Here's what I received

A dose of flu. No, I didn’t get really sick, just had to spend a week sipping tea constantly and dozing in my tatting chair. I’m back now. Just a couple more days and I should be back to full speed and full voice.

And so Epiphany….

I was amused recently when someone asked if I focused on Epiphany to chase away the Winter Blues. Well, I do get exhausted producing Christmas music so I have little energy for a week or so. But, like most things about my faith, it’s wrapped up in organ music.

One of my favorite pieces in organ literature is a setting of a hymn written for Epiphany: Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern BuxWV 223 by Dietrich Buxtehude. Like many compositions of this era, sacred and secular, this is a rif on the text while running through the common melody. For those who read music or know the chorale well, you can pick out the melody amongst the busy notes Buxtehude wrote down. If you’re thinking that’s a lot like jazz or folk, you’re correct. I particularly like this piece because you have the option within historical performance practice to change sounds frequently to set the sections apart from each other. So, I can provide an aural tour through an organ while providing a reminder of the tune and referencing text. If you’re thinking complicated, you got it!

I’ve been playing with tatting designs based on this piece for years. My recent dabbling in Blackwork has given me more ideas: create a Blackwork design to represent the chorale with the color and various rings/chains in tatting mounted on top the stitching. Perhaps beads too!

The next few months will be quite busy. We are getting closer to beginning some serious remodel on our Historic home, along with more substituting on the organ bench and teaching. I doubt I’ll get to putting into thread any ideas, but the sketches are piling up. I’ll try to give a window on that in the next week or so.

In the meantime, enjoy a listen to one of these videos of Wie schon. The visual is not much to look at unless you watch the one looking over the organists shoulder. Love her red shoes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyvMzIhiVxo (red!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPtjnhZZQq4 (channel with many hymns)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWxSAjesxPY (Baroque temperament organ in Germany)

Christmas Break inspirations and projects

The crazy part of Christmas is over. Consumers are no longer jostling at the stores. The right gift is no longer occupying people’s thoughts. The feasts are all laid out and washed up. Now it’s the part of Christmas that allows me to feel connected with my heritage and people throughout the ages. Any parent can relate to the story of birth and the first few days of a child’s life. Any creative person can relate to how traditions came to be. I hope you have been able to pause and enjoy a brief break.

We have been taking advantage of the time off from work to do some badly needed painting and sorting of boxes. The studio looks more like a storage room in the dim reaches of a theater. There’s instruments, stacks of boxes and furniture, paint cans and oh yes, a loom or two. Not much practicing or tatting lately. I did find more inspiration on a walk: 

 One of my walking buddies has picked and cooked mushrooms for years. She no longer pickles them or fixes soups daily, but she will tell you which mushrooms she likes to use for these dishes. I’m not as creative in the kitchen, so it’s alright I’m learning the Russian names for all these.

It’s almost time to get back to creating with fiber. I think I’ll practice again today. With Epiphany around the corner, I’ve dusted off Wie Schon Leuchtet again. I need to finish the angel. Oh, and I’ve only got a few more squares to complete in my Weave-It study series. Several of these yarn creations remind me of quilt blocks. Mmmmmmm

Oh, and Jane’s TIAS is coming. Now, that’s a gift we all enjoy!
Merry Christmas!