Hello MMD readers,  For the past two seasons, Safari Meadow at this
scenic camping resort has been reserved for Maine blueberry pickers --
from Mexico.  There has never been a quieter or well-behaved group than
these people, who in past times were turned away from other campgrounds
during the picking season.  When they are in this region the laborers
stay in tents by night and travel in vans to the fields,

A few days ago one of the campground owners mentioned to me that there
was a pianist among the migrant workers; I got an opportunity to hear
him play in the recreation hall on the grounds, where a Kawai console
is a permanent instrument.  (My 1929 Reprotone "commutes" from our
Boothbay roll storage building to Searsport, so is only on the premises
during the performance season.)

The upshot of all of this was that I decided to give a special concert
featuring Latin music, for the most part, and this took place on July
28, this past Sunday evening.  The audience was partly campers from
here who saw the signs for the unscheduled concert, and, of course,
the workers who were invited to attend, along with the pianist in their
milieu.

The seated audience heard a series of Artcraft Rolls, most with a South
American, Caribbean or Central American theme: "Merengue", "Tico-Tico",
"Dengozo", "Amena Resata", "Odeon", "Roberto Clemente", "Gaucho" and
"The Carioca" (a new Artcraft arrangement) were among the titles
presented.  For those interested in Latin music, you'll recognize three
titles by the Brazilian composer, Ernesto Nazareth.

After an hour of nonstop player roll performances, the focus shifted
to one of the younger workers, who played the Kawai upright.  His
series of pieces included Beethoven's "Fuer Elise" (with some interesting
improvisations), "La Bamba" (the Richie Valens song) and some other
compositions that I didn't recognize.  While it was my opinion that
there was too much sustaining pedal (a musical sin one used to
experience with some artists at the Sedalia, MO, Joplin Festivals),
his technique was very good.

When watching him earlier in the day I was able to observe good bass
octave work, especially since the index, middle and fourth fingers were
often playing a short melodic riff which "sent" the theme back to the
treble hand.  The dynamics of his accented notes were also too heavy
to show the subtleties which were inherent in his skilled fingering.
Still, the music pleased both English and Spanish-speaking members of
the audience, while Lois and I enjoyed the artistic liberties taken
with the "bagatelle" by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Resort owner Zaven Kaltookian commented after the dual performances,
"That shows the difference between keyboard playing and the player roll
method." (This is a paraphrase, since I don't recall the actual words,
at this point.)  Another member in the audience pointed out that the
precision of the music rolls is something which made my performances
stand out.  I replied that rolls don't require the sustaining pedal,
very much, if the arranging is done creatively, since there are 88
'fingers' at the Pianola's disposal, while the dampers are lifted only
for tonality, and not for keyboard technique purposes.  Of course,
only virtuoso arrangements were being played, with no homogeneous
perforations, so that gave an edge to the player piano's music.

Given the technique of the young pianist, however, I couldn't help
but think that if he had lived in another country, and another time,
somebody might "build" upon his performance attributes, and a possible
career in music might have been the result.

Music cuts across all language barriers, so the mixed audience had
a wonderful time.  I was told later that my concert was "very well
received", so one couldn't ask for any more.

Searsport Shores is more like a community, or a small town of the
pre-World War II days, where transient and permanent visitors greet
each other, often striking up conversations about their dogs (since
this is a pet friendly resort) or music, if they had some post concert
question about my evening's contribution.

Maybe, next year, I'll have some Portuguese "fado" music to play, or
the "mariachi" music, planned earlier.  There's no limit to what the
player instrument can perform, given my ultra-regulated Story & Clark
upright, the versatility of the Leabarjan arranging system and
arrangements which 'challenge' both the piano and the player actions.

Regards,
Douglas Henderson - Artcraft Music Rolls
http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/