Yesterday BC and I went to Palo Alto to hear a friend of ours, Elaine (we always pronounce her name “e-LAINE!!!” like Dustin Hoffman at the end of The Graduate), sing tunes of her Jewish hertitage. We were so pleased by, first of all, her voice, which was sweet and full and expressive, and by the range of songs that she presented. She started off with some romantic pastorals, one of which ended with the lines…
Morning, the dove calls,
your hair is covered with dew.
Your mouth turned to the morning as a flower
which I will gather unto myself.
Isn’t that a lovely image? And then she moved into songs from eastern Europe, Spain, and a few that she wrote herself. One of the Spanish songs contained interesting cross-cultural influences, including a sainlty light in the heavens over the Jewish quarter and a child born in a manger.
The studio pipes are clogged, so I’ve sent BC off to buy my pumpkin for the Pumpkin Carving Contest while I wait for the plumber. I hope I can get it in by the deadline! I’ll post pictures later, if I can actually execute the complex idea that I’ve conceived… Stay tuned!