The Bach Festival was here in Carmel for the last 2 weeks of July. I went to 3 different concerts over the course of those weeks. The first one I went to was on my birthday – “Into The Light: Songs of Beginnings.” This one was held at All Saints Church – walking distance away!
This concert was a mix of music from the 1600’s up to modern times. Pretty cool. But the coolest part of all is I saw a new instrument that I had never heard of – a theorbo! Here’s a link to more info, and a demonstration. It’s amazing so check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nwg8gfVBUo
The next concert was the Young Artist’s Showcase, held in the Sunset Center main concert venue. I happened to meet Vivian, an 8 year old, at a watercolor workshop I went to, and she was playing piano in the concert so I wanted to see her play. The youngest player was 5 years old – so small her feet didn’t reach the pedals! Vivian was quite accomplished for her age, but all of the musicians, up to 18 years of age, were amazing. What an enjoyable concert! Janaka, who led the watercolor workshop, showed up too so it was nice to see a concert with somebody else.
The last concert I went to was Mozart and the Bachs Fortepiano Recital with Dongsok Shin playing the fortepiano. I saw him in a chamber ensemble in last year’s Bach Festival, playing the harpsichord. This concert was in the foyer of the Sunset Center – very small and intimate.
Here’s a link to videos of him playing – take your choice!
https://www.youtube.com/@dongsoks
He very cleverly described each piece he played, and at the end he invited people to come up, take a closer look, and ask questions! Below is a close-up of the fortepiano. The black keys are ebony and the white are bone. A fortepiano has 2 less octaves than a regular piano, and many pieces utilize the highest and lowest keys, unlike a regular piano.
I asked him how the ‘action’ felt compared to a piano and he said, “go ahead and play it and see!” So I did! The action was more shallow than a piano and a little easier to play. Great for all the runs in the pieces he played.
I asked him how he got the fortepiano there, and he said he brought it, and two harpsichords, in his mini van – he drove out here from New York!
Anyway, while I was sitting during the concert I noticed a sign about an art raffle so I decided to check it out. It was $40 for 5 tickets all benefiting the Bach Festival so I got 5 tickets.
Here are the pieces I tried for:
I got a call from a strange number last week, but I decided to answer it. It was somebody telling me a won a painting! It’s the second one from the top! I’m going to pick it up tomorrow so I’ll post a better photo of it once I get it home.
UPDATE: Here’s a better photo! Unfortunately it doesn’t show all the glitter that’s in it, but it is really cool. And the nice thing is, I also received the artist’s address with a request to thank them for donating to the Bach Festival. How nice is that?
I also inquired about donating art next year so hopefully that will happen too!
I guess that’s it for now. Talk soon dear readers!