[Harp-L] Playing the Folger (Was Playing the Canyon)

["Howard Parks" <Hparks@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill, your post and so many other similar stories on harp-l reminds me
how Norton Buffalo describes the effect of the harmonica on its
listeners... you can pull people right into your heart. It's what I love
most about the harp...
 
>Any other such stories of special places or times when you folks have
played? 
 
A friend & colleague of mine here at the Folger Library passed away
early this spring of breast cancer. She was a gifted teacher, very
positive & life-affirming in her approach to life and work who never
looked away as her illness worsened, never denied that the end was
drawing near. She loved music, was drawn to the blues, and always
insisted that I play for her.
 
I played at her memorial service, held in the Folger Theater this past
May. The Folger Theater is an intimate & warm-sounding space, modeled
after a typical theatre in Elizabethan times, and many of those in
attendance had performed on that stage or at least knew it well. As I
discovered it is a wonderful room to play in.
 
Originally I had said I would play Amazing Grace on solo harmonica when
asked what to include on the program, but I knew I couldn't play it just
straight... I didn't want to risk sounding maudlin, because that was
nothing like what my memories of my friend were, and I would play
towards the end of what I knew would be an eloquent and heart-felt
program. So I started out playing slow blues riffs in first position on
a G harp, in three-quarters time, a couple of choruses both on the low
end and high end, then moved to Amazing Grace on a C harp in 2nd
position/cross harp, and then segued into I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.
That last segue, being unexpected I guess but so simple really, moved
many in the audience to tears who until then had been dry-eyed. Many of
them came to me in gratitude afterwards, eyes still shining. What a gift
it is to make music.
 
A docent told me later it was probably the first time Hank Williams had
been heard inside the theater. A serious omission I'm happy I could
correct...
 
Howard Parks