Notes on music

So I know it's a bit lame to go 4,500 miles away and eat at McDonalds, but I hope you'll forgive the musical equivalent (okay, so jazz is much better than fast food). I got to go listen to an outdoor concert of a jazz band, and I certainly wasn't going to pass it up. The group was excellent (especially the guys on saxophone and bass) and they played some of my favorites...I got so excited when I recognized Charlie Parker's Anthropology. They must have listened to a lot of Bird as well as older standards, since it was a funny combination of bebop and blues, with a bit of an Italian twist thrown in. As much as I enjoyed the taste of home,I had to keep my eyes closed. With a cathedral on one side, villas on the other, and cobblestones underfoot, the music was just too much out of context if I paid attention to my physical surroundings. When I forgot where I was, I felt the way I do when I'm at home all by myself: completely and utterly relaxed. I wonder if Italian opera seems just as out of context in the US... Right now, I want to say that the evolution of jazz was so intricately intertwined in American history that it lacks the trans-national appeal of a throwback to ancient Greek tradition. I'd like to know what the Italians think...
The citta itself is so musical; I love the ringing of the bells (they ring each hour and half-hour, and before every church service, which makes for a lot of bell-tolling) and the doves. They only coo in the early mornings and you have to go and find them, but when you do, it's almost magical. I've heard a few people practicing, humming, or whistling, but the constant hum of Italiano that floats up through the windows provides the real accompaniment to birds and bells.
And it is so delightful to hear my music vocabulary in action. Piano (translation: floor, not an instrument) has been my favorite. Piano e piano is the Italian equivalent of "step by step" and makes a great name for method books. Fermata is almost as much fun.



Yesterday the mayor of Sansepolcro came to our class and told us a bit about the history of the lovely palazzo that we're staying in. He was a sweet, unassuming man with a touching fatherly pride in his son (who lives in NY). We got to see the angel fresco for the first time as well...I ended up with a few kinks in my neck. Frescoes anywhere are lovely, but I prefer them at eye level.
It was wonderful to hear that this place has been a home or haven for artists and poets for centuries. I feel like my little piano in the chapel is adding to the historical artistic community, but instead of painting frescoes or writing poems, I'm making music!