| A few weeks ago, at the Quebec Writer’s Federation Gala, I discovered that I had won the honour of serving as the CBC/QWF Writer-in-Residence for 2017. It’s hugely exciting and I can’t wait to get started blogging about my home, the amazing city of Montreal. As a kick-off, I was invited to be on the CBC radio show Cinq-a-Six, which is a program in which guests choose songs that have been meaningful to them and talk about why. |  Me (centre), in shock, as I accept the Writer-in-Residence position at the QWF Gala. |
I was excited to be on the program. But I was also extremely nervous.
Past guests include people like Madeleine Thien, who won both the Governor General’s Award and the Giller Prize for her book “Do Not Say We Have Nothing”. How could I measure up to someone like that?
And then there was the playlist. If you were to tell the story of your life in just six songs, what songs would you choose? It’s a daunting task. There are songs that are meaningful because they cause us to think differently about things. There are songs that perfectly articulate our beliefs or feelings at particular life stages. There are songs that we love because they were played for us by important people—best friends, lovers, mentors, parents—or because they served as the musical backdrop of seminal times in our lives.
Some of the selections came easily to me. Others required some thought. I talked through various songs with my husband, who obligingly cued them up on the iPod so that we could consider them together. In this way, I worked through songs from childhood, adolescence, the university years, my move to Montreal, my leap into the world of travel…
Some of the selections came easily to me. Others required some thought. I talked through various songs with my husband, who obligingly cued them up on the iPod so that we could consider them together. In this way, I worked through songs from childhood, adolescence, the university years, my move to Montreal, my leap into the world of travel…
And then there were cryptic crosswords. What song could I choose for those?
A few months ago, another fan of cryptic crosswords, Vaughan McAlley, who is also a musician, described to me how composing a canon is akin to creating an interlocking crossword puzzle. He recommended Miserere Nostri, by Thomas Tallis, which he called “one of the greatest canons”.
A few months ago, another fan of cryptic crosswords, Vaughan McAlley, who is also a musician, described to me how composing a canon is akin to creating an interlocking crossword puzzle. He recommended Miserere Nostri, by Thomas Tallis, which he called “one of the greatest canons”.
To my amateur ears, the tune that most reminds me of the experience of solving a cryptic is Bach’s Goldberg Variation #3, as performed by the great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Each variation is neat and tidy and precise, though different in its arrangement, much like every grid is neat and tidy but different. But there’s something about #3 that is special. The left hand rumbles around on the lower register of the piano, much in the same way my subconscious rumbles around chewing on clues that I have read but not yet focused on cracking. Meanwhile, the right hand dances along on the upper register, occasionally landing on a high note in a way that feels like the epiphany that comes from puzzling out a portion of a clue.
Have you ever thought about how music and cryptic crosswords relate?
What music best represents cryptic crosswords to you?
What music best represents cryptic crosswords to you?
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