There's an expression in Arabic poetry and storytelling...that seeing one's beloved is like a weary desert traveler seeing a distant campfire on a cold night.
The final weeks of this tough winter have been a challenge for all. The other day I needed a pick-me-up while running errands so I popped a CD into the car. It has become a favorite of mine in the last couple of years. It features big orchestral pieces by Mozart, Gluck and Michael Haydn using the so-called Alla Turca style... with lots of oboes, clarinets, cymbals, triangles, kettle drums, military marches and instrumental ornaments. The most famous of this genre is Mozart's overture to his opera, Abduction from the Seraglio.
Each time I listen to this CD, I love it more. The sheer bravado and joy, and the wake-you-from-the-dead energy gets my blood pumping.
One piece is different from the others. It is a slow 4/4 - not really a march, but it has the pace of a person walking. Hearing it, you can easily imagine yourself taking part in a deeply profound processional. It reminds me of the glory of the sunrise - and the wondrous transition from winter to spring. The same simple theme repeats with increasingly dramatic variations. It is inexorable and ultimately triumphant. So this morning it was amazing to waken from my sleep hearing it play in my head. It was as if my brain decided to wake me up with this musical treat and to remind me that spring is coming. With every hour it gets closer.
The piece is by Michael Haydn. It is the Andante Adagio movement from the compositions he wrote for Voltaire's Opera, "Zaire" in 1771. Michael Haydn was Joseph Haydn's younger brother. Michael was known for his sacred music compositions.
Try as I might, I couldn't find any recording of the piece on-line to share here. It can be heard on the CD entitled "Alla Turca" put out by Collegium Aureum and can be found on Amazon. It seems to have become a collector's item; the prices for used CD's range up toward $200! If you can find it in your local library, the track is #6, and it's the second movement, which I think is "Andante Adagio".
Last night we attended the best rock music concert either of us had been to in decades: a concert led by Tom Appleman, a professor from Berklee College of Music and his musical guests. They performed the Beatles White Album in its entirety. Tickets were only $12 and it was general admission seating, so those of us who got there early lucked out with great seats in the first ten rows. This pricing/seating policy reminded us of the way things worked decades ago at typical rock concerts. The early birds got the best seats.
From the first sounds of the airplane landing in the beginning of "Back in the USSR" to the final words in "Good Night", the concert rocketed us to the stratosphere. We were grinning so long and hard I thought my face muscles would cramp! There was an eight year old kid sitting near the front who knew every song and sang along. There were grannies and lots of students from Berklee. It was multi-generational fun. Some babyboomer age fellows waiting outside the concert hall said, "Finally, after 45 years, the concert we always wanted."
The group played every song in the order of the album. They didn't say a word until after they'd played the entire first album's songs. And the pauses between numbers were as quick as the pauses between numbers on the LP. But it didn't just seem like an imitation. No, this performance did something that has been needed for decades. Good musicians bringing the songs of this studio recorded album to life.
The three guitarists dominated - Appleman, Corin Ashley, and Joe Musella. It was really amazing watching them switch gears with each song. This album has so many different styles it was dizzying to take it all in. All the musicians were great, but in addition to the leads, the piano/vocalist Brian E. King did yeoman's work, pulling together so many keyboard styles, even joining in on guitar and manning the firebell. Matt Burwell on percussion sang Ringo's songs and did a great job, bringing a Ringo-like quality to his performance.
It was hard to say which was our favorite. For me, hearing "Everybody's Got Something to Hide, Except for Me and My Monkey" was astounding in its power being played live. It was an unexpected surprise that this song would just pop like that. But there were so many moments like that in the concert.
This was a very special evening. It was lovingly produced, with a lot of hard work and raw talent - to sing all 30 songs in order with hardly any pauses. It was such fun to watch all the musicians come and go - including the string quartet, and the brass players.
I am hoping they will do this show again. Perhaps it will become a mid-winter tradition, and spread to other cities. It's totally a worthwhile project. All in all, a fantastic achievement.
My memories of my days in Saudi Arabia are in many ways centered in the old city of Jeddah, known as al-Balad, or the Balad. When I return for a writing assignment, I always visit there, wandering in its alleys and taking in its special spirit.
In recent years concerned citizens and officials have worked to preserve and revive the culture of the old city - for its coral brick mansions still stand high on the hill overlooking the Red Sea. The city is at the heart of my first novel, and so knowing these efforts have been going on is thrilling.
In January, 2014, the Jeddah Heritage Festival took place there and attracted approximately 750,000 visitors. All kinds of traditional crafts were demonstrated. People cooked and sold traditional food. People wore the old costumes of the Hijaz. Last but not least, folkloric performances of music and dance took place on the last day. Below are selected photographs from the English Language daily Saudi Gazette and a video from the other daily the Arab News. The video is of a folkloric group walking to their performance place. One man is carrying an electric heater that would be used to tighten the drumskins in the humid weather.
It's the day after Christmas. I step outside to balance some thank-you notes in the mail slot in the half open 'man door' to our garage. I pause a moment to see if the forecast precipitation is coming down as rain or ice pellets. As I turn to go inside, something catches my ear. A robin is singing a full-blown song. What? A robin singing on the 26th of December, and the temperature is in the 20's?
Each year I track the last time I hear a robin sing in the fall, and then the first time I hear the song in the spring. So far this year, the latest robin song I heard was in early December. Usually it's early March before I hear it again. In between, the robins from the far north that winter here, travel in flocks looking for juniper and holly berries. They cluck, but don't sing. During this time I long for that first song, heralding the earth's rebirth. You can hear the robin's song at this link..
I don't consider this an example of climate change, especially not this year. The weather has been cold this month. Not out of the norm, but on the colder side. We've already had shovelable amounts of snow, right on schedule.
So what is it that incites a robin to let loose with its happy warbling? One website says (about European robins) that a robin singing in winter is well fed. Maybe that's it. No matter that it's about to rain, snow, or ice, he or she is happy and thankful. There are plenty of berries to be had, many fellows to socialize with, and a safe place to roost until spring. Maybe, like the robin, we should be lifting our voices too, in thanks to the Almighty for our friends, our food, and our glowing firesides.
We've been spending time in the 'midcoast' part of Maine recently, as we're thinking of relocating there. One thing that attracts us is that the area seems to be teeming with multitalented people doing all kinds of arts and fine crafts such as sculpture, poetry, weaving, novel-writing, woodworking, painting, ceramics and music. Is Maine more artistic than other states? I don't think so, but we are struck by how many people have made the choice to move there to live some variation of the artist's life.
One of our favorites is Ralph Moxcey. A former Boston advertising executive with Hill Holliday, Ralph is a sculptor who lives with his wife Wendy (herself a poet) in Bremen, Maine. He doesn't have a website but his beautiful wood and metal sculptures can be seen in several galleries. Above is a photograph of one piece that is in the Stable Gallery in Damariscotta, Maine. A link to his page there ishere.
Here is a 'blurb' about Ralph from another website dedicated to sculpture, www.sculptsite.com.
Throughout his lifetime, Moxcey has been a maker of things, an
outdoorsman and a naturalist as well as an artist. His interest in
creating wildlife sculptures began as a hobby when he was working in the
world of advertising. Since his retirement in 1990, sculpting has
become his major focus. Moxcey's work is influenced primarily by the
natural world and its inhabitants. Intrigued by their grace, form and
simple beauty, he keeps the lines of his animals, birds and fish as
simple as possible, maintaining the essence of his subject while leaving
no doubt as to its identity.
During his career in advertising, a span of more than 40 years,
Moxcey received numerous awards including Andys, Cleos, Hatch Awards,
the One Show Award and Art Director of the Year. He is most proud of his
L. E. Sissman Award, which is presented to a career advertising man or
woman who also finds time to pursue some form of fine art in a serious
way.
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As winter approaches, the issue of heating one's studio becomes important. Ralph has to make a daily decision whether or not to heat up his studio since it takes so long to get it warm. Sometimes it's not worth it. And he often cuts stone outside to keep the stone dust in his studio to a minimum. That's dedication!
This post may be totally repetitive, for many of you reading this are friends with me on facebook and are on my e-mail list. But...in case someone doesn't know, I'm teaching traditional and modern Khaliji (Arabian Gulf) women's dances at the upcoming Tenth Arab Dance Seminar, to be held from November 1-3, 2013 ---- in Las Vegas. Hosted by the cultural powerhouse Karim Nagi, this intensive weekend of dance instruction and cultural immersion has been a consistent sell out every year. As of today, only a dozen spaces are left. If you are interested, please visit the website - you can register right there: www.arabdanceseminar.com
This year the topic will be "Storytelling and Theater". As a writer and choreographer, this is one of my favorite subjects - how to bring storytelling into your dance as a soloist...and how to create group choreographies that bring Arab culture to life. Cassandra Shore, director of the Jawaahir Dance Company, has been putting on acclaimed full-length Middle Eastern themed dance theater productions for decades in Minneapolis. She is joining the faculty for this seminar. This is a unique opportunity to learn not only her amazing dance technique, but her take on this important topic. If you aren't in a dance troupe, there is a lot here for you, for we will also touch on how a soloist can tell a story with her dance, and how it's done in the Arab world. A very rich topic indeed.
At the Arab Dance Seminar, each teacher presents a three hour (!) session in his or her dance specialty. There are also panel discussions and classes in music, language and culture. At the end of the seminar, together we have a 'hadraa' and 'zar', a chance for the participants and faculty to meditate, try some Sufi breathing techniques and perhaps a little trancing, if the spirit moves.
We teachers are multicultural voyagers who love to share our adventures on many levels.
This year's lineup:
In addition to our dance specialties, each teacher will contribute to discussions about music, culture and language. It's been a joy to be part of this event, starting with the first Arab Dance Seminar, way back in 2005. I feel that in this setting particularly, I can share many facets of my cultural knowledge and artistic passion in a friendly and fun atmosphere. All of the instructors love to take part in the ADS. The participants are particularly interested in the cultural frame and underpinnings of the dance, so that makes for a perfect atmosphere.
Here is the promotional video - filmed at the very first one that was held in New Haven, CT in 2005. Yes that is me teaching the 'Khaliji' class.The other teachers: Nourhan Sharif of New York, Karim Nagi, and Amel Tafsout.
The View from Fez is one of my favorite blogs. Below is the latest entry, about a horseback riding overnight outing one can take in the mountains near Fez. A link to the blog is here. I would like to sign up, right now!
Horsing Around Fez ~ A Photo Essay
Leave the densely packed Moroccan city behind and head for the hills on horseback, suggests Suzanna Clarke
Horse riding is a leisurely and enjoyable way to take in the vibrant
spring growth and spectacular landscapes of the Fez-Boulmane region. Our
weekend expedition began on the top of Mt Zalagh - the mountain not far
from Fez. On our obliging mounts, we meandered into the valley below,
through olive groves and fields of flowers replete with gambolling
lambs, kestrels flying overhead and friendly waves from farmers along
the way.
Our small party camped out overnight, and in the morning we were greeted
with a sea of cloud below, which made us feel literally on top of the
world.
Dinner and breakfast were locally produced fare. There are few things
that enhance the appetite more than fresh air, a beautiful view and the
prospect of another day's riding.
Suzanna Clarke's horse riding trip was arranged through the Centre Equestre Ain Amyer. It included horse hire and equipment, a guide, food and accommodation
and transfers to and from Fez. For more information, phone 06 61 174404
or contact ctisaida@hotmail.com
