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Bach Sarabande & Minuet
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in almost three years of oft-times stealth performances, its a gut instinct for when I should ask for permission and when I should just set up and play. Recent posts describe what a revelation it was to visit the American side of Niagara Falls, and am inspired to tell more about my adventure after reading Too Close to the Falls, by Toronto-based author and psychologist, Catherine Gildiner.
Before I took the elevator descent through the equivalent of 18 storeys of escarpment, and as I was about to don my yellow poncho and souvenir flip-flops, I decided that this was one of those situations where I just dive into some Bach. My heart was in my throat as I opened to a favourite movement from the Cello Suites, and as I played, I furtively kept one eye open for the ominous approach of some security guard. Yet everyone including the staff seemed to be in a festive mood, and I thankfully wasn’t interrupted!
As wonderfully vibrant and rich as the acoustics of this old wood-frame structure on Goat Island proved to be, what was even more wonderful was the spontaneous round of applause that greeted my flute-playing! Several people remarked afterward how much they had enjoyed the spontaneous performance. Even the woman who had handed out the flip-flops the way one receives bowling shoes at the bowling alley commented on how beautiful the music was.
If I had of asked permission, I can just about guarantee that I would have denied myself the opportunity of creating this random musical memory for everyone that day! I love the ambient, background sounds in this recording, the multi-lingual banter and the rustling sounds of tourists pulling rain slickers over their heads – the air was electric with anticipation as we all prepared for our descent into the unknown!
Even in these modern times, there is something magical and compelling about the Falls – one of the Seven Wonders of the World for a reason, I guess – and the feeling in this ante-room was of child-like excitement. For a while we were united as strangers as we forgot about our regular, everyday lives, thoughts of which would be obliterated by the thundering cascade of the American Falls!
I highly recommend Catherine Gildiner’s popular and critically-acclaimed Too Close to the Falls, a charming and engaging memoir that reveals some of the colourful history of the Niagara Falls area, and just a couple of weeks back I was lucky enough to be invited to the splashy launch for her much-anticipated After the Falls.
But that’s a whole other story!
