...Izee's Thread

[Izee]

Gonna share this yet again...I am in tears...

Luciano Pavarotti...what a MASTER MUSICIAN!!!  Again, I am astonished at just how different we humans are from each other...and how some of us with a natural gift will work HARD to develop it.  Pavarotti didn't just get up one day, and become one of the best Tenors in History...he spent hour after hour after hour working on his voice.  I never realized just how delicate the voice was until I spent two years in the Conservatory.  There was one Soprano, who was lovely, and was one of those who did make it professionally as a singer.  She told me once, that her Teacher said she would drop her as a student if she sang in any more musicals.  I was astonished..."Musicals are different on the voice than an Opera?" I asked.  I figured that it was just the words and lyrics that were different.  She tried to explain it to me, and finally just said, "The vocal cords are used differently.  You can actually ruin them for Opera if you constantly sing popular songs."  I once peeked through the little window in the door of a practice room, and watched her practice for a while.  She later told me that she saw me, but practiced as she usually did...but added a bit...   I did the same when I sensed I was being watched as I practiced...I played something challenging that I knew very well to show off.     Anyway, most of the times she was just singing slow notes, and holding a small mirror in front of her face so she could watch her mouth.  You need to have good control of your lips, cheeks, and tongue to sing very well, I was told.  I needed nimble fingers and strong arms and shoulders to play the piano and that hunk of lumber I held between my legs.

Here he is...what a Master!!!!

https://youtu.be/-pgLwj4ueSw

BTW...when I was feeling unsocial, which was often, I would tape a piece of paper over the little window so no one could peek in on me.  But...it didn't work on the cello.  People couldn't tell it was me when I played the piano, but all of the regulars knew the sound of my cello.  Once, after I had practiced a soft sonata for an hour, I opened the door to go get a coke and some fresh air, and three young women I had never seen before got up from the floor outside my door and left.  One smiled at me...there were tears on her face...and she whispered 'Thank you."  I never saw them again...I wanted to talk to them...but they just left.  I was in a quonset hut  on the edge of the campus...the University had practice rooms there...so the girls might not have even been students...there were no locks on the doors.  (And I would practice alone, at 1:00 or 2:00 am, for a few hours in those rooms. I certainly would not think of doing that now, even if the doors were locked!  And I would walk back to my Apt, along the river levee, or across a field, all alone at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.  And, a few times, I watched the sun rise as I stood on the levee...my cello strapped to my back, the top of the case peeking over my right shoulder, and say, "Isn't that lovely, Katherine?"  And my cello would sing back..."Yes"...)

[Izee]

I just listened to it again, and it is notated that it was his LAST performance.  I wonder if it was planned to be his last?

Can you imagine what it would be like for a gifted performer to know, that for some reason, that THIS would be his LAST performance?  And that it would be the last time he performed a work that he loved so much?

[Izee]

...I just love this, I know that I have posted it before...

This is my favorite movement of the Requiem, it is so soothing at first, a soft prayer..."Liberate me, Lord, from Eternal Death"...and later so exciting..."Light, Eternal Light"...This is the piece I heard for the first time when I sang with the other Altos in the chorus...and I had GOOSE BUMPS when we finished!!!  And this is ALSO the work that got me KICKED OUT OF CHORUS CLASS!!!      The Professor looked around when the concert was approaching, and spotted me in the back of the Sopranos, (I was going to sneak back to the Altos), and told me to get out and practice my cello part...so I did.  My friends had fun.  They would point me out to people who didn't know me, and say, "That is the girl who got KICKED OUT of the choral class."  I would growl, "Yes, the Professor wanted me to go practice singing the Aria from Aida" and walk away.  (I suppose that Aida has an Aria, or two, but I have NO IDEA of what it is...but the phrase sounded impressive.)

I would softly sing the Choral Part as I was playing the cello part in this...I just couldn't help it.  And, the guy I was going with was singing the Baritone Solo...

https://youtu.be/7WvHDrcA084

[MageNathaniel1]

I agree pavoratti was a master to be sure. Cannot imagine what it would be like to perform knowing it was my last time. Lol on your explaination on having to leabe the choir practice.

[Izee]

...When I was REALLY creeped out!!!! 

I was living with two other women in college, we shared a nice two level Apt.  The two bedrooms and a bathroom were on the top floor, the kitchen and living area and another bathroom were on the first floor.  I am not very social when I want to sleep, so I took the little one bed bedroom that had a little window, they stayed in the large bedroom that had two beds and a large balcony.  One evening I was in my room, studying accounting, and was tired, and frustrated.  It was "Cost Accounting" and I was having trouble understanding it.  My roommates were downstairs, and started playing a tape of this work...I had never heard it before...

https://youtu.be/VtLjlsPdR7A

I was mesmerized...the soft chanting and the strong beat got into my head...I was listening hard...trying to make out the words...and then...

...The LOUD PART came on and I literally jumped in my chair and dropped my pentel...I really WAS SCARED!!!

Then it got soft again...and I focused on trying to understand it...and I actually felt like I was POSSESSED!!!  That DEMONS were chanting CURSES at me!!!...

...And I almost jumped out of my chair when the loud part repeated...

I was breathing very heavy and my vision was blurred when the movement ended, and I just sat, limp, looking around and things got a bit back in focus.  (And I had NOT consumed any alcohol or any kind of drugs that week, and had eaten and slept fairly well).  It took me several tries to stand up, and my legs were weak and my head was confused.  I came down the stairs...I just sat down on the top step, and carefully scooted down, step by step, with my legs in front, and stood when I got to the bottom step.  I walked to my roommates, and carefully asked..."What the HELL was THAT?"  They handed me the jacket for the record, and I was able to focus on and read it, and handed it back to them and sat down.  They got a bit concerned, and asked me if I was OK.. I said, "I think so, but, could I please have a small glass of wine?"  They brought one to me, and I sipped it, and recovered more, and explained what had happened. 

I can't recall much more of that evening...

Music CAN be very powerful...

Thankfully I didn't get all worked up when I was performing this composition...but I would be weak and sweating when we were finished.

[MageNathaniel1]

Some music certainly has a hypnotoc effect to it and can cause a trance like state.

[Izee]

...Here is the Verdamnt "William Tell Overture"...    (Hope I spelled Verdamnt right)

I was the Principal cellist in a Semi-Professional Orchestra, and we were going to play this.  I turned pale when I heard...

I actually contacted my Professor of Cello at the Conservatory, and made an appointment for an hour and a half lesson so I could get the opening solo right.  Everyone knows the fast section, it is the theme to the "Lone Ranger", but the slow, introspective opening is rarely played.  The cellos perform it, and the solo is a bitch kitty to play.  You can see that it is ALL OVER THE ENTIRE FINGERBOARD...all THREE FEET OF THE FINGERBOARD!!!  And the intervals between the notes can be very far apart.  This is one of the works that I wished I could trade chairs with the second chair for this work.  (*Giggles*...once I walked into a rehearsal for another orchestra where I sat third chair...and the first cellist was sitting in my chair.  She just pointed her bow at first chair when I walked up to her, and when I sat down in the First Chair...I saw why.  This Verdamnt piece was open on the stand!!!    )

But, I played it...and was soaked with sweat when I finished the solo.  I just pretended that I was playing the fast orchestral part, and my legs were shaking when I stood at the end for a round of applause directed at me.

My Professor told me, after I told him how nervous I was to perform this, that he always felt the same when he performed it.

https://youtu.be/f2YW5f1hv9E

[MageNathaniel1]

You are definitely passionate about your playing smiles.

[Izee]

People just don't get my sense of humor at times, especially when we are hunting.

We were deer hunting in the CA foothills along the Coast, it was in August and it was hot as Hell.  There were three of us, and we were crammed in the only seat in the small pickup truck, and we were traveling along a small dirt road on the side of a hill.  There was only the front bench seat, and I was in the middle, all 125 ibs and 5'3" of me.  The huge guy, Jeff. who had had a scholarship to play football at AZ State, was driving.  His brother, who was as large, and who was an Accountant who worked for me was on the other side of me.  Needless to say...our bodies were touching.  We were talking about various things, and then a bright green grasshopper, that was about 2" long, landed on the windshield wiper.  It just sat there, and Jeff pointed at it, and said...

..."I bet that guy could catch a good 5 pound bass..."

I looked at it, and burped...I was very ladylike sipping a beer...(It was legal, we were on private property)...and said...

..."Yes, I bet he could, but you would have to get him a really itty bitty rod and reel..."

Jeff stopped the truck, looked at me, and took off his hat and...

...Began beating the crap out of me with it...

I screamed, and ducked my face and covered my head with my arms...and protected my beer...

His brother...who WORKED FOR ME!!!...just sat and laughed as his brother 'hat beat' me...

[Izee]

https://youtu.be/rOjHhS5MtvA

We are not all created equal...and that us SUCH A GOOD THING!!!

We humans are so different.  Our bodies are certainly the same...a trunk, two arms, two legs, a head...but what we do, and want to do, are so different.  And so wonderful.  Just think, if we ALL had the same intelligence, same bodily health, and we ALL were qualified to become an MD and we ALL WANTED to be an MD...we could not have a society.  And, if we were ALL genius Composers, and just HAD to compose music...who would build the houses?  Farm?  Run Hospitals?  But, I am so grateful that we do have genius Composers.

Beethoven was a driven man, I have read.  And, think of it.  The most important sense to a Composer is Hearing!  He had to be able to hear what he writes down.  And, Beethoven went deaf when he was fairly young, and very vigorous and driven to compose.  He finished his last symphony, the 9th, while he was deaf!!!  Just HOW did he do that? 

I have been paid to help perform his 9th Symphony several times, and the last movement, which starts at around 52:30 in this recording is a BLAST for the cellos!!!  *S*  I actually led the cello section once when we performed this, and I told the section..."Hey...we cellos are ANGRY!!!  We do the brief opening, and we are asking the Orchestra for a theme for the last movement.  Well, they start playing the 1st Movement, and we JUMP IN and tell them to stop, and try again.  They then start playing the 2nd Movement, and we YELL at them to stop, that we ALREADY played that! Then the 3rd Movement is started, and we LOSE IT!  and YELL to try again.  They then start the lovely, serene last movement, and we shout YES!!!  Then, we start the last movement and play the theme very quietly and with introspection and thoughtfulness...and the rest pick it up.  *G*  At the post concert reception, people asked me what had gotten into the cellos, why we were so angry!  And, a few members of the Chorus said our opening helped inspire them to really let loose when they sang.

This is another work where it was hard for me to stand up when we finished...Pavane was a cane for a moment...not a $50K cello.  *S*

Beethoven 9 - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Riccardo Muti

[Izee]

...Elgar...Such an Amazing Composer...

Some Composers will express their lives, and what they are going through  in their Compositions.

Now, every composition has SOME sort of inspiration, that is true.  My Magnus Opus, "THE UNASKED QUESTION" was inspired by Frosh Anxiety, a very recent breakup with the guy of my dreams, and the onset of my Manic/Depressive Illness.  I was emerging from the depressive side...I had turned myself into the Campus Clinic  because I was afraid of what I might do...and after a month or so of counseling and taking the most DREADFUL antidepressants , the Manic side kicked in and I didn't need to sleep more than 30-40 minutes a night, and I was clearheaded and full of energy and I spent a lot of all nighters composing it.  It was an Oratorio, and it told a story, and I expressed all of the feelings and emotions I had gone through.  The Theory/Comp Professor told me that I had doubled the bass line a few too many times in some of the pieces...I just told him that I was a cellist...so I LIKED BASS LINES!!!     He still gave me an 'A', and did compliment me on one of the songs I had composed, and asked if he could have it.  I sold him my manuscript for $50, and asked for royalties...he gave me the $50 and said as a Frosh that I didn't deserve any royalties...so I just accepted it.  I was HAPPY...$50 was a LOT of money back then.  He did use the theme of a very nice song I composed.  It was very woody, a bit dark and introspective in one of his symphonies.  I only heard the work played once, and shivered...it made me relive what I had gone through.

Later in life, I was invited to join the Phriday Phil by the Local School District.  I was practicing Law, but every Friday I would drive to one of the Elementary Schools, and join the Music Teachers in a small orchestra.  I played the cello better than the teachers, so I sat 1st chair.  It was fun, we would put on two short concerts.  Halfway through the concert, the Conductor would stop, and then have each Principal take turns playing the theme of 'My Country Tis of Thee' so the kids could hear how each instrument sounded.  Once, I was really bored...and was thinking that I should be at my office...an important deposition was going to start in an hour...and I DIDN'T think that 'My Country..." deserved me having anxiety over my real work...so when my turn came, I played the opening to this work, starting at about 1:30...

https://youtu.be/lNVe_1Eb5dw

After the concert...boy...

...DID I GET YELLED AT BY THE CONDUCTOR!!!!

He ORDERED me to never improvise again...I told him that I was playing part of a famous work...and it REALLY showed all of the noise that a cello can make...and, well, he did laugh.  He did, a bit more softer, but very insistent, order me not to do that again.

[Izee]

The Phriday Phil was simply a blast to play in!!!  I personally knew most of the players, they were all music teachers, I was the dummy of the group. I just had a Classified Credential...so I could assist. A few times, since I did have the Credential, I was called in to teach a school orchestra, and was always happy.  I would do what I could to show the kids how playing an instrument was fun, and...if you put in the practice...it was more fun!!!  I sat as the Principal Cellist in the Phil, and did all that I could to show that it was fun.  I would move around in my chair, and lean forward, and get the instrument in all sorts of positions.  I wanted to express that playing was FUN!

At the start, the Conductor would introduce the instruments, and the Principal would hold his or her instrument up so the kids could see it.  The Tuba player sat in the back, and would hold his Tuba above his head with both hands and wave it around, and the kids would laugh and applaud.  Well...I was NOT going to be upstaged by a Tuba...so when the cello was called on, I just didn't just pivot it so it was facing the kids.  (I was seated on the edge of the stage, to the right of the Conductor).  I would pick my cello up, and hold it sideways so it faced the kids, and wave it up and down.  They would laugh and applaud...and so would the Tubist.   

The Conductor never spoke to the Tubist or me about our antics...he knew that there was no point...we would just find another way to act up.

I had to stop playing in the Phil.  The Partners at the Law Firm gave me more complex matters to handle, and the Court started setting Settlement Conferences on Fridays, so I reluctantly retired from the Orchestra.

The private string teachers told me that there were fewer young children taking private cello lessons after I left.  Maybe there were other reasons, but I do believe that a single person, by what he or she simply does, can inspire a young child to try something.  That is one of the reasons why I had always supported Boy Scouts, to rise through the ranks, the kid had to earn merit badges.  Each badge represented a single subject, and the child had to study it very thoroughly to earn it.  The younger Scouts would see the older ones with sashes full of badges, and want to be like them.  So the child developed some skills in a lot of different things.  There were basic subjects like cooking, household accounts, scholarship, and such, and more exotic items.

I just felt that I was there to introduce the kids to the cello.  And just sitting straight with a dour look on my face, and simply pulling the bow back and forth would not be inspiring.  But, smiling...or frowning...and moving in my chair would make a child think, "That looks like fun, I should try it".

A funny tale...I was invited to play in a community orchestra that needed cellists, and was placed in 1st Chair.  The woman who sat beside me was also 'loose in her chair', and we bumped elbows a few times.  But we gradually worked it out, and could move freely and not hinder the other player.  The Conductor laughed after a concert saying, "The two of you were swaying in unison a few times." 

We thought about working up a routine where we would 'dance in our chairs'...but decided against it.  After all, he purpose of the Phriday Phil was to introduce the kids to the instruments in an orchestra, and not for a couple of female 'Hambones' to show off.   

[Izee]

Oh, the times we are living in... ...this used to be such a wonderful Country, the good 'ol USA.

Dr. Gal Luft, the 'whistleblower' who was going to testify on the Biden dealings with China, that included millions of dollars going to our beloved senile President, has MYSTERIOUSLY disappeared.  His abandoned car was found, and no trace of him.  And now, tens of THOUSANDS of 'migrants' are massing at our borders, ready to SWARM across when Title 42 ends, as Biden wishes it to.  The Border Patrol says that there is NO WAY they can control that.  And, what can they do?  Under our current Laws, an illegal just has to say that he is fleeing 'political persecution', and the Border Patrol gives him a notice to appear in Court in a year, and then loads him onto a bus and drops him off deep in the USA.  And how many such people actually appear later?  NONE!!!  So much for our  "Borders", I don't believe that ANY OTHER COUNTRY allows such nonsense.

SF is starting to re-think their idea of being a Sanctuary City.  Why, you say?  Well, crime is out of control because of the 'catch and release' policies the Liberals imposed upon us.  After all, it was 'unfair' that too many minorities were being charged for crimes such as theft and assault, so as long as you don't try to shoplift more then $950, you just get the stuff taken from you, and a 'notice to appear' in a few months.  A small shopkeeper who was on the news, said that she has had people walk in and steal all they can carry so many times that she is just closing up.  She said that she called the police, but they didn't arrive until about 30 minutes after the thief left. Liberals say that such thieves should not be prosecuted since they 'need' the stuff to sell to live on, and that no one is hurt, and it is a form of 'reparations', because businesses have insurance.  Ah...liberals....ever hear of a 'DEDUCTABLE'?  Deductibles are usually high for businesses, $!,000 to $5,000, so you just need a few thefts and there goes your profit for a few months.  Now, in CA, businesses are locking their doors.  I walked to a small shop I frequent, and the door was locked, but it was open.  A salesgirl looked through the glass at me, and then pressed a buzzer and the door unlocked.

Also, it is not safe to walk the streets in SF, not even in the business or tourist areas.  You will get robbed and/or mugged, and then your car will be stolen.

So, businesses are closing down in SF, including large Dept stores because of theft losses and fear of injury. There was a clip on TV showing a large, young black male with a knife beating and threatening a shopkeeper, and the elderly man got to his gun and shot the thug.  So, guess who was charged with a crime?  The SHOPKEEPER!!!  The liberal DA said that the man should have just backed away and not tried to defend his shop.  But, thankfully a lot of public outrage was raised, and Gov Newsom dropped the charges...he wants to run for President...so he wants to be perceived as tough on crime.  Security Guards are usually ordered to just try to persuade a thief to stop, because if they try to restrain a thief, the store then gets sued by a liberal lawyer for discrimination or battery.  Or, the liberal DA steps in and THEY get charged with a crime!!  Gee, I have always thought that the guards could grab you and put you in handcuffs if they caught you stealing.  But, thank you liberals...you are turning the USA into a third world.

And SF is becoming a place you do not want to go to.

[Izee]

I am a natural born 'Cat Lady'...

But, I am very allergic to ANYTHING with fur or feathers!!!!   

Cats gravitate to me.  I believe that I did tell the tale of when a kitten walked into our H.S. Spanish Class, and it walked around the room, looking at all of the students, and...IT JUMPED UP INTO MY LAP!!!   

Cats also drop off their kittens at my home.  When I was living in the foothills, we would feed the feral cats, because we wanted them to eat the mice, rats, gophers and ground squirrels.  (They did...all of the neighbors had problems with the rodents...but we did NOT!) So, a few times, we found a litter of kittens at our back door, their Mama had left them.  We did take care of them, and got them spayed and found people to adopt them.  That also happened to me when I was living alone a couple years ago.  I was in a Condo we had bought, and I fed a cat that hung around.  It was semi-feral, at times I could touch it, but it did not want to be picked up.  Well, she got pregnant, and was away for a couple weeks, and then...

...I found 5 kittens at my front door...

I took them in, and fed them and kept them clean, and had to wear gloves and use my antihistamines a lot.  I did find homes for them as they got older, and one of my friends called me the 'Crazy Cat Lady' after that.   

[Izee]

...Poetry...
 
I am somewhat indifferent to poetry.  Some really moves me, others are just tedious.  I have been told that I can write acceptable and amusing stories and tales, but I just can't write poetry.   

I was a bit of a cut-up in Jr. H.S.  Hormones were raging in me, asthma and allergies kept me exhausted, and my manic/depressive illness first entered my life.  I was in a slight manic mode when our English Teacher assigned all of us to memorize a poem, and then recite it to the class.  The poem had to be at least 8 lines.  She then waxed lyrical, saying how a truly gifted girl had memorized 'Annabel Lee', a long poem, and the class had clapped when she finished it.  She said that it was so wonderful that the class applauded.

I looked over Annabel Lee, and didn't particularly like it, and so I looked through the poetry book.  I found 'Casey Jones'...and was DELIGHTED!!!  In the schoolyard, sometimes, we would sing that short popular song about Casey Jones...

...Casey Jones, gonna reach Frisco
...Casey Jones, but we'll all be dead
...Casey Jones, gonna reach Frisco
...Gonna reach Frisco
...But we'll all be dead

The version of the poem I found, which starts, "Come all you rounders, if you want to hear, the story of a brave engineer" was very long, longer than Annabel Lee.  In between the narrative paragraphs, it had a 'chorus' which were the lyrics I set out above.  So, the chorus repeated itself about 15 times, there were a lot of paragraphs.  So, I studied, and memorized the entire damn thing.

So, came the day of the recitals, and I just slumped in my seat, I was a quiet kid back then and didn't talk much. (I changed as I got older... ) I didn't raise my hand when the Teacher asked for volunteers.  So, everyone else recited their short poems, and then the teacher called on me.  I walked to the front of the class, and nerves got to me...and I COULD NOT remember the opening lines.  I asked for the first line, and the Teacher just shrugged, and read it to me, probably thinking that the next few minutes were going to be difficult. 

But...thank goodness...my nerves left me...and I remembered the poem, and began reciting it.  After the third stanza, after I had repeated the 'Chorus' three times, my mind let loose, and I began singing the Chorus instead of just reciting it when it came up...and added a little dance as I sang.  I finished the entire poem, without missing a line or leaving out a word, and finished by singing and dancing the Chorus. one more time.   

The class cheered and applauded, and the Teacher...

Gave me one of the 'dirtiest looks' I have ever received...but gave me an 'A' for the assignment.     She just HAD to...I DID memorize a poem.

I got over it...