Friday, May 22, 2009

AS TIME GOES BY . . .

Last weekend I had one of those moments which occur in everyone's life...

By means of an ofhand remark by a mutual friend, I was put in contact with a person who was at one time ... long ago and in a galaxy far away...my very best friend in the whole world. Hardly a week would go by that we didnt see each other. We talked about music, the arts, all sorts of topics. We improvised silly little word plays...for example -

Him: "Last week I heard the most marvelous recording of the "Lamentation of David" with that exquisite phrase "Would God I'd died for thee..."
Me: "Ah. But why not a Metal God..."

WATCH IT YOU TWO

Dear God! Dont sneak up on me like that. I am NOT Bill Cosby and that silly midget navigator was the one who wrecked your Ark, anyway...

OH HO! {walks away singing} WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A SHRUNKEN SAILOR..."

We laughed a lot. And drew up rather convoluted and highly improbable organ stoplists...

And then one day it was gone. We had an argument, and it disappeared. And what was the argument about? Damnifiknow anymore...

But this I know: there was a hole in my heart for more than 25 years...

We met on Monday for lunch, and when I walked into his home, it was as if 25 hours had passed, not 25 years, since I last saw him. And when I cried, it was tears of joy...

Everyone needs to have and to be a friend like that...

- - Olivia





The part of God in this narrative was played by . . . God!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

CLASS OF 1969 REDUX - 4

Well, boys and girls, it is Saturday morning and we are about to enter the Princeton University Chapel, passing beneath the stone dedicated by Lee Hastings Bristol in 1969, incised into which is the inscription "Come into his presence with singing".

Unfortunately, this year's Comencement was rather a disappointment.

The prelude music was nondescript. After a short brass fanfare, the Mendelssohn "Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream" was presented on the organ. The organ is one of those unfortunate British assemblages which posesses no consonants and as a result drones incessantly. To prove that point, the audience continued to converse through the entire work, at times totally eclipsing the music, and stopping only when the Handbell Choir began to play and their percussive sound said "Hey you. Shut up. I am playing music..."

The Procession was made to the "Crown Imperial March" by William Walton. It was played on the organ, the booming, turgid bass of which totally obscured the rhythm. I was seated on the center aisle, and I could tell that these gifted students simply could not find a beat with which to march down the aisle. So it degenerated into a shamble rather than a march. Warren Martin, where are you when we need you?

The hymns were sung with gusto, and Ken Cowan's playing of them was the best thing on the program.

The Anthem of the Graduating Class, written by Nathan Jones (MM '09) is a fresh setting of the familiar Mosaic Blessing, which has character and expression.

Ken Cowan has revitalised the Anthem of Dedication with his colorful and expressive new registrations. Bravo. Joe Miller's conducting was a severe disappointment, as he seemed to gloss over the music to the extent of not properly preparing entrances or allowing the choir to breathe. I heard him conduct Westminster Choir last summer in Charleston, and I thought his conducting then to be sensitive and musical.

Now, we all know that the AOD is rather emotional and borders on being just the tiniest bit tawdry, but it is part of our musical heritage, is typical of the literature of its period, and should be treated with RESPECT!

Gerre Hancock's improvised introduction to the familiar Holstian hymntune Thaxted left me wondering if he was away on another planet, and his "accompaniment" of the singing had me wondering if I was in another galaxy...or at least wishing I was...

The Retiring Procession was accompanied by the lugubrious strains of the "Great Gate of Kiev" by the organ and the brass. Now that was OK, until the graduated Seniors reached the rear of the Nave, where the Chapel Choir was seated in the Gallery. They have taken it upon themselves to send the Graduates packing with cheers and yelling and applause more akin to a sporting event than an academic convocation.

And there is not a thing wrong with that. I think it is great. What was jarring was the dichotomy of that occurring in the back of the bus while the musicians up front continued droning away, oblivious to the fact that they were no longer a part of what was taking place.

This needs to be remedied with a new work... Stay tuned to this station for developments...

I did not stay for the Postlude, improvised by Dr. Hancock, lest I find myself lost in another universe...

My final thoughts will be posted in a few days. Until then, au revoir, y'all...

-- Olivia Margaret




CLASS OF 1969 REDUX - 3

OMG! I forgot to post yesterday!

The last two days have been so grand, I feel so ENERGISED!

I got into town and on campus late on Friday morning, and suddenly realised that my body was getting ready to turn "off". I barely made it through lunch and the Alumni Association Meeting then went back to the hotel and fell into bed.

For any of you who don't know, Parkinsons is always full of surprises; you never know until you get up in the morning whether or not you are going to be functional that day. Some days, the Off days, the brain is sending messages like mad, and the muscles are are poised and ready to act on messages received... but the telegraph operator is on strike...

So I took a nice nap, waking up just in time to get dressed, made up, and over to the Salt Creek Grille which was conveniently located immediately adjacent to the hotel.

The nexy four hours were full of good food and drink (they make an excellent Cosmopolitan), good conversation, and a feeling of familial closeness.

After a very nice buffet supper, Mary Dempsey took the lead, and suggested we each take 4-5 minutes and tell what we had been doing since 1969. The richness of experience and achievement which was presented over the next hour was mind-boggling. Here was a group of exceptional people who had made significant contributions to their communities, their churches, and their countries. It was impressive.

Then 'twas my turn. I started out by saying "I've made a few little changes..." which got a laugh. I compared myself to a few people, like Sue Jasperse, who had been Katrina'd as I had been Hugo'd. Linda Euler had related how she had secretly wanted to be a Rockette and appear in their sometimes fabulous costumes, and had finally taken tap dancing lessons.

So I related "...and I worked for 5 years at Radio City Music Hall maintaining the Wurlitzer Organ there. In order to get into one of the pipe chambers you had to go through the Rockettes dressing room, so I had a key. One night, in the wee hours, I succumbed to temptation...and you know what, Linda..." -- the room got absolutely quiet -- "...those costumes are just not AT ALL comfortable...".

And the room exploded with laughter...

What I thought was MOST impressive, though, was the way everyone related the hard times as well as the good times. No one was looking for pity or even sympathy. The heart attacks, the vicious diseases, the infirmities, were all there because they were an integral part of living. Nobody complained. Do you hear that? NOBODY complained. How unlike the mewling self-pity demonstrated on the so-called reality shows seen on the telly.

I feel so blessed, so enriched, and so proud to be a member of this group...and the 40 years disappeared, and we were young again for a few hours...

I think I speak for the rest of the group in extending our sincere thanks to Rich Ludlum and Mary Dempsey for making the arrangements for this evening's gathering.

And we remember with affection the late Cj Sambach, who inspired it.

I said in the first instalment of this series, that I wanted to find out what draws the Westminster grad back to Princeton...well, I did.

It is because wherever we go throughout the world, home and family always beckons.

And home is that magical few acres of ground filled with song at the corner of Hamilton Street and Walnut Lane, in the Township of Princeton, the State of New Jersey, and the corner of our hearts...

-- Olivia


PS...many thanks to my writers, Josh Quip, I.M. Agurl, and Aalto Singer...without whom my luncheon tab would be a lot smaller...