant inner world.
Life Lesson : My life lesson for today resides in a simple phrase from the book : “Se perfectionner réclame un travail qualitatif, pas quantitatif” / “Improving oneself requires a work of quality, not quantity”. As master Pylinska says, the fact that Chopin only composed for the piano proves his wisdom in a world where fame came from the opera and the symphonie. Knowing oneself’s qualities and improving on them, instead of endlessly chasing more and more of what does not suit us, that is what I choose to meditate on after reading this book.
Favourite Quote : Au milieu du salon ensoleillé, un nouveau monde avait surgi, un ailleurs lumineux flottant en nappes, paisible, secret, ondoyant, qui nous figeait et nous rendait attentifs. A quoi ? Je l’ignorais. Un évènement extraordinaire venait de se dérouler, l’efflorescence d’un univers parallèle, l’épiphanie d’une manière d’exister différente, dense et éthérée, riche et volatile, frêle et forte, laquelle, tout en se donnant, conservait la profondeur d’un mystère.
My translation :
In the middle of the sunny living room, a new world had arisen, a luminous elsewhere flowing like silk, peaceful, secret, undulating, which froze us and made us mindful. To what? I didn’t know. An extraordinary event had just taken place, the efflorescence of a parallel universe, the epiphany of a different way of existing, dense and ethereal, rich and volatile, frail and strong, which, while giving itself, kept the depth of a mystery.
Why you should read it : Reading this brief yet concentrated novel is like a peeling for the soul. Rubbing off the layers of dead feelings we accumulated, in order to become permeable to the pure emotion of beautiful words in the company of beautiful music. In French, we have a beautiful expression for describing this particular sensitivity : à fleur de peau. It litteraly translates to the flower of skin. The flower as in the most delicate, ephemeral yet most spectacular part of the whole. A book that makes your skin bloom with emotion.
91 pages. Sometimes, that’s all it takes for me to sparkle with joy. A short but excellent introduction to the universe of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. We’ll be back.
On Saturday, a ritual very loosely inspired by the book, and by the author.
Until then, enjoy your reading !
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