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“It’s a moisture valve,” insisted Barbara with a grin as she held her horn over a cloth and opened a small hole in
brass tubing. In my old high-school band we called it a “spit valve,” but Weidner home is a much classier setting. To play a trumpet, musician purses her lips tightly against small round mouthpiece and makes a vibrating, “pbbbbb” sound. Inevitably, this sends a lot of “moisture” into instrument, and it must be drained as it builds up. Good thing this was an outdoor performance. I was reminded of an earlier Soirée at which Eric Ruske joked, while draining his French horn into a planter box, “This is why you don’t invite a horn player into your home.”
From stage right (by sliding glass door) comes a bright fanfare from Barbara’s trumpet, heralding unmistakable Carmen Fantasia, music from Georges Bizet’s famous opera. Carmen is an alluring young Gypsy woman working in a cigarette factory in Seville, and trouble ensues when a soldier and a bullfighter both fall for her. Charlie answers with his own flugelhorn fanfare from stage left (near bar), and action begins. From well-known, rollicking “Toreador Song” to slow, sensual “Duet” to frenetic back-and-forth of “Gypsy Song,” this suite exudes passion and color. It’s a wonder Spain doesn’t have a much larger population.
Too bad this was final Soirée of season, but what a great
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Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Editor – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
Robert LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
