James Strecker Reviews the Arts

1.Christmette by Praetorius and performed gloriously by the Gabrielli Singers led by Paul McCresh is one of my go-to CDs whenever I want to feel pure, uncluttered joy, although, ironically, I gave up on both Christianity and Christmas decades ago. It’s strange that not long ago I rhymed off to a fundamentalist I know a substantial list of favorite music that happened to be Christian in its leanings – none of which she knew. I remember when I first heard the Mass in B Minor during my first trip to Rome a century ago, I was spellbound and carried the echoes of the Kyrie in my mind for months afterwards. And this work by Praetorius, at least in the recording by McCresh et al, fills my heart and if I knew the words it would do so with my lungs. As soon as I hear “Ein kind geborn zu Bethlehem” in the Introitus and later “Lob sei der heilgen Dreifaltigkeit” I feel a real inner peace and don’t even think to remember how the Fundamentalists supported evil Donald Trump.

2.Film India with Pandit Ravi Shankar brings to mind the Satyajit Ray films in which the music here, written for films like Pather Panchali and The Music Room, helped create an otherworldly atmosphere – although Pather Panchali decidedly shows the poverty and grime of this world. The day I once met Ravi Shankar for an interview, he asked “What is your name?” to which I responded “James” at which he delightedly replied “Ah, James Bond!” Relevant here is how he described the impact of technology’s needs on traditional Indian Classical music. An alap can go on for twenty minutes but in the scene of a film he’d be allowed twenty seconds perhaps, and even with very long ragas the 78 rpm recordings could last only 8-10 minutes on both sides of a disc, so compromise was the name of the recording game, like it or not. I looked hard for this CD, since I’m always aware of Shankar’s mood-developing music when it appears in films. Moreover, I’ve loved his music for decades on sitar and the playing of Ali Akbar Khan of Sarod even more. I once interviewed Khan, a man that Yehudi Menuhin called “the greatest musician in the world” as well, and we sat on the edge of someone’s bed in Mississauga smoking cigarettes!

3.Stimmung is music for six voices by by Karlheinz Stockhausen and it is performed here by the group Singcircle, who are most adept at producing vocal sounds, often unexpected and unusual, to some, of many varieties. It is “a long-form exploration of vocal harmonics for six vocalists and six microphones. The entire piece is based on a low B flat, from which the vocalists spread out harmonically using overtone singing.” Also, “over the course of the performance, the vocalists are singing meditations on numerous deities from the all over the world, interspersed with various spoken ‘recitatives.’” It’s quite impossible to convey in words what one is hearing, let alone commenting on it, but I’ve had a copy of Stimmung to hear for decades, although my wife insists that I not play it when she is in the house, since it drives her nuts. It does, however, have the effect of causing a trance for me, I find, and in places it can bring on inner giggles.

4.Hard Luck Stories: Richard and Linda Thompson collects all the recordings that this highly regarded duo made before their famed separation with Linda kicking Richard in the shins on stage on their last tour. Hers is a haunting, profoundly wistful, and emotionally-measured voice, while Richard is one of the most creative guitarists on the planet, a compelling singer, and an inspired and genuinely creative songwriter who doesn’t get the wide appreciation he deserves, one that others of better-selling and contrived reputations achieve. I say much more about Richard in a review of his concert elsewhere on this blog, so let it just be said that it’s a pleasure to have their collected recordings – some of it, the Hannibal recordings, previously so hard to find. Let me add that I once did say to Richard that if I needed music for my funeral (but I certainly don’t plan to have one) I would ask for his original recording of Dargai, an instrumental that in its simplicity does speak volumes.

5, 6, 7.Three solo instrument CDs I play and give in to often are (5). Britten Solo Cello Suites played by Jamie Walton; (6) Horowitz in Moscow; and (7) Satie Piano Works, including 3 gymnopćdies and 6 gnossiennes played by pianist Anne Queffélec. I discovered the three Britten Suites one late night driving from Toronto to Hamilton and loved then, as I do now, their well-aimed economy of musical methods and ideas in developing both atmosphere and narrative. I once gave a copy to an actress friend who was playing it when visited by the concertmaster of the TSO and apparently he was quite impressed. The Horowitz is another constant listen since I saw the DVD of this same performance in which Martha Argerich comments that no one plays Chopin’s Mazurkas better than Horowitz. I saw Horowitz in person only once, an afternoon (of course) concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall during which he did his Carmen Variations. At one point he hit a deliberately odd note which caused me, in this reverential and very silent audience, to laugh HaHa out loud, at which Horowitz smiled his famous impish grin. As for Quefélec’s much loved recording, j’aime quelquesfois d’être très languissant ou flétrissement comme le coeur de Satie.

JAMES STRECKER: If, before the COVID crisis, you were asked for 50 words to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you have said about your purpose and creations?

MARGARET LINDSAY HOLTON: I’ve been active in the local, national and international arts community for over 40 years through a variety of disciplines – Canadian fine furniture design & making, painting, writing, experimental photography, and short film works.

Essentially, I am offering my vision of ‘how I see the world’ from this exact point – in Time and Space – on this, our amazing home planet. This has been my job.

JS: If you are asked today what you are doing in the arts and what your purpose is, what would you say?

MLH: My purpose and activity have changed very little over this past year. I am still offering my point of view. The only difference is the gentle insistence, at times, that others re-consider their own relationship to our finite planet. Why? Because we can see that Mother Nature is hurting.

It behooves all of us to see ourselves as caretakers of the planet for future generations, not just continued takers of Earth’s limited resources. Everyone can play a part in this much needed transformation.

The pandemic was a poignant wake-up call. As the human world stood still for weeks, then months and now a year, it was very telling how the polluted skies cleared, other species began to roam freely on land and sea without fear of exploitation and the delightful sounds of nature could be heard once again. It was marvellous to see, hear and behold. It also underscored, not only our prior unthinking dominance of the natural world, but a genuine opportunity to reinterpret our singular breath-taking relationship to our home planet.

JS: What exactly are your biggest challenges today as a creative person?

MLH: Early on, I recognized the value and necessity of aligning the vibrant creative spirit with rigorous hand-eye-mind-heart work. Artists can build on historical precedent and improve the quality of life for others through their individual expressions, be it painting, crafting, writing, or film-making.

I’ve never subscribed to the dystopian ‘horror’ or Armageddon interpretation of ‘where we’re at’. I just don’t see the point of amplify this kind of Doomsday thinking in or through the arts.

There’s no question that, as a species, we’ve made terrible, near irreversible, errors by exploiting and spoiling our essential Life Support system, aka Earth.  The one element that does distinguish us though from other Earth-bound species is our capacity to innovate solutions. Today, the material and abstract sciences are aligning with the more potent creative spheres to combat our own self-destruction. Rather than being the on-going problem, we CAN all rally to find sustainable solutions.

JS: How has living with the pandemic affected your creative life?

MLH: In truth, not that much. An artist often produces their best work in isolation from others. I’m no different in that regard.

During 2020, I did align with a voice artist, local actor Jens Hansen from Beamsville, and sound engineer, Craig Watkins, to produce an audio version of my third novel, TRILLIUM, first published in 2018. We did all the work remotely and transferred audio files back and forth via computers until I was satisfied with the final product. The 14.5-hour TRILLIUM audiobook was released towards the end of the 2020 via iTunes and Amazon.

TRILLIUM is a timely tale of life on the Niagara peninsula over a period of 250 years. Starting in the mid 1750s, a young British foot-soldier, Tom Hartford, crosses over the wild and majestic Niagara River and decides to settle under the Escarpment brow near what is now Beamsville, Ontario. Two other diverse families intertwine over time with his, in this “epic” story about resilience, deceit, love and hate. TRILLIUM is about the stuff of human life. It paints a broad picture of an evolving community through major technological advancements, (i.e., the horse, to the car, to the plane – and from the smoke signal to literacy to tele-communications.)  Underneath these life-altering advancements remains the human heart and mind.

Other than that, I’ve been working on several other written and visual projects that should reach maturation within a year. It’s just what I do and have always done. One project at a time.

JS: How have you changed as a person and a creative artist since COVID became a significant factor in your life?

MLH: Not much at all. I am very conscious of following the recommended guidelines to protect others during the pandemic. And, touch wood, I have not been afflicted by COVID or any other debilitating disease during this ‘lockdown’ period. I did break my toe, but I can’t blame anyone or any other circumstance for that. It was just my own stupidity for not watching where I was going!

JS: What important beliefs do you usually express in or through your own work? How have these changed?

MLH: Central to most of my work is the thought or belief, that we, as a species, are just a small part of a much greater whole. As conscious beings, we have been able to articulate who and what we are through the assorted skills we manifest, as example, through architecture, or, as another example, transportation. This conceptual framework has not changed as a result of the pandemic. I still believe this, and just hope that others will begin to realize it too – be it via philosophy, religion, science and/or the arts.

Clearly, most are now aware, that humanity really is not, (and never has been), the centre of the universe – even though it is this very distinct ‘humanness’ that does give us the ways and means to ‘be’ in and on the world. The pandemic has given us pause and a huge global opportunity to re-consider our role within a much larger multi-verse. It’s been humbling, even devastating at times, yet also profoundly encouraging too.

With a realignment to emerging ‘alternate’ perceptions, we can move forward, (not backwards or downwards or even sideways). We, globally, collectively, locally, have an amazing opportunity now to build on what has preceded us to manifest an alternate path ahead.

As this transition continues, as the ‘old ways’ are understood for what they have both given and taken, we are being called upon to reshape ourselves, our cultures and our civilizations for a more sustainable future. We can do it.

Humanity just has to give up one little OLD thing – hubris.

JS: Please tell us about the projects that you are working on or will soon be working on and why they draw you to them.

MLH: I am currently collating a collection of short stories, essays and poems for an anthology that I hope to release under my own artists’ imprint in the fall. This material has lain dormant for quite some time in my writing box. I feel the time is ripening to share these thoughts and imaginings.

Well-chosen words can ignite others and cross-pollinate ideas.

Aside from that, I have just ordered another roll of canvas and hope to create new large canvases over this year in response to several lucid and tell-all dreams I’ve had over the past three months.

I’ve spent a lot of time during this past year considering the ‘screen environment’ that envelops us all. We can barely function now without some device in front of our eyeballs or at our fingertips.

Increasingly, most are aware that manufacturers of these devices want to keep us there – trapped. But we’re getting smarter too. We are using these tools now – (as much as they continue to use us) – to independently research, explore, investigate and expound. We are done being their consumer guinea pigs: we want these tools to serve us better. More are demanding just that.

Keep at it – for the betterment of all – and future generations.

JS: Any advice for other creative people who are enduring pandemic conditions?

MLH: Do your chosen work with conviction and determination. Do not give up or give in. Be who you are meant to be. Be your Self. And, when at all possible, ease the pressure on others who are feeling the strain, the seeming hopelessness of it all. Bolster them with words of encouragement. Give them inspiring and hope-filled literature or mind-expanding scientific links and tracts to read. (Example: Heard of the advances in thorium use? Google it!) Offer them soulful music to listen to. Encourage them to create from their own inner-beings. Help them adjust to the planetary transition that is upon us.

Above all, do your caretaking with love. Do your chosen work as well as you can.

MLH Book links: https://linktr.ee/MargaretLindsayHolton

MLH Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrillLINDSAY

MLH Website: https://canadadaphotography.blogspot.ca

MLH Music: https://canadada.bandcamp.com