Six Years Ago

Like many others, I spent 9/11/2001 glued to my tv set, watching the terrible news unfold. Actually, I could only bring myself to stand in the doorway to the room where the tv was, unable to move any closer than that. I was unable to work; it seemed inappropriate to work. I was in touch with my client via e-mail. From her window in New York City, she watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. My brother was there too, experiencing the horror at ground level.

I had a rehearsal scheduled that night, a Tuesday night that year as it is this year. At the time I was playing flute in a trio with another flutist and a cellist. We were working on Haydn's London Trios. I did not call or e-mail the other two to discuss canceling our rehearsal. No one else did either, and we all showed up and found comfort in the music.

Many people have died or have been injured since then, in the war on terror, in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and all over the world, and in other violent and unhappy ways. Music can't really change this, but it can bring peace in small and enduring ways. On this day, and all days, I wish you music and peace.

Geoffrey Allison, crafting violins in Iraq

This photo of Sgt. Allison is from the Cape Cod Times, Associated Press.

Today, the Cape Cod Times ran this story of U.S. Army Sgt. Geoffrey Allison, who crafts violins in his spare time. Now stationed in Huntsville, Alabama, he made 6 violins while on his 13-month tour of duty in Iraq, 30 since he began learning the craft. What an excellent use of downtime! I trust it also provided some stress-relief and spread the joy of music to others.

I particularly like this part of the story: "I've just been dying to make cellos. It's probably the most beautiful instrument, maybe even surpassing the violin. When you hear a cello play, you know it's a cello. It's got such a rich, deep sound."

Summer/Fall

The leaves are starting to turn. I went to the beach anyway. It was very windy, but I, and numerous others, stood our ground against the changing of the seasons.

Duets

Fritz and Laura played a Handel violin sonata last weekend, in front of the folksy quilt background. They sounded great!

Also making beautiful music together are my inlaws, Ralph and Bernice, who celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary today. Happy Anniversary!

Back to School!

This is the first year in a long time that neither of the kids is going back to school. No back-to-school supplies to buy, no tuitions to pay. I wish they loved school, or at least saw the value of it, but both have given college a try and found it was not for them, at least for now. I'm hopeful, though!

I am going back to school. Cello lessons resume next week, and I am also going to sign up for an art class. I used to take art lessons, and, while I know I could draw or paint without the lessons, it helps to take a class, just to find the time and space.

My husband is considering guitar lessons, and I am hoping he follows through, as it would be fun to play together. I may also attend a dulcimer workshop, to release my lonely mountain dulcimer from the closet for a few hours.

My concentration will remain on the cello of course, and I am going to try to retain the sense of focus I have had since Scottish fiddle camp and really work on intonation, learning by ear, and technique, trying not to be too distracted by the many musical opportunities that continually beckon me. And I ought to try not to keep forming new groups, but I do need sort of a Scottish cello group to play Abby Newton tunes with (perhaps some combination of cello, harp, flute, violin, guitar). :-)

I still have this urge to buy school supplies.... Since I already have buckets of art supplies, I will have to content myself with new highlighters, which I consume by the truckload in my work.

Folk Music transformed, with 5-string cello

Rufus Cappadocio and Bethany Yarrow play "If I Had My Way" at the Great Green American Fest, July 14, 2007

I was a big fan of Peter, Paul, and Mary, especially their gospel/folk/dark sound. Some of their songs are still inhabiting my head, lo these many years later.

So, in the course of my amblings through YouTube, I was excited to come across Bethany and Rufus, a vocalist/cellist duo giving new life to old Peter, Paul and Mary standards. It turns out Bethany is Bethany Yarrow, daughter of Peter Yarrow, and Rufus is Rufus Cappadocia, "one of the leading voices in cello today," though he had thus far escaped my notice. He started Suzuki cello at the age of three, learning to play by ear, and followed the classical path until he was 18 or 20, and decided he needed to play his own music (by ear), a mix of jazz, rock, blues, folk, and world music (and classical), a mix I tend to be fond of.

Rufus plays on an electric five-string cello of his own design, which he calls a bass cello because the fifth string is a low F. He doesn't use flashy electronic techniques; I think the "electric" part is mostly for amplification. See below for a quote from a review of the duo, and more on Rufus' website about the cello.

Bethany and Rufus have a music video, 900 miles. It is not the best one to showcase the cello, which Rufus sometimes plays lying down (they would have appreciated that at Scottish music camp), but I like it for the quality of Bethany's voice and because it is well-produced, not a shakily-photographed concert performance.

Another YouTube video, He Has a Long Chain On, features Peter Yarrow, and there are several more.

To see more of Rufus, see his website.

Also of interest: the Bethany and Rufus web site.

More on Bethany and Rufus from their website:

This fresh approach to folk music also brought rave reviews to Rock Island, the CD that Bethany released in 2003 under her own name. Rock Island featured the traditional slave lullabies and prison songs that lie at the core of the American musical vernacular, yet re-imagined, she says, as "a kind of electronic pop that I called deep folk music." Blending an edgy contemporary style with banjos, dulcimers, harmonicas, slide guitars, gospel choirs, and some sampled voices of the great blues singers, Bethany charted a unique musical terrain that she and Rufus continue to explore in ways far outside of any conventional music box.

Rufus Cappadocia is one of the leading voices on the cello today. He has toured throughout the Americas and Europe with numerous groups and is known for his collaborations with artists from all over the world... from the Balkans to the Caribbean, from West Africa to North America. He has toured extensively with Urban Tap and The Paradox Trio; has just finished a recording with Badal Roy (who played tabla with Miles Davis) and Barney Mcall (who plays piano with Gary Bartz); and has just finished recording a new project, Voudou Drums of Haiti with “Bonga” Jean-Baptiste as well as a CD of unaccompanied solo cello. After years of experimentation, Rufus plays a self-designed five string electric cello that extends the bass range of the cello and through amplification expands the tonal possibilities of the instrument.

Labor Day Weekend Concert report

We had an excellent time at the Labor Day weekend concert on Saturday. Both the Flute Choir and the Early Music group felt we played our best, triumphantly sailing through the tricky parts that had derailed us not long ago. The two groups alternated playing for about three hours, a long stretch, particularly for those of us who played in both groups, but we enjoyed it immensely. Our fingers a little sore, we're both going to take this week off from rehearsals!


The Early Music group. I seem to be smiling. My husband is taping our performance. I haven't looked at it yet.


A close-up of me, perhaps not the most flattering shot, but reflecting the intensity of the moment, both listening to others and concentrating on my own music. Or perhaps, fear. :-)


The Flute Choir. You can see some of the art displays to the side. There are six flutists; one is hidden in this photo.

The view from the stage. This was taken while we weren't playing of course, so no one is looking at us. :-)


The "after-concert" concert: The Cape Symphony has just finished playing the national anthem here. Seven thousand was the predicted attendance. I don't know how many came, nor how many visited the art/music building.


Fireworks ended the symphony performance--just like the 4th on the Esplanade! Except, as one flutist put it, "freezing cold."


The next day we dined out at this lovely restaurant, sitting in the vined window on the right. The trumpet vine is over 100 years old. The food was delicious, and the company stimulating.

And still one more day of the Labor Day weekend remains. We're planning a family cookout today. I am also working much of the day, but even that is relaxing. Hope you are having a great weekend!