Coupl'a Things III

1) Except for an illegal but likely delicious King Cake served at a downtown Kansas City office this AM, Mardi Gras is all put away. The beads, hat and mask went to the storage unit today, all nice and stored away until next year. It was odd that my fuddy-duddy church did not have a Mardi Gras dinner and party this year. However, I had a successful one myself with jambalaya, BBQ shrimp, salad, bread and wine and champagne. Fun was had by all who came. Rex Celestis himself came out in his finery to serve the King Cake. Now we have Lent, and all the chocolate makers are suffering for the next few weeks.

2) Thirty-two years ago, 1976 to be exact, I heard the London Philharmonic conducted by the great Bernard Haitink in concert at the University of Illinois' Krannert Center. I remember vividly one work, the "Philharmonic Concerto" by Malcolm Arnold. Written for the Orchestra specifically for the US tour, it was a three movement, colorful piece of music. One section stood out that I have remembered for all those years, a brilliant dialog between a harp and a snare drum. As a 19 year old obsessed with classical music, I was fascinated by the sound.

Finally, after 32 years I heard the piece again as a LSO Live Disc 0013 (there is that damn number again) arrived from the UK via MDT Records in Derby, UK. Sometimes your mind embellishes things, thus past events were not as exciting, elaborate or even as accurate as you have remembered. Thankfully, the wonderful snare and harp passage is really there, I did not imagine it, and it is as fresh and interesting to this almost 51 year old as it was to a 19 year old.