Chatter Sunday for a Crabby Man

Another Sunday morning. Music, an Americano coffee, poetry, homemade ginger snaps, oatmeal/cranberry cookies. I do love a Sunday morning motorcycle ride to Chatter, a 50-Sundays-a-year music and poetry performance in downtown Albuquerque, NM.

SCHUBERT

ERNST

The first piece today was a spirited violin performance, Grand Caprice on Erlkönig, created by Heinrich Ernst, performed by Chatter organizer David Felberg. Ernst based the piece on Franz Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig,” which was itself based on a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the tragic death of a child whose father rides his horse like the wind to escape a supernatural being, the Erlking, who is coming for his boy. I believe the story is an allegory for grave illness taking the boy. The piece we heard today was a very stirring solo violin rendition of Heinrich Ernst, who is considered a master of the violin, the outstanding violinist of his day. It’s a great piece for Chatter’s master violinist David Felberg, who is very passionate in his playing. The piano in Der Erlkönig itself is worth searching for a performance of this hair-raising piece. The motif shows up in the violin piece but with less of the effect of foreboding and dread. Grand Caprice, less edgy, is however much more energetic, at least as it was played today.

Johann Wolfgang von GOETHE

Joined by Luke Gullickson on piano, we were further treated to Moments Musicaux of Schubert, and a Violin Sonata in A major (1817), also of Schubert. Felberg and Gullickson rocked the piece.

The poetry (spoken word) part of the morning was unusual, consisting of not only poet John Barney, but also Levi Brown on percussion, Lisa Donald on cello, and Charlotte Leung on saxophone. John Barney is an illustration artist, sketching the performances most Sundays, except when he is performing. The cello and saxophone coupled with his poetry I thoroughly enjoyed, but the masterful percussion, although appropriate enough to the poetry, I did not enjoy as much.

Which I also say of the two pieces in the program of contemporary German composer Helmut Lachenmann. The first piece, Toccatina (1986), is meant to be played very softly on violin, but the building’s heater system made listening very difficult, on top of the erratic nature of the composition itself. The other piece, Ein Kinderspiel (1980) was easier to hear due to the piano, but not really worth it to me. It seems typical of modern compositions which tend to defy any sense of melody, perhaps meant as primarily intellectual exercises, and not for anyone’s emotional enjoyment. I do not enjoy such music; I find it annoying, even if I can recognize the musician’s expertise. Music, in my opinion, should move me in some way, not be simply annoying, or even when melodious, not be played without even a hint of emotion.

But that’s just my opinion. The rest of the program was excellent.

Arriving home, I decided to use some of the pure “jumbo lump” Chesapeake Bay blue-crab meat that was delivered to my door yesterday. It was so fresh and flavorful that I felt like I had caught the crabs and steamed them myself just prior to picking out all of their meat. The crabs had been lightly steamed under pressure, picked, packed on ice, and shipped immediately. It was hard not to eat the whole pound at once. But I managed to save 2/3 of it. I used another third to make one large crabcake for myself because I do like hot and crispy crab sometimes. I fry them in vegetable oil covered by a heavy lid so that I do not need so much oil. Originally, crabcakes were flash-fried in deep fryers, and often now they are baked, but I prefer them oil fried. They must be fried in very hot oil, quickly, so as to have a crispy surface, but a hot center of fresh spicy meat.

I added an egg, a crumbled slice of bread, some hot mustard powder, a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, Old Bay seafood seasoning, garlic powder, a dash of baking powder, and a modicum of milk (to soften the stale bread or breadcrumbs). it was delicious, and a perfect addition to a great morning.

Up next Sunday will be Kim, Mozart, Montgomery, Herrero & Armenteros, Belgique, Fuerst, and Neal. And, no I do not know any of them are except for Mozart. Neither do I know the musicians: Barth, Voglar Belgique, and Gordan, or the poet Cat Reece, but I’m always open to new things and people. Being open doesn’t mean I will like the music or musicians, but I may.