it is 8:15pm on saturday may 21st, we arrive the the site of our first show: an old oratorio in the village of vianino. the sun is just setting over the verdant fields, the air is thick with humidity and pollen, the trees stand at ease along the winding roads, and the stones of the 13th century houses are glowing a soft hue of orange. we have just arrived here with lorenzo, our friend and host and concert organizer this evening. the oratorio is used for community events and lorenzo thought make use of this space, there was seating for fifty, but more chairs were being brought and there was standing room too. i thought to myself how perfect of a place for our first show and how exciting this was going to be. we had soundchecked in the early afternoon, and all we had to do was set up the recording device, a zoom recorder with stereo mics, and the camera, and also set up the cd's to be sold... except at that moment i realized there were no cd's in my case or in my hands, the cd's were still back at the house were staying at, half an hour drive, an hour round trip. and the concert starts in an hour and fifteen. and we have not had supper yet, and lorenzo's wife maria has just cooked us a feast.
we are offered maria's car to go get the discs. i think momentarily about not having cd's but am convinced otherwise. so aliza and i enjoy as much as we can of some amazing home made ravioli and tasty cheeses, and we depart upon this wild ride down a highway and backroad i had never driven on before, and come to think of it, had never driven in europe before, to get the cd's and return in time for the show. lorenzo and i joke that perhaps i will get lost and someone else will have to play, we both laugh knowing this must not be so....
we did make it back in time, at 9:28 to be precise. we acutally had some time to relax in the car, and soak up the beauty of our surroundings even more. the appennines are beautiful, and lorenzo's family has a a property that is tucked deep into a valley down a private road, lush green fields rolling by, cliffs of marble and sandstone layered like waves, and an old castle made from the stones of the river.
we had had a long day already, awaking in moneglia in liguria, just at the north end of cinque terre. we awoke at sunrise and carried our packs though the little stone streets and wide tree canopied avenues to the 7 am train.
into la spezia and the up the taro valley towards parma. the train air conditioning was freezing, we put on our wool and we were still cold. it took us walking though fornovo after the train, still in wool and in 28 celcius weather to finally warm up our frozen cores. we got picked up there by lorenzo and went and had a tour of his town and then drove to the castel corniglio, where we wandered through the ancient halls and new kitchens, and looked at stonework i had done six years before. then we took a well deserved siesta before getting ready for the show. i remembered everything i needed, except cd's...
but like i said the drive with aliza was a good moment, we were so happy to be in italy and touring and playing music and being around kind people. so we arrived back at the show in this state of mind.
the oratorio was already mostly full, and as we drove up into town we had seen the folks of this hilltop abode walking up to the event. it was great to see people of all ages at the show, from 5 to 85...
lorenzo gave us a generous and welcoming introduction to the townsfolk, everyone had a candlelit smile and sparkling eyes. i was excited, a little nervous for this first show, but knew that my music would make itself known and i would be able to share what i wished to with these songs that i have written. it is a special and sacred space finding this element of comfort and knowing, that the art of the work has become an art of self and an art of communication. i dont mean to say that i am great at it, but that i love it and i have spent many years creating and working at this form of expression and communication, and that i have found - in the last few years - a satisfying "actuality of creating and action".
the songs played out beautifully. aliza and her violin charmed the audience, and we sang the way we wanted to. the natural acoustics were great and it was wonderful to get a warm and enthusiastic response.
after the end of the set, we drank wine with the community and met new friends. some of these were local musicians that then came and improvised with us, and we had a sing-along with lorenzo. i couldnt have asked for a better start to the tour....