The poem...
Many nearer than you have gone, too many,
so your going does not touch me deeply,
a one-fingered piano note only,
soft as a caress, sounding regret
and then again regret, diminuendo,
spare - hardly a Wagnerian Funeral March;
yet I want to say, 'Sorry, Miss Crouch,'
now that you are dismissed forever.
You were so unassuming and gentle.
If there's a heaven, that's your address.
Once, after the war, I observed you
at a romantic Moiseiwitsch concert,
at Cardiff's plush Empire (so soon after
demolished, replaced by a neon-lit superstore).
You sat thrilled in the stalls, eyes raptly shut
- not in the insanity of prayer but
as if that music was making love to you.
Now I stare at church gargoyles, church spire,
then I close my eyes also. Wait! Be patient! Look!
The Assumption of Miss Crouch. There! Up there!
Several hundred feet above the spire,
blessed and sedate in evening dress,
rising slowly above Glamorganshire,
you, old lady, playing the piano -
not an upright piece of furniture either
but a concert-hall, exalted Bechstien,
its one black wing uplifted and beating,
bringing forth sounds from another world,
yes, you and the piano triumphantly rising
between the clouds, higher and higher.
Commentary...
Part 2 of 'Musical Moments' is about the death of the speaker's childhood piano teacher - Miss Crouch. This poem contrasts with part 1 of 'Musical Moments' as in this poem, the speaker seems to appreciate music a lot more. However, I think this is more appreciation in the sense that he appreciates other people's love for music, particularly "Miss Crouch", rather than appreciation of music because of his own enjoyment.
From the beginning of the poem the speaker states that the death of Miss Crouch "does not touch (him) deeply" for he has lost "too many" "nearer" people. As the poem doesn't really seem to be about any kind of grief or deep sadness about Miss Crouch's death, I feel it is more about the admiration and respect the speaker had for the piano teacher than anything else. Because Miss Crouch and the speaker weren't very close, it explains why the speaker is 'Outside a Graveyard', rather than going inside and attending what I'm assuming is her funeral.
The speaker may be feeling "regret" because he feels bad for the way he suddenly stopped his piano lessons which we saw in part 1 of 'Musical Moments'. Perhaps the speaker feels as though he's betrayed Miss Crouch in a way. Possibly the speaker feels "regret" because of his ignorance as a young boy of the musical education which Miss Crouch offered him. The speaker felt that Miss Crouch was "so unassuming and gentle", showing that even though he disliked his piano lessons, he liked his teacher. I think the speaker may be wanting to show that him leaving piano lessons was nothing to do with Miss Crouch, it was simply because he didn't like playing the piano. It's suggested that the speaker is agnostic, as he questions whether there is a heaven, "if there's a heaven, that's (Miss Crouch's) address", this also shows that the speaker wishes the best for Miss Crouch and genuinely believes she was a good person.
The speaker describes the ways he thought Miss Crouch felt about music, he seems to admire her passion and find it intriguing, perhaps because he didn't feel that way about music so to see somebody else feel so strongly about it could be quite fascinating to the speaker. The speaker "observed" Miss Crouch at a "romantic Moiseiwitsch concert" and saw that she was "thrilled", her eyes were "raptly shut" and it was like "the music was making love" to her. This shows the passion Miss Crouch felt for music and the intense effect it had on her.
The final stanza links with the first, where the speaker says that now Miss Crouch is dead, she belongs in heaven for in the final stanza the speaker imagines her rising into the sky and entering heaven. The speaker says that Miss Crouch would go up into heaven "playing the piano", emphasising how much music meant to the lady, because if it was possible, not even at death would she be parted from it. The speaker suggests that Miss Crouch's passion for music is eternal.
Larkin poems which I feel links best with this poem is 'Broadcast' because of the passion for music expressed, as well as the admiration of a particular person in both poems. A contrast with many of Larkin's poems is that Abse in this poem has described heaven, whereas Larkin seems to express the attitude that there is definitely nothing after death. Also I can see a link between Larkin's 'Send No Money' and this poem as in both poems the speaker feels a sense of regret of something they had done in their youth. Larkin's poem 'For Sidney Bechet' is similar to this poem as well because the speakers of both poems show admiration for the musician the poems are about.
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