Sunday afternoon

Last sunday, yesterday, was the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Good Shepard center.
The program invites us to "come back to 1907".
1907 was when Good Shepard opened as a home for "wayward" girls, and I think that, in spite of the horror stories they write in novels about that sort of thing, that is was a good thing and helped many unfortunates to a better life.
It's not that today, today it's for artistic purposes.
Which, I guess, is sort of similar.
I was there because my composition teacher, David Mesler, was playing a piano recital of music from the period.
Such as;
"The Village Bells" by Stephen Foster
"The Dying Poet" by Louis Gottschalk
"The Wild Rose' and "From the Depths" by Edward MacDowell
"The Caissons go Rolling Along" by Edmund Gruber
"The Whistler and his dog" by Arthur Pryor
"The Teddy Bear's Picnic" by John W Bratton
"Elite Syncopations" by Scott Joplin
And the piece de resistance;
"The Alcotts" third movement of Charles Ives' piano sonata #2

The Ives I had heard two weeks ago at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, played by Jeremy Denk. Mr Denk played it like was a rocket ship, with lots of passion, and even a touch of sturm. (maybe some drang, but I don't know what that is).
Mr Mesler played it in a style more appropriate to the era being celebrated. You could hear the rythem of the times in it. Laced up ladies, Model T Fords and the like

The laced up ladies were delightful. Wearing vintage clothing from Good will.
I wouldn't want to make a law about it, but I wouldn't mind if women dressed like that today. I don't mind girls walking around half naked, but some of them shouldn't
However, that kind of clothing is uncomfortable and even a bit unhealthy. (see the opening minutes of the hilarious British film "Stiff Upper Lips")
So, liberation is a good thing in many ways.

Also on the program was the "Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band", a marching band that plays sitting down.
They even have a majorette who performs her batonnerie in a chair.
They played Marches by J.P.S. and others
They are from Ballard.
I am sort of from Ballard.
There ya go.

To any of those to whom I've compared Charles Ives to P.D.Q.Bach;
It's not that I think that Ives is silly or incompetant, it's just that there is a certain naivete that colors that entire period of history.
We had cars and airplanes, but we didn't have World War One yet.
Just as now, we have this wonderful computer internet thing but have absolutely no inkling of the incredible disasters about to befall us.

George Antheil was seven years old in 1907.