On a car trip, MAH found a trivia quiz site and asked when Plato died. I proudly guessed the third century A.D. (dead wrong -- it was nearly a millennium before), because I'd been reading about Origen and wanted to talk about antiquity. On the same note, there's an image stuck in my head from Anthony Doerr's "Cloud Cuckoo Land," a novel EK lauded earlier this winter. A girl scratches Greek symbols in the dirt of a public street, instructed by a lean, goitrous scholar that trades her lessons for food. Origen, a my third-century theologian, didn't scratch in the dirt but paid for his studies from the generosity of a sister in Christ. His father had been killed, and his family impoverished, by a Roman raid. Origen's accomplishments as an Alexandrian scholar and Caesarean preacher give me an idea what was going on in those cities. Grateful to keep those windows open by reading and talking about them often.
I'd been driving around San Angelo, TX. There I spent a fair bit of time preparing "In Relig Odhráin: A Musical Exegesis," graciously hosted at Angelo State University by Connie Kelley. It was curious to present such an irreverent recital on the second day of Lent; certainly, it was quite a change of gears from the Ash Wednesday service the night before at FIrst Presbyterian. Too, I had little diddly-bits from West Side Story stuck in my head while teaching it to MAH and playing it in the San Angelo Symphony's movie concert. Socializing with my local friends after that event was quite a treat, as was making some new friends among the orchestra before getting a few hours of sleep before the Sunday service at First Pres. On that service bulletin was written, "Gabriel Fauré, Cicilienne," a charming misspelling that reminds me how fluidly descriptive titles were spelled in 18th century sheet music. (sicilienne-siciliano, jig-gigue-giga, minuet-minuet-minuetto, phantasy-fantasia-fantasia-fantasy)
Before singing Haydn's Creation with the Nashville Symphony Chorus this weekend, on Friday I get to join DMR in concert at Edgefield Baptist. Rehearsing his Nuevo Flamenco challenged me to find my voice outside the "classical sound," something I struggle with even in jam circles where I can hold my own. DMR offered valuable insight.
