Spent some time this morning practicing whistle and reflecting on this day and that which we lost on 9/11/01. I elected to play as mournful a rendition of “The Parting Glass” as I could express on my low D whistle. Many good people were lost that day in a senseless act of terror. I keep them in my prayers and memories.
For those so inclined, I ask that you play a tune in memory of those lost. Perhaps C & F members could post here regarding their musical selection for those lost on that fateful day.
I spent some time reflecting on that day this morning. I lit a fire and played a few tunes out in the garden, May Morning Dew came out of the flute quite spontaneously.
Now the house that I lived in is but a stone on a stone,
and all round the garden the weeds they have grown,
and all the kind neighbours, that ever I knew,
like the red rose they withered in the May morning dew.
God be with the folks, who are now dead and gone,
likewise with my brothers, young Dennis and John,
as they ran through the heather, the wild hare to pursue,
and their joys they were mingled in the May morning dew.
It’s hard to forget. I could see the towers burning from my office window that day and watched them fall.
Two of my neighbors here were in the towers that day and miraculously they survived.
Other friends and neighbors did not.
I don’t think that I could serve the memories of those people justice on the whistle. My primary instrument, however, is the trumpet. My sophomore year in high school, now four years ago, our band played a piece by Eric Ewazen, the composition professor at The Julliard School.
The piece was entitled “A Hymn For The Lost And The Living,” and was inspired by what Ewazen saw when he walked through the streets of downtown New York. I had the extreme pleasure of playing the opening and closing solos for it in front of hundreds, and I did everything I could to do those people justice.
Take a listen to the tune here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_D3zkAkjL0&feature=related
Alex,
The composition is very moving and a beautiful piece of music. I am certain that your solos in that performance were inspiring and among the most heartfelt you have ever played. Nice work!
