A Festival Moment

Following a miserable, rain drenched drive to Tanglewood Tuesday night to see Tony Bennett, with five minutes till show time, I was wondering how a performer about to turn 83, could possibly have enough left to move anyone beyond the nostalgia of it all. Within minutes, however, Bennett had me and everyone else in the audience in the palm of his hand as he crooned, whispered and belted his way through the American songbook. During the final note of Maybe This Time from Cabaret, a shiver shot up my spine and I was reminded about the power of song to stir the soul.

Yesterday afternoon, after a mind blowing performance by Tuvan throat ensemble Alash at St Anne's Churchyard, friends and I hung around for the singing and song styles workshop. Joining Ayan-ool Sam from Alash were African American acapella group The Brotherhood Singers from Kentucky, blues singer Trudy Lynn from Texas, and honky tonker Sage Guyton from California. After each act performed individually sharing styles and influences, (Ayan--ool Sam speaking through an interpreter), it was suggested they try something together. Someone from the Brotherhood shouted out Amazing Grace. Once the key was agreed upon,Trudy Lynn started singing the plaintive melody; Sage Guyton worked out the guitar chords; the Brotherhood Singers supplied some four part gospel harmonies. What happened next was a festival moment for the ages. After sitting out most of the song, Tuvan throat singer Ayan-ool Sam, with a nod from the Brotherhood, began the eerie, low pitched drone of his Siberian ancestors and then simultaneously started to sing the melody to Amazing Grace with the others supplying the back up. Maybe it was the spontaneity of the moment. Maybe it was the melding of cultures and histories. Maybe it was simply the churchyard setting in the heart of the city I love. But as the song hit its climax, for the second time in a week, a bolt shot up my spine again as the unworldly sounds filled the air and I was reminded of the power of song to stir the soul, and more importantly...to communicate. I wasn't alone. As the song came to an end, the mesmerized audience, realizing they had just witnessed something very special, jumped to their feet in appreciation and admiration as the musicians on stage smiled from ear to ear, none bigger than that of Ayan-ool Sam. Amazing!