If music be the food of love, play on…
Many readers have asked for the list of music that Anne chose for her celebration of life held last Saturday. Below is a list that she wanted to share with those of us on this side of eternity, preceded by a little poem that I wrote about Anne and her love of music.
Glio musica
Before the shadow fell, Anne heard music as a bright river,
each note turning in her like light on water.
She gathered wonder from the piano’s hush, the violin’s cry,
and wore melody the way morning wears dew.
Then came the cruel hand of illness, closing doors one by one,
yet still she found a way to listen through the narrowing dark.
A tune could still lift her, a single chord still open heaven,
as if finitude itself paused to let beauty pass.
Her soul, undiminished, leaned toward every cadence,
finding in music a language no suffering could erase.
Even now, I think of her where all true songs are answered,
hearing again the wonders she loved on this side of silence,
and beyond it, the music that never ends.
Anne’s list:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWX3PiRIsfYlY8B0GnIdxQ-iToj1VaR9n&si=a-Vampxijulvw-D9
Anne had a clear idea of the music she wanted to share during her celebration of life: “Take This Walz” by Leonard Cohen; Loreena McKennitt’s musical interpretation of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shalott“; the “Alegría” song from the Cirque du Soleil show performed by Francesca Gagnon; the traditional French song “À la claire fontaine” as performed by a children’s choir at the end of the movie “The Painted Veil”; Marcus Mumford’s cover version of Bob Dylan’s “Farewell”; and Caetano Veloso’s “Cucurrucucu Paloma” from the film “Hable Con Ella.”
Anne had memorized all of these poems and lyrics.
She also wanted to share Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, a Sonata for Violin and Cello, and Violin Sonata #2 in G, from the film “Un Coeur en Hiver”; Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto No. 21 (specifically the second movement, Andante) as featured in several films, most notably in “The King’s Speech”; Auf dem Wasser zu singen D. 774, a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in 1823, based on the poem of the same name by Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg–Stolberg and performed in the film “L’Avenir”; and Erik Satie’s music, specifically Gnossienne No. 1, a recurring staple of the film “The Painted Veil.”
And to complete her list:
Les Seguins: C’est l’hiver
Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel, along with its English version, entitled If you go away, by Rod McKuen
Perth County Conspiracy: Truth and Fantasy and Don’t You Feel Fine
Cat Stevens: Wild World and Sad Lisa
Ludovico Einaudi: Una Mattina
Yiruma: A River Flows in You
Here are other links to poems and prose about music and its primal importance to brain tumour victims such as Anne:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/anne-chooses-a-song-for-her-celebration-of-life/
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/anne-hears-river-flows-in-you-march-8-2026/
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/anne-listens-to-the-ethereal-music-of-ludovico-einaudi/
Numerous kind people have asked how they can honour Anne’s memory. One way is to read about her combat with brain cancer, and if so inclined, contribute to the Brain Tumour Walk (BTW) fundraiser.
Here’s where to read about the Brain Tumour Walk and/or to contribute. Simply click here for my awareness-raising and fundraising page, created to pay tribute to Anne:
https://btfc.akaraisin.com/ui/BTW2026/p/RobertMcBryde
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
If you feel like reading more about Anne’s cancer journey, I’ve chronicled it in prose and poetry here:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/news/
