More Millenium Stage

I saw 12 shows at the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center in DC. That averages to more than one a week! At the price of FREE, it was an excellent use of time.

San Bushmen and Bushwomen storytelling/performing ritual dance & song

Ominous clouds one day.

Here are some notes I took when I saw the Persian Zither player:

Santour (Persian dulcimer/zither) (written as listening to 3 songs at the Kennedy Center)

1. Raindrops in a pool, the occasional bittersweet minor tones of the Orient.

Flourishes and full of richness like a fanned peacock’s tail.

The beauty can be found both in the grander patterns and in the individual note, akin to the walls and individual tiles of Islamic mosaic.

Dulcet dulcimer, loved in Appalachia and medieval courts

Drone of fast-hit hammers, echoed by the tombak, causing trancelike buzzing content like the word ‘zither’. Dervishes.

1. Twangy scales of Japan. Pointed and exact but softened by this improvisational and reverberating medium.

Golden clad Indian jewels laid upon strong Arabic rhythms walking in. Solid & heavy. Persian melody lifts it back up with levity and grace.

Heart pangs with the lilting upper echelon strings.

1. ¼ notes medley like a kaleidoscope. Again into trance, like a cat kneading a pillow. Gently galloping fingers on the skin drum head. Legions of digital horses running softly through the desert.