The salon still lives!

It was last minute. My friends, the hosts of the musical "salons" I've been honored to play at for the past couple of years (read about them here and here), were having guests from Japan and thought they would like to hear some Celtic harp music.

 An international audience.

It was going to be a challenge, though...the guests didn't speak English. How would they understand what I was saying about the harp, the pieces I would be playing, the lyrics of the songs I would be singing?

No worries. My friends invited a professor from Gustavus to the event to translate. Between songs, I spoke slowly, clearly and tried not to use too much "lingo" - and it was interesting to hear how the translator managed to convey the concepts of the Irish bard, modal music and unique scales, and the different rhythms of jigs and reels. Some of my little jokes must have come across, too, because the guests burst out laughing after a few of the translations, just a few seconds after everyone else had laughed.

But it was the music that did the real communicating. They didn't have to understand the nature of the lament to feel the lamentation through the music. They didn't have to know the difference between a jig and a reel to start their toes tapping when I played them. They didn't have to understand the music of sleeping to close their eyes and be transported during The Gartan Mother's Lullaby.

And what we all understood is that new friendships can be forged, without saying a word. Oh, the power of music.