Was it 19 years ago? 20 years ago? That was the last time I attended a AMC Mountain & Music Weekend as a Listener, and this time I again attended as a Listener. I would have liked to attend as a performer, but any performances by me had ended long ago. My earliest musical exposure was probably "Old McDonnald Had a Farm...eeei...eeei...oooh", and thankfully I have forgot the rest. Later I took piano lesions, but my piano fingers have lost all memory of those Chopin Waltzes and Beethoven Sonatas that I struggled to master. So the weekend of April 23-25, 2010 was to serve two purposes, to enjoy an early season out on Cape Cod, and admire all those whose fingers and voices had not failed them in later years. In those aspects it was a successful weekend.
The Boston Chapter supports it's Mountains & Music committee like any of the other recreational committees. In this case it serves as a gathering for musicians, both amateur and semi-professional, to get together and perform. The music involves chamber music, choral, and orchestral performances, all of which require musicians to perform in a group. A piano can be played alone and the repertoire is huge to choose from, but if you play a bassoon, or an oboe, or a french horn, you need to join other musicians to experience the full musical performance. So twice a year the committee sponsors a weekend of music. Between these organized weekends, members get together to perform as would bikers get together for a bike ride
Signing in for Weekend
Email from the coordinator warned that the Sagamore Bridge was one lane each direction while under construction. So I decided to look quickly at the Bourne Bridge just before the turnoff to Rt 6a. It looked not too bad, so I decided to continue on to the Sagamore Bridge. Minor mistake. As I approached the Sagamore interchange the traffic backed up and it took me 20 minutes to get on the bridge. But the big surprise was the traffic coming off the Cape. Rt 6 coming on to the Sagamore Bridge was backed up for 3.5 miles (I measured it on a map.) Who comes off the Cape on Friday? I'll finish this story at the end of this article.
After arriving at the Cape Cod Sea Camps, I signed in at the new Arts and Crafts building and looked for familiar faces. None that I recognized. I was hoping for a few from our Narragansett chapter, but as it turned out I was the only one besides a Viola player who I did not meet.
Building 40
The accommodations were good. The camp has over 30 cabins dormitory style. I got building 40, top floor. It is a big camp stretching from the north side of Rt 6a (near Nickerson State Park) all the way north to Massachusetts Bay. The beds were double bunks, but I did not see anyway to climb into the top bunk. No ladders on the bunk or in the room. Maybe that's part of the kids camping experience. But the coordinators thought ahead and we were only assigned to the lower bunks.
Evening Announcements by Karin and Gary
After Friday dinner, the coordinators Karin and Gary briefed us on the upcoming activities and camp procedures. Then the performers (members signed up for the weekend according to their instrument or vocal type) went to their respective buildings for two hours of orchestral or choral rehearsal. As a listener I took a little walk down to the shore to check out the beach and then went back to listen to the orchestral rehearsal.
Sunset down at the Beach
Friday Evening Orchestra Rehearsal
"Excerpt, Schubert Overture in D"
One of the requirements for the performers was that they be able to sight read music. I suspect that most were seeing the scores for the first time. Whew, a little rough, but having some experience of what it takes to sight read and keep time, it has to be tough. Sight reading and keeping strict time were weak points in my weak musical career.
Dining Hall
Breakfast Announcements
Breakfast was at 7:15 am in the main dining hall. After breakfast, announcments for music practice and daily activities were presented.
Signing up for Outside Activities.
After a couple hours of informal chamber music, outside activities started at 10:30 am for various hikes and bike rides.
Chamber music in building 40
Chamber music in Arts & Crafts building
I went on the bike ride that went up to the Coast Guard Beach, a nice 20 mile round trip up on a beautiful Spring day. The sand temperature was perfect, not too cold like winter, and not too hot like summer.
Getting ready for a bike ride.
Relaxing on the Coast Guard Beach.
Later in the afternoon after a very active (indulgent snacking) happy hour buffet, everyone went to the dining hall for dinner. After a cafeteria style dinner, everyone gathered at the Arts and Crafts building for the evening concert.
Refills at the Happy Hour table.
Getting settled for the evening concert.
This was the only time space seemed to be at a premium. In the past Mountains & Music has used Boston University's Sargent Camp where the concert facilities were more spacious, but it is now operated by another non-profit organization, so Mountains & Music had to find new facilities for this weekend.
The first part of the concert were choral selections from Handel's "Israel in Egypt", conducted by Maggie Bossi. Only a few of the sections were performed due to the total length of the piece. After a brief intermission, mainly to carefully seat the upper choir still standing on double benches against the wall, the orchestra tuned up for the second half of the evening .
Maggie Bossi conducting the chorus.
"Excerpt, Handel's Israel in Egypt"
A stand up chorus.
Marshunda Smith conducted the orchestra performing Schubert's "Overture in D Major" and Haydn's "Symphony No. 101", commonly called “The Clock”. This symphony was a hit when it premiered in London on March 3, 1794 and is still a popular concert piece. It is known as The Clock because of the "ticking" rhythm that runs constantly through the second movement. The bassoon does a great clock ticking performance. It is so fun to drop historical dates, like I know what I'm talking about. Because everything is on the Internet. Including code for this cool play button.
"Excerpt, Schubert Overture in D"
Marshunda Smith conducting.
While not the most professional performance, I realized how hard it must be for strings to play in tune. Others must have been working hard, but it is just more obvious in the string section. After all, this was a concert after only a couple of sight reading rehearsals. How much fun can that be? From the response of the performers, quite a lot. I suspect that most of the members only get to play in a full orchestra a few times a year. Chamber music sessions with friends are easier to set up. After the concert everyone put the chairs and benches to the side and had a traditional after concert party.
"2nd Mov. Haydn's Clock Symphony"
Members of the orchestra.
On Sunday after breakfast, more hikes and a bike ride were announced. When all announcements were finished, members joined into familiar groups to play more chamber music. The rainy weather looked like it was going to hold of for a while and not rain until late. Because there were no more campers coming in, the camp allowed members to use the facilities until 2 pm. Most left by that time though, everyone had seen the backup of cars trying to get to the Sagamore Bridge on Friday, and thought that they could avoid the line if they left a little early.
"Excerpt, Haydn String Quartet"
More chamber music in Bldg 40.
After discussing the merits of not leaving the car dome light on with someone who did, I left camp around 2 pm hoping also to avoid the traffic. When I approached Rt 130 (which crosses Rt 6) I could see, much to my amazement, the cars were stopped exactly in the same place as they were when I drove by on Friday. That meant 3.5 miles of mostly stop, and a little go, to get to the bridge. So I exited into the town of Sandwich expecting to bypass the worst of the traffic. It wasn't more than half a mile that traffic came to a stop in the residential area of Sandwich. Up ahead were three roads converging to the bridge, then single line for awhile, then three more roads combining toward the bridge. I timed it. It took an hour and a half to move about 3 miles to get on the bridge. I don't think I saved any time on that detour. After stopping for a cup of coffee, mainly to revive myself, the drive home was easy.
Packing it up.
All in all, a pleasant weekend which allowed me to meet musical people that I might not meet otherwise, and listen to them describe things I never knew about. I never knew that a bassoon could be worth as much as $30,000. And I thought a $3500 for kayak gear was the most expensive ticket to join an AMC activity. I guess I was wrong, kayaking isn't that expensive after all, and it certainly is easier to learn. Maybe I've even been encouraged to see if the old fingers still work on that dusty out of tune piano.
P.S. The recording engineer makes no excuse for using a $38 voice recorder.