Wednesdays at 1, February 21, 1996

I.

Sonata for Piano and Harp

pale roses on faded black shift
golden harp and tears
faded roses on pale grey noon
gilded, wooden concert harp

large, marginal, ebony piano


with bright red satin gown

(a disturbance in the rear of the hall)


or


a stirring of the strings--


like a muffled discussion


now muted by plain white paper strips


that whisper
as piano runs awry

fast straightaway

the muse flees
mid-winter fog in trees

through which run white-robed wraiths

in another movement:

trills on balustrades,

grey-veined marble promenades

worn thin by padded feet

sustained in bass -- reflected arpeggios.

A final resonance of strings.

Let us never mourn again.

Silence of unplucked strings...
unstruck.

II.

Allegro assai
Romance - Adagio non tanto
Rondeau - Allegretto


A Sonata

The crown of the harp is gilded!


(As is the base.)

Was this one of the instruments I dreamed, when a child, of playing?

Strings--strummed, bowed--


of the correct proportional length,
plucked

by tips of fingers or

mechanized quills

send wingéd love songs

to slender-bodiced ladies'

bodies:
flown....

And pale lemonwood

sounding board.

III.

Fantasy for Harp and Violin

Even taller on high heels


she brings tears with her

emotional bowing.

These proportions


anciently determined

conform my feelings

to a scored landscape of

fear and rushing dreams.

Even smaller, though plump in black

two-piece oriental dress,
the short-armed harpist sounds
large and musical...

as the fantasy whispers itself into


oblivious silence...

or continues in lovely three/four rhythms.

Then:

Stronger than ever the fantasy lives!

Arpeggios! Cresendos!

Romantic dénouements....

We are so gentle as the theme returns

soothed by completed movements
of an arm and
bow.

IV.

Improvisation et Allegro

Intense listening--the intelligence we bring--

distracted by the older gentleman
who enters late, then stands to
remove his coat; then lifts
eyeglasses overhead to
check for specks of dirt...

and then it's over.

V.

(Ravel's)


Introduction and Allegro

Five oriental females, one oriental male, one western male.

Flute, clarinet;
violin, violin;
viola;
cello and

harp.

Crocheted white cotton vest over

navy-blue long-sleeved
ankle-length dress.

She directs impressions plucked

from strings toward upper-storey

sonic reflectors or

spiritual havens

with ballerina-like motions of

her arms, hands and fingers.

The experience of music:

a fluid mastery of ear and

muscle....

Is it not a melody we all know? even if

not by name?

And are not all melodies equal?

(Never!)

in their effect,

in that, their revelation

is only equal to our apprehension?

That is, reduced to only

ourselves, and what
we are, and what

we know?

And yet we leave so soon--
hastening to an afternoon now
rendered ever incomplete....

At The Julliard School, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NY, NY,
an afternoon of Music For Harp:
Carlos Salzedo, Sonata for Harp and Piano, Jessica Zhou, harp; Hsing-Ay Hsu, piano.
Franz A. Rosetti, Sonata in E-flat major, Goulnara Mashourova, harp.
Camille Saint-Saëns, Fantasy for Violin and Harp, Annie Chalex, violin; Kaori Otake, harp.
Gérard Devos, Improvisation et Allegro, Marion Lenart, harp.
Maurice Ravel, Introduction and Allegro, Soo Kyung Park, flute; John Schertle, clarinet; Shih-Hung Young, violin; Ji-Eun Lim, violin; Grace Huang, viola; Ann Kim, cello; Ya-Wen Lin, harp.

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