Of Musicians and Whales

The other night I was talking with a good friend from high school and our conversation turned to the wonderful times we had shared in band. That opened a flood gate of memories, and we reminisced about "Choral and Shaker Dance," "March of the Belgian Paratroopers," and the legendary "Of Sailors and Whales."

I'm sure everyone who was in band with me the year we played "Of Sailors and Whales" will agree that it was incredible. That five-movement piece based on Melville's "Moby Dick" had an uncanny power to penetrating your heart and suck you into the music. The song begins, like the book, with Ishmael, followed by Father Mapple, in which the band sings the mournful, yet hopeful strains of Jonah's hymn within the whale. The frantic fast-paced Queequeg was a technical challenge and a veritable adventure to play. And the angry, obsessive tones of Ahab paint an accurate picture of that crazed captain. With The White Whale as a powerful conclusion, the piece ends in a glory of resolved harmonies. Seriously, if you've never heard this piece, you need to. Right now.

Movements 1-3

Movements 4 and 5 (start the movie 30 seconds in and ignore the judges' comments)

Mmmm, wasn't that beautiful? Considering that I really did like the book Moby Dick, it means quite a lot when I say that I love this music even better than the book. I actually cried the day we had to return the music to this piece . . . yeah. 

And then there was always the holiday music: I loved the African-sounding "Imani," in which we also got to sing, and "Sleigh Ride" was always one of my favorites. And I'll always remember when we played back-up for Peter Brienholt as he sang "Edwin's Tale - 1862." That moving piece sung by a Civil War soldier never ceased to touch me. Then I'm sure Mr. Smith will not forget when he finally gave in to Patsy and allowed us to play "One Winged Angel." (There was actually a series of triplet quarter notes in that song that I quite liked and which somewhat redeemed the song in my eyes.) And I relish in the memory of the deep, dark strains of "Salvation is Created." And I'll never forget playing "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" at state my senior year. And of course there was "All Through the Night," the tap-dancing pigs of "In the Hall of the Mountain King," "Jurassic Park," "Jupiter," and a dozen others that touched my heart and soul. I feel that, when you are playing in a musical group with some of your closest friends who share your love of beauty, the power of music is amplified to the degree that it changes you forever.  

In addition to incredible, life-changing music, band also gave us the opportunity to forge life-long friendships and fond memories. I doubt many of us will forget Holmes, our trusty space heater that protected the flute section from the chill of the unheated band room, and the loving funeral we provided for him after he had been worked to death. Or our student teacher who would carry a banana in the front pocket of his shirt. Or the lunch times spent in the band room (or just outside of it, blocking the entrance in protest to being ousted from our second home). Those of us who went through band together share fond memories of frosting, moose (or meesen, rather), whiteboard markers and messages, and a slow but steady domination of the lockers by the flute section. Within the walls of that cold, musty band room, we created fond memories, inside jokes, and friendships that are still an important part of our lives.

As my conversation with my friend drew to a close, he told me that he had been in a class the other night in which the teacher asked the students to share one of the most pivotal decisions of their lives. My friend's answer: "Joining the band."

And I would have to agree.