Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Fame

Well now! I mentioned that Mom and I played at an art gallery last Friday. Lately there has been an effort to get various Tehachapi arts and artists online, and in that interest, a lady showed up with a video camera to add us to the collection. In short, here we are:



Footnote: I messed up. I was supposed to repeat "Arran Boat Song" and, with the camera staring at me couldn't for the life of me remember how it went; thus that little hiccup is where Mom was playing what she was supposed to play and I was moving on to where I wasn't supposed to be yet. (I am sorely tempted here to catalogue all of the faults the fiddler committed, but I think we'll just let it go at that.)

In case anyone would like to find music for or recordings of the tunes, again the first is "Arran Boat Song," the second "Braighe Loch Iall"(also called "Braes of Locheil" or "Hills of Locheil") and the third "St. Kilda Wedding."

"Braighe Loch Iall" is, for one thing, the beautiful title song on Rachel Walker's first CD, among the songs, ironically, which you can't sample on the linked page (but the ones you can hear are lovely). I got the idea for speeding it up (though not quite as frenetically I did in execution!) from Alasdair Fraser's Portrait of a Scottish Fiddler (part of the set which comprises Track 3. I would say "Alas, unfortunately the clip only gives you the beginning of the slow air," but it happens to be my favorite slow air, so I shall refrain from lamenting). It is, again, Mr. Fraser (this time with cellist Natalie Haas) who included an impeccable "St. Kilda Wedding" on Fire and Grace (Track 4. . .and this time, you actually can hear a clip "St. Kilda Wedding"!).

4 comments:

Elizabeth J. said...

Wow, I really enjoyed that! Makes me ache to get my harp out and play again, once my arms are not quite so full of babies. :) Please tell your mom I said Hi!

Molly said...

I hope you will get a chance to play the harp soon--I bet those wee fellas would love it, if only they would sit still and quiet long enough to listen, eh?

Anonymous said...

Wooow, Molly, it's you! it's been a couple of years since I saw you playing a violin! WOOW WOOOW WOOOW!! I really enjoyed it! It's my first time to see your mother playing harp too. It looks heavy to hold it, but I love the sound very much. I hope one day I have a chance to play it. Thanks for posing it, Molly. Please say hello to your mother for me too.

Angelsprings

Molly said...

Aww, you are so kind (as always!) You would probably be crazy about the harp if you gave it a try, so here's hoping you get a chance someday soon! (It's not as heavy as it looks. . .I think.)