As we wrap up this week celebrating the works of female composers here at Musica in Extenso, I have to admit, friends, I am stressed out. Between my own personal stressors and... [insert wild gesturing], I am really, very much, not okay. So as I stare into the garbage fire that is our life right now, I need to fall back on some serious comfort food. And by “food,” I mean music.
Fortunately, that means I can turn to the gorgeous, underrated work of Germaine Tailleferre, the only woman among Les Six, whose compositions are vastly underappreciated, in my view. I have a lot of favorites among them, and many rank easily as “comfort food” for me, but for the moment, I’ll go for the first movement (Modéré) of her only String Quartet, played here by the Porter String Quartet, which fills me with a sense of peace and contentment I can barely describe, despite the current of anxiety running underneath it. To me, this piece is the perfect recipe for finding peace within those anxious moments. I’m sure I’ve shared it before, and I likely will again. It is a touchstone for me in difficult times. Hopefully it can be for you, too. I recommend checking out all her work, beginning with the rest of this beautiful piece.
