Recently in Music Category

It seems like I've become hooked on iTunes these days. I seem to download my music from there onto my Mac, and from there, onto my iPod. This is available on iTunes and Amazon, but I ended up buying it last night while at the mall.

If you like Renée Fleming as I do, you may not like this album. It's not what you would expect. She's singing jazz and blues - a far cry from her earlier Mozart, Handel, and later Verde, Puccini, and Strauss albums. She has a breathiness in her voice that I find very seductive, and I love the way she explores the lower registers in her voice. It lends itself beautifully to this style of singing.

While we were listening to it, it reminded me of Ella Fitzgerald. And after reading what Renée wrote inside, I can see why: "One issue I faced in making this recording was in choosing a vocal style. As a college student, I sang with more jazz inflection, with scat, be-pop and melismatic treatments of words, but ultimately, I decided to emulate the atmosphere created on my favorite duo ballad recordings by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans or Ella Fitzgerald and Paul Smith; approaches so understated, I have never tired of hearing them."

Today, I took my violin to be tuned up and polished up a bit. It was a big step for me. I used to play violin some time ago. I started playing violin when I was seven years old. I've studied with a lot of different people in my time. The one thing that has always been there in my life, front the age of 16, was my violin. I was very fortunate to come into possession of a violin made by Antonio Gagliano in 1750. He's considered to be one of the Italian masters of his period. Below is the family tree.

Alessandro Gagliano - Napoli (~1660 - 1725)

Nicola (I) Gagliano - Napoli (~1695 - after 1740)

Ferdinando Gagliano - Napoli (1706 - 1781)

Guiseppe Gagliano - Napoli (1724 - 1793)

Antonio (I) Gagliano - Napoli (1737 - ~1797)

Giovanni Gagliano - Napoli (~1730 - 1806)

Nicola (II) Gagliano - Napoli (1793 - 1828)

Raffaele Gagliano - Napoli (~1790 - 1857)

Vincenzo Gagliano - Napoli (? - ~1886)

Antonio (II) Gagliano - Napoli (after 1790 - 1860)

Gennaro Gagliano - Napoli (~1700 - after 1770)

There were two brothers, Alessandro and Gennaro. Antonio was the son of Nicola. Antonio is the man who made my violin in 1750.

There's nothing quite like visiting a violin shop. The man who owns the show actually makes cellos, and has quite a reputation for his work. I was greeted by the shop cat (always a good sign of impeccable taste) who inspected me with great care. She concluded I was ok to be there, and preceded to go back to her sun spot.

I opened my case, and presented my violin to the shop keeper. He immediately started looking at the violin with a mixture of astonishment and awe. He placed the violin on the workbench and quickly ran over to grab some books on Italian violins. He studied the label inside the violin, and authenticated it. He then stepped back, took a breath, and said, "Oh wow!" I asked, "Is something wrong?" He said, "It's just so rare that I have something this beautiful in the shop. It's rare that an old Italian master comes in to the shop."

I told him my story of how I came to own the violin, why I stopped playing (he assured me that it was common), and proceeded to let me know the costs involved. I told him, "It's not about the cost. I will come and go with time. This will not if it's taken care of. When I bought this, I assumed the responsibility for it. That's why I'm here today."

We talked further about the "worth" of the instrument. In all honesty, I don't care about the worth of it. It's hard for me to think of it as "priceless". It's like a part of me. We have this history. He said, "I understand completely." He then looked at the bow and said, "Oh my God, look at the workmanship of this." He loved the bow and mentioned the weight of it. I replied, "I wanted a heavy German bow to match the weight that I deliver from my arm."

Well, I was a bit surprised by the "worth" of it all. We based it on another Antonio Gagliano that had been sold 10 years ago. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But, it seems disrespectful in a way to think of it in that light. I'm just glad I took this first step. This was the easy one. The more difficult step will be to pick up the violin and start playing again. That's when I confront what my body will allow me to do with the violin, after not touching it for 20 years. I'm a bit scared about that.