Tea With The Mad Hatters

La La La La Ba La Da Da Da...

My harp teacher and I were discussing Spain. Carlos Salzedo was a harpist who came to America from France, hoping to be the machine mulling the industrial world of harp. And he was. He created revolutionary methods, creative sounds, and brought with him the ancient music of the spheres. Here, he also met Lucille Lawrence, 22 years his junior (they met when she was 6), who he took under his wing to become a virtuosa in harp with her own feathers.


The Suite of 8 Dances includes Tangos, Polkas, Seguidillas and more so people, in a time without ipods, could hear a sample of the different styles from across the sea. He had spent a long time composing, remembering his childhood's tuneful mumbles to discover some melodies. In the end, he dedicated every song to his lovely wife Lucille, who wasn't impressed due to these songs being not the little snip its as she had desired.


And how do you play a Tango of this nature? Fierce, Fiery and Suave? As my harp teacher was explaining, in Spain, a man is small, but has the presence of none other. In the Tango, the woman is fierce, she knows how to spotlight the presence and the style. But the man always wins. He leads her along all the while.

Should I play the man or the woman?