Everything old is new again

A little reimagining of Swan Lake (with thanks to Tchaikovsky for creating it in the first place)

Hello!

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted. Summer here in Switzerland has been keeping us on our toes, hot one day, cold the next. But hopefully hot again very soon, because I can’t bear the thought of heading into winter without more days of jumping in the lake as often as possible!

I thought I’d start off again with a musical post instead of mere words. But instead of creating something completely new I’ve reimagined something that already exists.

I’m fascinated by the idea of making something new out of something old and how the old can still shine through the changes.

You’ll see what I mean when you hear my take on a tiny snippet of the main theme from Swan Lake. This is the theme that is associated with the doomed romance of Prince Siegrfried and Odette, a princess forced to live as a swan by day and a maiden only by night because of a spell cast by the wicked Von Rothbart.

Unfortunately, there’s no happy earth-bound ending, although their spirits do get to be reunited for all eternity ⌛️

I know, I know!

I’ve only gone ahead and mucked around with something so well known and so beloved. But, on the other hand, why not? After all, creativity is all about experimenting and exploring, and seeing what you can do with something that already exists is, in my opinion, a fine way to do this.

It might seem like this is being derivative instead of original. That it’s the easy option instead of taking the risk of creating something brand new, and that it’s not worth as much as creating something from scratch.

But you know what? Who cares? And this, I think, is the crux of the matter. Because when it comes to creativity, don’t let anyone stop you from doing it your way.

Please note!

No swans were hurt in the making of this recording. Although I can’t say the reverse would be true if the swans were in charge. There’s a family of swans near where I swim and as soon as I see them heading my way I get out of the water as quick as I can.

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