- Tom Thomson's Cabin, Pottageville, Ontario
Went with a couple of friends north of Toronto recently to check out a hidden cabin that was once used by Tom Thomson...following in the sonic footprints of Thomson and the Group of Seven!
Here are images of that afternoon, along with an improv on my vintage wooden, single-keyed flute...perhaps listen for the sound of the flute echoing off the trees, and for the friendly twitter of chickadees creating a spontaneous conversational welcome to these magical, historic woods!
(NOTE: music not uploading, there may be a little twitter by Ron Sexsmith for now!)
- Bowen Island
Way overdue for a visit to Bowen.
- In a Flute Laboratory
Long-overdue for a flute overhaul, I headed over to the east end of Toronto where The Ontario Flute Centre had been highly recommended - Jay's basement workshop reminded me of some magical flute laboratory where, in years gone by, an alchemist might have toiled, transmuting ordinary objects into gleaming treasures of silver and gold!
I gave my flute a test-run with the rather tricky 4th movement of Bach's Partita in a- and was delighted with the crisp, even action of my freshly re-padded instrument.
- Avon's Big Party
A wonderful party for Avon was held on December 4th with lots of family and friends braving the cold to make it such a warm celebration. Thanks to everyone who made this surprise such a success - Happy Birthday, Avon!!
- Creative Places + Spaces Conference
CP+S was an incredible 3-day conference featuring some of the most forward-thinking, internationally acclaimed Urban Planners and Visionaries, and held in some of Toronto's most fascinating locations: The Wychwood Barns, The Carlu and MaRS.
- Demise of Rotman's Hat Shop & Haberdashery on Spadina
The family-owned and operated Rotman's Hat Shop - one of those classic haberdasheries on Spadina south of College Street - sadly met its demise earlier this summer. Not only was I johnny-on-the-spot to document the last day of their clearance sale and record in this historic storefront space for my Urban Flute Project, I came away with a souvenir hat...not much of a trade-off for losing part of Toronto's colourful history, but at least it serves as a stylish reminder!
- Lorne's Birthday Party at Lilacopse Farm
Friends and Family joined Lorne to celebrate his 80th birthday. Lilacopse Farm is a magical place, and the party was made complete with a variety of music which included a piper and Scottish tunes played on a wooden flute.
- High School Reunion
After checking out Paul Delong and his quintet at Hamilton's Corktown Pub, a classmate and I visited our old High School in old Oakville...on Reynolds Street, uh, just south of MacDonald.
Okay, just how obvious is this supposed to be? On behalf of my many classmates, I returned to the haunted and rather storied location of our illustrious Alma Mater?
I will report back, as this is certainly not the end of the story!
J
- Alma Mater - Oakville
Alma Mater
Having attended several different High Schools (on account of brilliance as opposed to truancy, I hasten to add!) I decided recently to return to my Alma Mater in Oakville. I hadn't been to the school for quite some time, but had a vague sense that it would be cool to visit the stairwell where I had often played my flute during spares or the occasional lunch hour. Perched near the top of the stairwell, I would read through Bach, Massenet, Berbiguier - whatever I had on hand - and revel in the live acoustics of the space. The resonance gave my playing a new sense of power and vitality, something that I had not fully experienced before.
One day, Mr McLaren, the math teacher who had a classroom near the bottom of the stairs, told me he didn't necessarily appreciate the volume of my playing! But, despite this little bit of feedback, I was totally stoked, and I maintain that I would not still be playing today without the positive re-enforcement of playing in this fantastic space.
I knew that the school had been relocated long ago, and that the original school was sitting empty for many years.The funny thing is that when I first started my Urban Flute Project blogsite a couple of years ago, one of the first searches for 'urban' and 'flute' pulled up a story about some guy who had infiltrated this old site. So I had been thinking I'd be able to follow in his footsteps and find my friendly stairwell.
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I decided to stop by in the rain late one night as I drove back from Hamilton to Toronto - I just knew that I had this urge to visit that old stairwell, like some Holy Grail of acoustics from my mis-spent youth!
You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that 80% of the building had vanished, and the only remaining portion was the original, hulking remnant of the Victorian structure, obviously left standing for historical reasons, being circa 1885 or something like that. Ominous and silhouetted against the night sky, I was somehow even more determined than ever to venture i n. The fact that I didn't have my flute or recorder that particular evening didn't deter me.
Once safely inside, I found myself in absolute pitch darkness, and used the weak glow of my cellphone to find my way through the musty, basement corridors. The place was incredible and like nothing else I had ever experienced.
This was quite different from more recent adventures I 've since had with Urban Exploration, visiting abandoned factories like GE in Toronto's Junction area, or the incredible Firestone site out in Hamilton. These were group adventures, and this was solo. which is completely different. Where in a group there is this reassuring sensation of 'safety in numbers', alone in this darkened empty building was spine-tingling and basically kinda spooky. Yet, oddly, I felt strangely safe at the same time - it was if the spirit of this forgotten, old relic of a building, once so alive with students and learning, welcomed my visit as I wandered around, trying not to panic when I lost my bearings in the maze of darkly shadowed corridors.
I returned several months later, flute, recording device and camera in hand and once again it was the same odd, visceral experience: I found myself absolutely alone, yet somehow safely in the comforting embrace of the deserted building. This time it was the intermittent flash of my camera that lit up the labyrinth of otherwise pitch-black tunnels and boiler rooms...I quickly learned to tightly close my eyes as I squeezed the shutter so as not be completely blinded by the light!
After wandering around and taking these photos, it was an odd experience to then improvise in the red room - what colour is a red room in pitch blackness, I wonder - the room with the distinctive black pillar. I had abandoned the idea of trying to read from music, but instead just converesed with my Alma Mater - 'Nourishing Mother' - in the absolute darkness.
J
- Ciao Bella
Here are images from the wonderful book launch of Ciao Bella by authors Gina Buonaguro & Janice Kirk, held November 4th, 2009 at Ben McNally Books, 366 Bay Street in downtown Toronto. Collaborating with musicians to provide thematic music for the release of this, their second novel, the music featured here is the traditional Italian resistance song Bella Ciao, followed shortly afterward by Giuseppe Giordani's Caro Mio Ben - Sergio Restagno, voice, Jamie Thompson, flute, Max Scheinin, violin and Ronen Segall on accordion.
Congratulations Gina and Janice for a wonderful reception and the opportunity to provide music for the event!
J
- Haunted Farmhouse on Gore Road
As if the tenants had up and left with a week's notice, this abandoned farmhouse was littered with an odd assortment of household items, strewn with a young family's discarded personal effects. Clearly slated for demolition and with its days numbered, this unheated and rather haunted house with adjacent out-buildings was emotionally jarring to visit and take a wander through on a cold December morning...if houses could tell stories!
- Mystical Satie in Toronto's Ravines
No, my friend Steven and I did not drag a piano in under the bridge here, though that might have actually been kinda fun! Sure, the defining element for my Urban Flute Project is offering a visual representation of the actual space you are listening to, but this is one of the exceptions, so I hope that you will indulge me - in this case I couldn’t resist putting together this image and music that seemed so perfect for one another!
I still had the music of Satie rattling around in my head as I came from rehearsal and wandered into the hidden Rosedale world as described in the previous post. While I reviewed photos from that afternoon, I realized that by chance this startling graffiti goes very nicely with the exotic mysticism of Satie’s Gnossiennes! I would credit the graffiti-artist, but I didn’t see a tag to identify who it might be…
It was great to be re-united with Satie’s music, the Gnossiennes in particular, penned back in the 1890’s. As much as I enjoy the Gymnopedies contained in the same folio, I find they tend to be over-played. These two sets of pieces are like day and night, with the Gnossiennes so mystical and illuminating, wonderfully wide open for interpretation. Written originally for solo piano, any of these pieces adapt nicely for flute and keyboard, with the flute taking the upper line in the music.
Here is the score so that you can print it off and follow along, or better yet even try it yourself - a kazoo or humming to yourself counts! The challenge for any instrument is to strike up a balance between sustaining the hec out of the melodic line versus conveying the ‘attack and decay’ of the piano original - listen for how some of my long notes have a bell-like tone, strong at the beginning and gradully diminishing to blend in with the syncopated harmonies of the piano, as I try to retain the texture of the music as it was originally intended. And of course, piano can’t employ vibrato, so that must also be handled with a certain discretion.
Satie’s quirky suggestions that he inserts into the score offer another layer of musical ambiguity with directives such as Shining, Questioning and, my favorite, On the Tip of the Tongue for the final phrase!
Now I’ll just have to make an arrangement for my Urban Flute Ensemble so that we can hold a little trio recital under the bridge here - in the meantime, you might want to mark down two upcoming concerts at historic St. Annes Anglican Church ~ Wednesdays, April 21st & May 26th @ 7.30…watch for some Satie on the programme!
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