Chocolates of Love

Every year, on Valentine's Day (in third place for the most sugary holiday after Halloween and Christmas), chocolates have always been the most common holiday gift among friends, family, and couples.  I'm still fidgeting nervously from my sugar rush of macarons, Ghiradelli chocolates, and sweets from Germany and Russia.  Of course, this is nothing short of the usual from people we hold close to our hearts, but what meaning does it have from those we don’t know personally?

As the Verismo Duo, Sarah and I had many community performances, especially for seniors, but this day program for seniors was more impactful on us.  We were warned that our audience could be noisy and chaotic, but even after our lively Irish jig, which made toes tap, heads sway, and arms dancing, the room fell silent. No, they didn’t fall asleep, but they sat content with taking in and breathing in the music of Hindemith and Clarke. We didn't know Martha, but we did have a momentary bond that afternoon. Martha stood on her feet the entire time, with tears welling up in her eyes.  Before we could even finish our program, she came onstage to present us megasized chocolate bars from Russia.  We couldn’t understand what she was saying, since she only spoke Russian, but it was evident that the music stirred in her such an unexpected, emotional response that we communicated instead through the language of music.

So, sure, chocolates and candies can be cheesy and corny, but Martha felt like a close friend, with our unspoken love of music, if only for a few moments.