Romantic Violin Solo

Today I want to share a gorgeous violin solo piece from the Opera Thais written by French composer Jules Massenet. Jules Massenet is the first composer featured on this blog that does not have the same level of fame as the other great classical composers such as Bach and Beethoven. In fact, after his death, the majority of his music went out of fashion, and many of his operas were no longer performed.

This piece however, will stand the test of time as it's become very popular in mainstream media. I'm sure you have heard this in the waiting room of your doctor's office, or perhaps at the spa. Appropriately, the common name of this piece is "Meditation".

On a deeper level, this piece is a symphonic intermezzo in between two scenes from the Opera Thais. In the story, the monk Athanael asks the beautiful courtesan Thais to leave her lavish life of luxury and sin and join him to find salvation through Christianity. While she is thinking about his words, this violin solo plays accompanied by a full symphony. Ultimately, Athanael falls in love with Thais and proclaims on her deathbed that nothing in life is as important as sharing love with another human being.

Meditation from Thais - Composed by Jules Massenet