February 11, 2009
Shore enough
…listen
…about the musicClarity.
Bright, clear, searing sunshine today. Stunning, as it floods the woods and glares into my eyes as I type this. I snapped the above photo a few days ago at the end of one such afternoon; I love the clarity of light as it offers clarity of thought on my walks.
No such grace and clarity exist for the characters in a haunting short story titled “Luvina,” penned by the late Mexican literary figure Juan Rulfo. Thursday night, anyone in the Seattle area will have a chance to come hear the fabulous pianist Ana Cervantes perform my piece of the same title, along with a number of others commissioned for Ms. Cervantes’s latest CD on Quindecim Recordings, Solo Rumores. The music reflects the bleak world of grim, hopeless desert poverty that Rulfo describes in so many of his writings. My outward reality of sunshine, joy and ease, is sobered by a profound inward sympathy for those who will never know such pleasure.
Glenn Buttkus said,
February 13, 2009 @ 6:46 am
Maybe it is the artist in you, or the poet, but you can walk your beaches soaking up the ions and salt air, enjoying the blue sky, the clarity, and yet there is still room in your heart for others, for the less fortunate, those struggling, those in pain. Your ability to span both sides, to create music that soars and roars, is mellow and yellow, that thumps and bumps, squeals and purrs, and yet stare clear eyed at the homeless near the port, near the airport, on the corners, in the shadows–to feel the pull of the sadness that is still global as well as regional, makes you a whole person, a mensch, a terrific dame. Thanks. And thanks for the snippet of Luvina@1:03, for it cleared my eyes for me on this bleary Friday morn.
Will you be attending the recital by Ana Cervantes? Where will it be held, and at what time? People might get the answers in today’s entertainment section, still we kelphistos like to hear from our very own earth mother.
Glenn
Alex Shapiro said,
February 14, 2009 @ 1:58 am
Thanks Glenn– but you give me too much credit: who among us could NOT care for others less fortunate? Well, other than Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and the like…
The concert went wonderfully last night and Ana, who lives in Mexico, is a gem. She plays several of my chamber works and had commissioned this one for her latest CD, and so we had emailed over the past three or four years. It was marvelous to finally meet her!
William Belote said,
February 14, 2009 @ 4:00 pm
I’m glad the concert went well. Luvina is a truly powerful, deeply emotional work. I agree with everything Glenn said. I think life is meant to be a joyous experience, and you are a trailblazer who is doing it right. Whether we are right on the cusp of that kind of life, or just trying to survive, we all need inspiration. Thanks for being.
Bill