Dear family, friends, and fellow travelers,
The song this cycle is In My Dream.
In Kiev, the horse chestnut, or kashtan, is widely planted and gives a unique vista to the city in April when it comes into its abundant, large, pink and white cones of blooms spread throughout the tree. They grow here in Maine as well, known also as Ohio Buckeyes - though we get the bloom later. Legend has it that the Russian tzar was going to come to Kiev and the tzar's gardener had the streets lined with kashtans which he was sure would delight the tzar. When he returned to Russia and told the tzar, the tzar, without speaking, made a disappointed face and the gardener in his fear raced back to Kiev and had the chestnuts torn out and poplars planted instead. The people, seeing the beautiful, abandoned trees, planted them in their yards throughout the city, where they bloom today. Some tellings of the legend note that a bee was circling the tzar and his grimace was from that.
I was awake this morning, before dawn, and found this little tune circling in my head. I had glimpses of the terrible losses that war causes and how, for a time, we may only have memories of what is good and beautiful, dreams, that somehow these must carry us forward. So this song and a quick recording just now. I so fear that we are headed into deeper and more cataclysmic warfare, even as we so urgently need to help each other home from the pandemic, the looming recession, the changes to our climate, the terrible inequality around the world. We need our dreams and we so need each other.
Here's a playlist of all the songs from all the newsletters.
I'm sending you a monthly offering from original music I've been writing over many years. I've been so bold as to add your email to my newsletter list. You can unsubscribe at any time (link at the bottom of the email).
Many songs are recorded solo, some are from different musical twinings from over the years - all are original tunes, with some occasional collaborations.
My best to each,
Brian
