Love Notes: Music to Enhance Romance
RCA Red Seal
Reviewed by David S. Hall, Ph.D.
Click on each cover to buy from Amazon for only $9.99 each.
These three CDs from RCA are designed to help you set the mood for a sexual encounter, and are an interesting and fun way to explore how music can facilitate sexual communications and behavior. Each disk has music from a single composer, played by some of the best known orchestras and soloists. For example, the Chopin disk has the Philadelphia Orchestra, Vladimir Horowitz, Peter Serkin, Emanuel Ax, and several others. Each disk has program notes written in romantic prose and words of passion, fun to read even if you don't play the music right away. The parental warning on the cover is not really needed as the explicit sexual content is really in the listener's head.
They are arranged to set the mood by starting with soft and sexy, moving to more passionate and vital pieces, and then tapering off to more quiet music again. Each runs about 70 minutes, so if you can compress your encounter with a lover into that time frame, they just might help. In any case, they are a compilation of well-known classical music from RCA's vast collection, and can provide background for other activities as well. I would not suggest using them for a massage, however, as the pace changes over a broad range, and that is not good for a soothing rub.
Since I had a willing partner, we decided to explore the Chopin disk and let things flow. The music was delightful as was the time spent together. Beginning with "Romance" and three Nocturnes, it builds up to a rhapsodic "Ballade no. 1" and the still more dynamic "Revolutionary", before bring you back to a gentle lullaby and a waltz "L'Adieu". I admit to not paying attention to all the music this time, so I played it again later, while alone.
It isn't that one can't have a good time without music, but that a proper background does help set the mood and help provide a pace that is easy to follow. This is a fun marketing idea, and at a price anyone who likes music can afford. It is probably a good idea to buy all three so if your lover has a specific like or dislike, you can choose one that fits the session.