Music From Mountaintops!

Our daily walks have taken on a new dimension. Last week, we hiked on a trail in Dennis Hill State Park in Norfolk, CT. At the top of the hill was an old stone gazebo. It was a hot day, but standing inside the air was cool and we thought that the acoustics might be good. I thought that my new E Native American Flute might sound beautiful in the space. So, a few days later we decided to return to the gazebo. We trudged back up the hill with my flute stowed safely in Paul’s back pack.

Normally at the end of a long walk, I am sweaty and breathless, but this day I was excited to unpack my flute and play!

As I looked over the hills, the wind was gently blowing through the trees creating a lovely swaying motion. I found myself forgetting my normal sensations of hiker’s discomfort and felt peace and joy in the moment. I thought that our flute maker Daniel Bigay would love to hear his creation, crafted from a piece of Tennessee Dawn Red Wood circa 1800’s being played in this setting!

On our walk the other morning on Guilford Hollow Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts. we noticed a ladybug perched on the tip of a wildflower. My husband Paul suggested I write a song called “Ode to a Ladybug” I gladly stepped up to the challenge!

While we wait until Hevreh Ensemble can perform safely together again, we realized that a new project was born! The plan over the next few months is to visit beautiful mountain tops gazebos, chapels and other sites that inspire me. I will play improvisations on my oboe, Native American flutes and recorders. On a very hot day this might also involve some swimming and cold iced tea!

Here is an improvisation: “Ode to a Ladybug” played on Hunger Mountain in Monterey, MA.

We recently discovered beautiful Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham, Massachusetts and thought this might be an excellent place to honor with music. The gardens are the 30 year creation of the composer and musician John McLennan. He created a garden that combines several natural features:a rushing stream, native trees, a rounded knoll and gently rising meadows. He arranged this with formal gardens that include the Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge and Trellis Triptych.

A short steep trail through the woods leads to the ruins of a Georgian Style Mansion. In 1903, Robb and Grace de Peyster Tytus discovered the Tryingham Valley on their honeymoon. They fell in love with the area and soon after purchased 1,000 acres of land that they named Ashintully (Gaelic for “on the brow of the hill”.)

DePeyster Tytus was an Egyptologist who worked at Luxor, where he helped to uncover the palace of King Amenhotep III, grandfather of King Tutankhamen. He and his wife built the large Georgian style mansion over looking the valley in 1910 that at the time cost over one million dollars! The main facade of the house had four Doric style columns that gleamed in the sun and in the moonlight. The building came to be known as the Marble Palace. The main facade held a two-story library and music room that was the heart of the house. Measuring 78 feet long by 28 feet wide and 32 feet high, it was built to match the dimensions of Amenhotep III's great hall and was said to hold 12,000 volumes on its shelves. A fire in 1952, destroyed the house, but the front terrace, foundation and columns still stand today. There are some that say the house and family were cursed-https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/the-cottager-ashintully-a-mansion-cursed-by-egypts-pharaoh-kings,551420

From the fields, we came to a steep path that continued through the woods. As we neared the crest of the hill, four columns stood stoically alone on the hilltop and we could see bits of the old foundation. A ray of sun shone through the woods and a delicate veil of mist lightly covered the stone foundation wall. It felt as if we were on a secret treasure hunt!

The old foundation of the main facade is very stable, so it is possible to walk right up to the four main Doric columns!

In front of us was a majestic view of the Tryingham Valley. I wondered what concerts and other events in the main facade would have been like in 1910. What music was played, were the guests dressed elegantly, were desserts served on fancy china? I wish I could have heard the conversations that people had as they stood on the terrace admiring the beautiful scenery.

This day I brought along both my alto recorder and Native American flute. I had originally thought that the recorder would be appropriate to play on the terrace of the foundation-perhaps an improvisation that was Gaelic in nature. As I started to play the Native flute while looking over the hills, it became clear that the resonant deep timbre of the flute was in harmony with the surroundings. I played a slow melody and as the sound drifted away towards the valley, I felt a profound sense of gratitude and joy to play music in this space.

For the Fourth of July we made a Blueberry Pie, sugar free, but I did score some Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Vanilla Ice Cream! Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Sugar Free Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 quart fresh or frozen blueberries

1 tablespoon instant tapioca

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Pastry Crust:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup whole grain spelt four

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

3 tablespoons non- hydrogenated shortening ( I like the organic Spectrum brand)

3 or more tablespoons ice water

Make the pastry crust:

In the bowl of a food processor combine flours, salt, butter and shortening until just combined.

Add the ice water and process until a ball shape forms. You may need to add more water a tablespoon at a time.

Take the ball of dough and cut into 2 pieces and refrigerate at least one hour. When you want to make the pie, bring the dough back to room temperature.

Make the filling:

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium size bowl and stir- set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly flour counter top

Roll out one piece of dough and fit into a pie plate

Put blueberry mixture into pie plate

Roll out second piece of dough and cut into strips

Lay strips in a crisscross pattern over filling

Sprinkle with cinnamon

Bake until crust is light brown and filling bubbles aprox. 40 minutes

Let cool and enjoy!!

Please stay safe! More music from Mountaintops to come! When we can travel further, we plan to play at the Children’s Chapel at the Sea in Rockport, Maine and hopefully all of Hevreh Ensemble can play together there soon. If all goes well, we may play a socially distant outdoor concert at our dear friend the sculptor Tim Prentice’s West Cornwall Barn in early September. We will keep you posted!!

Judith Dansker 7/14/20