Music is My Mistress (Freewrite)

If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. 
~ Gustav Mahler

In September, I’m participating in the Sapphire Even Day Blogging Challenge and the Two Pages-A-Day Writing Challenge. 

M

usic is still the universal language that can bridge almost any chasm.

I don’t know what it is about music.  I can’t explain it in words ~ fittingly enough.  It’s a primeval language that a blessed few are born to speak, but that all are born to understand.

Even those who do not have the sense of hearing, can feel the rhythms by which music digs its roots deep into the soul. 

It is the rhythm of the heart ~ the rush of blood through our veins, the breath that we take.  It is the beat of nature ~ the pounding of the rain on the leaves, the padding of paws on the forest floor, the fall of an acorn to earth.

It can excite our passions like a drug and it can calm our inner turmoil like a gentle touch.

I can’t explain it, but it has been my constant companion since childhood.

Lullaby – Loreena McKennitt

Sleepsong – Secret Garden

You Are Water – Haley Westenra

Cancao do Mar – Dulce Pontes

Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten - Arvo Part

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Today’s prompt was to share our five favorite CDs ~ a tough assignment to keep it to five!  These are five of my favorite songs.  What are yours?

Jack of All Arts, Master of Some: My New Hobby

It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or faith...
the saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all.

Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary,
because there's nothing to make it last.

~ Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

 

 

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usic is my life blood.  Rarely do I go through the day without music either playing in my head, on my computer, or on my smarty pants phone.  But I have a confession to make.

I haven’t touched the piano. 

I haven’t sung one note.

I haven’t composed one line.

In months.

And I have been feeling guilty and little sad, almost as if I have suffered a great loss.  But the reality is that life is cyclical.  What we are interested in and passionate about comes and goes in waves.  And right now, I’m just not feelin’ it.

What I am feeling, is the rhythm of the music: the dance inside it.  Specifically, the 8 count beat.

Swing.

Glen Miller.  Benny Goodman.  The Dorsey Brothers.  Louis Prima.  Count Basie.  Artie Shaw. Ella Fitzgerald.  The Andrews Sisters. Kitty Kallen. Billie Holiday. Frank Sinatra.  And Michael Buble.

But let’s be honest.  The best part of swing?

The costumes.  1950s circle skirts, 1940s a-line dresses.  And the most important article of clothing?  The poufy petticoats.

Here are two of mine:

I have another black one that’s a little shorter and less full then the one shown here.  And I just ordered a pink one.  I hope to add orange, teal, blue, and purple to my collection once my favorite designer/seamstress makes up a new batch.  You could almost say that one new hobby (swing dancing) has also engendered a second hobby (dance outfits).  Although friends might say differently and that my love of vintage hats may have had something to do with my love of swing dancing.  But that's a post for another day.

One thing will never change: I will always love music, and love to play it, sing it, and compose it.  But right now, my love of music has translated into a love of dance.  And that’s just fine. 

I’ll catch my inner Joni Mitchell on the next wave.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

 What hobbies have you set aside while you pursue a new interest?

The Creative Back Road: Overcoming Writers' Block Through Art

The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things-ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea.
~ Carl Ally

E

very artist I know suffers from stagnation jam now and then; a traffic jam on their creative journey. 

“My poetry sounds stale.  I’m bored with it.”

“All my music sounds the same. I feel like I’m playing the same chords, the same rhythm.”

“My main character is in a tight spot, and I have no clue how to get him out.”

I get writers block so many times I begin to doubt whether I really am a writer.  And I’ve heard the same advice: to get the pen flowing, you have to just write, every day.  I’m guessing it might be similar for visual artists, poets, and of course musicians and singers (the whole practice makes perfect and fake it ‘til you make it thing).



Go on ~ express yourself!



But writing the same lines, or a bunch of stream of consciousness page after page doesn’t always help if I’m stuck in a creative traffic jam.  And I hate sitting in traffic more than anything in the world.

Anything.

Take a Creative Back Road

When the highway becomes a parking lot, you don’t pull over on the shoulder and get out of the car.  Not only is it dangerous, you lose your place in line.  Instead, you ask your GPS to search for an alternate route. 

When I hit a creative jam, besides the normal alternate routes ~ walking, exercising, making dinner, talking to a friend ~ there are creative back roads I take to keep moving towards my creative destination.  If I’m writing, I try painting.  If I’m composing a song, I take a break and make a notecard for a friend.  If I’m stuck on the finding the right rhythm for a poem, I sing show tunes or folk music and dance around my living room. The point is to keep the dialogue between artist and muse going. 

Sometimes it's just a matter of reaching her through a different language.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Have you tried expressing yourself in an unfamiliar medium?  Did it help you break through the creative block?

Love Me Tender: Crossing Musical Generations

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you,

following you right on up until you die. 

~ Paul Simon

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y mother was in love with Elvis Presley for many, many years.  In fact, we were set to go see him in concert in 1977, when we got the news that he had died.  I was still very young then, but I remember going to the concert hall and watching a video tribute of his life; it was dark, smoky [probably with weed], and filled with sound women mourning the passing of a legend.

Fifty-six years ago today, Elvis Presley’s first single, Heartbreak Hotel  hit #1 on the charts.  I know this in part because

1)      I looked it up when searching for a topic to write about for today.

2)     See opening paragraph.

I was one of the lucky ones.  Although my parents are not musically gifted themselves,  I was classically trained on the piano from the time I could walk, and there was a variety of music played in the house throughout my childhood.  Records, 8-tracks, and cassettes from eclectic artists like: Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, Sammy Kay, Glenn Miller, Michael Legrand, The Statler Brothers, Johnny Cash, The Oak Ridge Boys, Tom Jones, several tango and rhumba records from South and Central America, and soundtracks like Oliver!, Exodus, Kiss Me Kate, and Pal Joey all lived next to Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Debussy.  And of course, no vinyl collection is complete without The Reader’s Digest Hits of the ‘50s and ‘60s. 



The King



Remember The Unicorn by the Irish Rovers?  And Bobby Goldberg’s Honey?  And my personal favorite growing up – Love Child by The Supremes.  They were all in that box of 10 or 12 records.

As I grew up, my musical taste expanded, but I never stopped loving the old songs.  Instead, I added to the collection: The Bee Gees, Jim Croce, Duran Duran, Foreigner, Journey, Michael Jackson, every Barry Manilow album ever made [yes, you read that right], Ace of Base, Enigma, The Secret Garden, Loreena McKennitt. . .the list goes on [just like the beat.]

So I was shocked and yes, I admit, a little disgusted, when a friend of mine who is GenY had never heard of Love is Battlefield by Pat Benetar.  Her excuse?  “I can’t be expected to know that! I wasn’t alive then!”

Yeah, honey.  Neither was I when Mozart wrote Concerto #21, but I know it!

But maybe I’m being too hard on her and others like her.  Maybe I’m just one of the few lucky enough to be surrounded by all genres of music from a young age.  And not everyone views music like I do: as important and necessary as the air I breathe.

Paul Simon is right: music is forever.  And no matter what the genre or what era it was written in, it still has the power to touch hearts.

Especially broken ones.  Thanks for the memories, Elvis.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What is your favorite music from an era NOT your own?  And did you grow up surrounded by music?

The Eighth Annual Saint Cecilia Arts Festival: The War Between the States

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. 

~ Twyla Tharp

Well, we did it again.  Another November, another successful Saint Cecilia Arts Festival!  And by all accounts, it was the best one yet.

Once again we wooed and wowed the audience by turns with poetry, Broadway, original music, moving monologues, and side-splitting comedy.  But this year we added a twist: a theme.

2011 marked the 150^th Anniversary of the American Civil War, so that was our main theme.  To broaden it a little for our artists, we added four sub-themes: War, Tragedy, Honor, and Survival.  Both Sullivan and I wondered how the artists would interpret the theme.  They did not disappoint.



The Civil Strings



Civil Strings was our Featured Artist this year.  They performed four beautiful pieces, two of which are personal favorites: Theme from Schindler’s List and Ashokan Farewell, from Ken Burns’ Civil War series.  Over Farewell, Donald Maclean, one of the members of the quartet, read the Gettysburg Address.  It was a moving performance that ended the evening on a wonderful note (if you’ll pardon the pun).



Michelle Jacobeen, mezzo-soprano

Michelle Jacobeen returned and performed two numbers from Broadway musicals.  One was as a Civil War nurse – I Never Knew His Name and one from the musical Jekyll and Hyde – A New Life.  As she did last year, Michelle won the hearts of our audience with her lyricism and dramatic interpretation.


Janet Purdy, mezzo and Maria Bissex, sorprano

Maria Bissex, soprano, sang two songs not normally associated with a Civil War theme: an incredible version of Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, and a moving duet arragement of Into the West, where she was joined by mezzo Janet Purdy.  The latter was one of my personal favorites; believe me when I say that the Annie Lennox version does not do this piece justice.  You need to hear this duo’s harmonies!

Eric J. Kingsepp, Hannah DeRegibus,
Paul Dunlap, and Mikaela D'Eigh

I think it is safe to say that the highlight of the evening was the Went with the Wind skit by Carol Burnett.  I remember watching this skit back in the day, and laughing until my sides ached.  The drapes weren’t green velvet, but the red silk still got the desired response: Starlett [yours truly] had to wait a full minute and a half for the laughter to die down so she could say her next line! 

The menu this year matched the theme, with some stalwart favorites sticking around: Fried Chicken Bites [my mother’s receipe], Sausage Balls [Paula Deen’s recipe], Petite Ham Biscuits, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Petite Pumpkin Pies, and Pecan Tassies. 

We also had a cheese board donated by Fields of Athenry, a sustainable and organic farm located in Purcellville, Virginia.  And this year’s  spotlighted winery, Breaux Vineyards, is located in Loudon County, not that far from Athenry.  The owners down at The Virginia Wine Experience in Fredericksburg were kind enough to give us a discount on a case of some of Breaux’s nicest vintages.

To see more pictures, read the event program, or simply to learn more about the great work these group is doing to renew culture in the local community, visit The Saint Cecilia Group at www.saintceciliagroup.org and click on Past Events.   I promise you’ll be marking your calendars for Saturday, 17 November 2012!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Top Five Friday: Whistling in the Semi-Dark of Morning

The following post was meant to be published last Friday, 28 October, but my home internet was being its usual 3G pain.  So here it is ~ just in time for Halloween!

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,

All are on their rounds tonight;

In the wan moon's silver ray,

Thrives their helter-skelter play.

~ Joel Benton

Not only elves, but other creatures are out as well, and not quite as friendly.  As you know, I moved back to the country recently.  I love being back in the midst of nature, but there are some things that I had forgotten about.  Such as, you can’t put food down the kitchen sink because there’s no garbage disposal.  [I want to compost anyway.]  And there’s no landlord to call when things break down, you need to call the repair guy yourself.  And there’s a good reason to buy a shotgun when you have medium to large wild animals prowling around your backyard in the wee hours of the morning.

Gulp. Did you say large wild animals?

Yes sirree bob.  And what’s worse, I didn’t get a good look at them [yes, there were two], but they were charcoal gray to black and very agile.  One of them jumped over the woodpile to get away from the truck’s headlights as I drove closer for a better look.  Coyote? They’ve been sighted around.  Mountain lion?  Well, I did hear a sound like a woman screaming one morning, and they sound like that. [Remember Pa in Little House in the Big Woods? That can still send shivers down my back!]

The next morning, as I left the comfort and safety of the garage and walked to the truck to leave for work, I sang.  Some people whistle when they’re afraid.  I sing.  Or talk out loud to myself.  Maybe it actually makes the things get a better sense for where I am.  But since a shotgun’s a little too big to take to work with me. . . .

So in honor of the Halloween festivities going on this weekend, today’s Top Five Friday list is of the best songs to sing [or whistle] when trying to convince the resident coyotes or mountain lions that you’re really not afraid. [Although personally I’d feel safer with Mossberg at my side!]

Whistling in the Dark – They Might Be Giants.  They cater to a slightly younger audience these days [and by young, I mean under 12], but their old tunes are still wonderfully quirky and singable.  Or whistle-able in this case.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf - Disney  Does anyone else have a tape or 45 vinyl record of Disney’s The Three Little Pigs?  The song went something like “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf?  Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, la la la la la.”

Beat It – Michael Jackson Aha!  You thought I was going to say Thriller, didn’t you?  I do love that song, but Vincent Price’s voice is too creepy, and the beat is not conducive to calming the nerves or showing how “strong is [my] fight.”  Beat It is your best bet when showing the wild creepies who's boss.

Monster Mash – Bobby Boris Pickett  A classic.  And still very fun to sing.  Especially if you’re afraid of the big bad wolf.  Just say Transylvania Twist and then laugh like the Count on

Sesame Street

and the world is bright and sunny again.

Ghostbusters Theme – Ray Parker, Jr.  No stick-it-in-their-creepy-shiny-eye playlist is complete without this ‘80s gem.  “Who ya gonna call?”  Need I say more? I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! 

Just coyotes. And mountain lions.  And panthers.  And bears.  And spiders.  And . . .

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela