El Grain Silo Pasa

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Here are a couple of takes of one of the first pieces I ever learned on flute, El Condor Pasa. You’d think I’d have it down cold, but this was very much an impromptu performance, an ode to this evocative shell of a building that caught my eye as I was driving back from Ottawa recently. Playing on my antique Hawkes & Sons Superior 8-keyed flute, some of the fingerings got away from me: I have to get that thing repaired! In the first of these two recordings, despite my false start, I love the way the final notes blend with the sound of a passing truck on the highway.

With the sound of the 401 in the background, I explored the unique acoustics of this abandoned grain silo. Like the derlict barn I recorded in not so long ago, these shells of buildings that dot the rural landscape are a reminder of – and testament to – days gone by.