I went to a high school that only accepted pupils who had some talent in, either, pictorial arts or in music. Because the kids who went there were all so talented, I sometimes felt a bit intimidated by my colleagues. So much so, that I decided to apply as an artist in drawing and painting and not in music (I also sang and barely played the guitar and piano). It was a long trip to the school from my middle class neighborhood in Queens, N.Y. I had to travel more than an hour and a half each way by bus and subway to get to that wonderful school, high on a hill, in Harlem. Its name was the High School of Music and Art and was incorporated by Fiorello LaGuardia back in the early 40’s. We, affectionately, called this gothic structure at the South End of City College, “The Castle on the Hill.”
My days were very long and intense, with both academic courses and hours of studio for drawing, painting, graphics and all aspects of the production of art in the classical sense. Walking through the halls or during study breaks, you always heard great music coming out of the music studios and the auditorium. I feel madly in love with Baroque music during those years. I found I could totally relax and relieve tension by listening to Bach.
At night I always stayed up late to complete my academic homework and was sometimes too exhausted or tense to fall asleep so that I could get up by 6 am and be off to school by 7.
On my bookcase headboard I kept a clock radio that turned itself off, after a while, as I fell asleep, and woke me up at 6 am, to either classical music or jazz. One night when I was particularly worried about a math exam upcoming, I heard, for the first time ever, “Pachelbel’s Canon in D.” It was so exhilarating!! I found myself breathing in perfect coordination to the crescendo and decrescendo in the beginning of the piece. I felt happy and relaxed. I wound up falling into a deep restful sleep that night. I was buoyant the next morning as I talked about it with my friends when I got to school.
I don’t think I heard it again for five years. But as soon as I earned enough money I bought a recording that I played anytime I couldn’t sleep and found that within seven bars of music I would be off in the arms of Morpheus. Now, more than 55 years later, it still has that effect on me!