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The best place to hear flute in Portland…

Posted on 5/1/2010 at 6:53:55 PM

… is unquestionably the Old Church.  I love playing there because for whatever reason, the room really does IT for the flute.  I mean, everything sounds great in there but especially flute!

So can you guess where we played a wedding today?  Yep, Old Church.  This was another ceremony with quite a lot going on musically.  Highlights:

• Particularly satisfying prelude music - again, the sound in there is so wonderful, and we played several of our more recently acquired and fairly up-tempo Baroque prelude pieces which are fun to play, and sound perfect in that environment.  It felt like we were giving a concert because most of the guests were there for the entire prelude.  I love that.
• Processionals were Bach’s “Jesu, joy of man’s desiring” and Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”; even though the groomsmen ended up in front of us so we could barely see the bride, we managed to pull of the timing without a hitch - yay!
• Unity candle: we played, by request, Faure’s “Pavane” - an unusual choice because many people find it too “sad” - but hey, there are about 2 measures of major-key action in there!
• An interlude song: I sang, with string accompaniment, “When You Say Nothing At All.”  I love this song.  The first time I heard it was at a 50th - yes, 50th - anniversary party.  It meant a lot in that context, and still does.
• Another musical interlude: Schubert’s “Ave Maria” - we played our instrumental version which features the cello on the vocal melody.  Mmmmmyummy.
• Recessional: “All You Need Is Love” and Oh Boy was that fun!  We had a wonderfully talented friend of the bride and groom join us for this one.  He sang it perfectly and played piano while we accompanied him with flute, viola, and cello.  It’s a hard song to learn, and he just nailed it!  I loved his voice and his style.

After that, we finished off with good ol’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” - what else can follow a Beatles tune but another Beatles tune?  It was a gorgeous day, and a really delightful wedding.  This bride and groom did an excellent job of putting together a spirited, meaningful, fun, relaxed, yet absolutely beautiful ceremony.  Here’s to an absolutely beautiful life together!

-S.