The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:
It’s been an honor to play for many weddings and funerals and to accompany solo singers and to play for one-of-a-kind special church celebrations, including the Methodist Bicentennial Celebration at Old Rehobeth Church, May 1984.
I’ve participated with other musicians in several programs at the Union Library and Ames Clair Hall, and have played the pump organ for programs at the elegant red brick Baptist Church on Main Street (it was originally the “colored” Baptist Church but services are no longer held there, and it’s owned now by the Monroe County Historical Society.)
After a long period of research, Jean Cowder wrote an excellent play, The Women of Monroe, and it was performed twice at Ames Clair Hall during Monroe County’s Bicentennial year, 1999. Four songs were written for this play: “The Girls of Old Monroe,” “This Old House” (not the one we knew in the ’50s), “Redbud,” and “Pagan.” I accompanied the soloist on a piano. Paul Theissen, a conductor from Germany, wrote the music; others wrote the words, and it was my challenge to decipher Paul’s handwritten chicken scratches.
Everybody’s music notes look different, just like everybody’s handwriting is different, and there’s only one right answer to “what note is that supposed to be?” It can be found by playing and listening carefully to a questioned note; this will clarify hard-to-read places and reveal the writer’s intent.
Having a knowledge of chords and what the correct notes are in the key of the piece makes deciphering easier. When sure of every single note, most of us round out someone else’s hand-written notes in ink so the music is more legible for playing. So, I rounded out all of Paul’s notes before I was sure I’d feel confident performing it and that none of it would be ambiguous.
A lot of unseen and unsuspected work goes on behind the scenes in music performance besides the practicing. But we love it all.
To be continued…
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee (1931 – 2024) built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
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