Sooner or later the photographs from this year's Carolan Festival in Vermont will be posted and I hope among them will be a proof that I did a solo and I will post it here! I played Henry McDermott Roe, valiantly, and made it almost to the very end.... whereupon that little idea.... Oh my god I'm almost done......infiltrated and I kind of fell apart on the last two measures, but it wasn't much and everyone laughed. I'd love to hear it too, as I know it was all filmed, but who knows when and if any of that will be available.
The festival was terrific this year, the best ever! Lots of harpers and we all clumped together under the awning of a harper named Mary Paul, many different levels, and I guess you could call it a slow session, but it was a bit more than that as we played tunes as many as eight or ten times and stopped to help people fix things. We encouraged newbies to just listen and pick out the melody.... a great way for them to get familiar and figure out what tunes they'd like to learn next. It was spontaneous and lots of fun. I think that is why I had the courage to sign up and play during the open performance time.
Now I'm in the gap between the Festival and Somerset..... I always find it difficult to decide what to concentrate on. But I've somehow gotten fired up about deepening my understanding of jig rhythm and so have tackled Munster Buttermilk/Green Hills of Woodford - from Grainne's CD mainly the 3rd one, but also listening to all the other renderings I have of both of those around and about in my music library.
Love this so much, and thank you for inspiring me to go and give that CD a listen. I hope you post a tape of you playing this when it's perfected; the syncopation kills me every time! Do you ever post a heads-up about the Vt. Festival? I'll bet I could have gotten Sharon to drive up with me! :(( I have had that very same moment...and then had an almost out-of-body experience, i.e.: what key is this in? Is this the last repeat or is there more to come?What is my left hand supposed to be doing??? Don't you love audiences/fellow performers that are forgiving, remembering their own issues, and encouraging?
ReplyDeleteNext year, Pamela!! Mary Paul lives in New Hampshire, as did another Pamela who came to the Festival. So we could have a pack of New Hampshire Harpers!
ReplyDeleteI've been making the wristlets for Somerset this year and I'll post some photographs of them.
ReplyDeleteI have had those same experiences - people seem to think they want a harp until you tell them what it will cost ..... and that you will play what is on your wedding CD.....