To astound or to enchant

Orazio Gentileschi: young woman playing a violin

Pardon me, if while writing, I shut my eyes and breathe in a few sequences of Vivaldi's 'La Stravaganza, Concerto No. 2' 

There is so much told. There is so much music. And it's packed into ten minutes or so. Try picking a main theme. In fact, listen to the first four minutes and see if you can identify a clear main theme. It's a process, and a continuous one -- this composition.

And then teach your self the art of contrast -- notice the change of pace and information conveyed in the second piece (second movement) at the 4:00 minute mark.

The flute as philosopher

(This time, we shall listen to the sound of flute in Hindi songs. It's markedly different from the sound in western classical.)

Listen to the flute in this song. It's used sparingly, yet presents the pathos of the man struggling for love. The flute is the man itself. The other instruments bring out the high ended grief, the restlessness. Until keeping all that aside, the man decides to say another stanza, and it's the flute that leads him to it. (Listen to the flute parts. This is considered a landmark song in Indian films. Else, you can jump to the flute parts at 0:48 2:11 3:36 and the strains during the last line of every stanza, like at 1:29)