Ports of Call

50 years ago I visited Dallas for a week in August. I'm not sure hot adequately describes it. Anyway, i bought a $10 painting, unframed at some market and it looked roughly like this and I framed it and shipped it back to Michigan via Greyhound bus (we did things like that then).  It took three weeks to get it home and cost $4.00. A memory for detail - meaningless detail at that.

Anyway, Jacques Ibert wrote this three movement piece, Escales (ports of call) about a trip he took by boat to Valencia, Tunis and then to Rome and wrote a movement of each piece based on those cities.  

70 years ago, my sister came back for Christmas after her first year of college.  She brought this record with her and I played it until I knew every note.

I liked my painting a lot and always associated the dry heat, the colors (and not Dallas) when I bought it, my mind raced back to that living room floor, listening endlessly to the amazing nuance and feel of this bit of music.