My Everyday Amelie Moment
The piano piece that pulls my heartstrings and brings waves of nostalgia
Which is the last piece of music you heard, that brought waves of nostalgia? Nostalgia that had all the elements of joy, sorrow, fulfillment, hope, and despair together in a musical harmony.
For me, it is Yann Tiersen’s ~ Comptine D’Un Autre Ete from the French movie, Amelie.
It is a classical piece of composition by Tiersen that evokes complex emotions in the mind of the listener. It was composed for solo piano and the title broadly translates into ‘Nursery Rhyme from Another Summer’.
The melody begins with an oscillating line, playing distinct harmonic moves typical of a lullaby. The irregular rhythms get the listener into the grove of the emotion, building hope and serenity in the mind-space. The harmony contributes to the conventional formality of music.
The hands then begin to play ascending and descending notes, causing a surge in the feeling of uneasiness. The composition goes on to build a conjunct motion as it picks up rhythm, it connects the audience to the feeling of hope and excitement. It is a classic example of modal interchange, the borrowed chords creating a perfect musical syntax. The diatonic chords share a common parent scale, that has not left the melody anywhere, from the beginning till the end.
The melody heard at the inception is heard again, this time up in higher octaves. The range keeps pushing upwards, but the melody also maintains its basic chords, and at this point, there is a connection with the listener that brings out childhood nostalgia, some bitter-sweet memories but a peaceful atmosphere.
The resplendent interplay of chords creates a melody that sits amazingly well with the scene, where Amelie digs her hand in a sack of grains and enjoys the cutaneous sensory in that moment. The melody also brings out a sharp sting of sadness at this juncture, as the rhythm gains momentum.
There is melancholic near about ending with both hands now, as the range shifts from jumpy to a softer beautiful piano ballad. The composer has managed to keep it interesting despite repetitive harmony.
This is my everyday track while driving back from school drop-offs. It is my calming melody. My lullaby after a tornado with a toddler during weekday mornings.
I sometimes let my hands graze through the morning breeze outside the car window, remembering the last drop of dripping ice lollies, pillow talks with my sister, the amazing bites of mashed potatoes we ate from the stolen tiffin of a class-mate ( she was too sweet to complain), the smell of the earth after rain, feeling the grass tickle under the soles of adolescent feet, eating guavas from the tree in our backyard and dodging the darting bees, the warmth of a hand-knitted sweater by my grandma on a winter evening, the crackle of the rice wafers we ate all day during the annual break….the nostalgia is never-ending.
There is a cascade of emotions running down each time I listen to the melody. I try to relive my old memories from an aging brain.
The melody is short, and so is the distance between my child’s school and my home. The music always helps to make me more of a hopeless romantic and a dreamer.
The composition justifies each and every award it has been bestowed with and is frequent at many piano recitals and concerts.
It is sweet, it is melancholic, it pulls the heartstrings, and also strikes a happy note. A good start to a peaceful morning. A soothing end to the humdrum of domestic affairs. Bittersweet. Always working wonders on the soul of a sentimental human being. I thank Yann Tiersen from the bottom of my heart for this creation.
