Die nacht ist vergangen .. the night is gone

Little fiddlers on the Circle

Like a habitual early bird, I arrived in the City way too early for our dinner engagement, so I walked around and took lots of snapshots. You see here four young proteges performing before the bustling Columbus Circle evening crowd. The youngest of them looks like she barely got out of kindergarten.

They stole my heart; they made beautiful sounds and some good money too.. the violin case wide open in front of them and the smiling audience tossing dollar bills in appreciation was a sight no one could miss.

We all know or must have heard that NYC streets are lined with starving artists displaying their art pieces or musicians and mimes performing their talents competing with all the noise underground.

These four kids are a budding example of the world of talents not known to many of us. Admirably, they are also led by the hand by their parents or guardians to the concept of entrepreneurship. These are the future risk-takers. So, next time you walk the streets of NY, drop a dollar or two into that hat or bucket, the encouragement you give these kids will be priceless.

Stern Auditorium Carnegie Hall

Taking the risk of having my camera confiscated by the ushers, I blatantly disregarded concert hall rules consequently resulting to this blah image. Serves me right, you'd probably say. Oh yes, I was warned and that made Celine cringe!

On this very stage, about 150 students of the Mannes School of Music which make up part of the 300-member Mannes Orchestra, and another 100 or so members of the Riverside Choral Society performed Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, opus 52 or Hymn of Praise.

It is a celebration of German church music which is reminiscent of the sacred music that is in Handel's Messiah or Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and his other cantatas. The tenor, and the two sopranos who led the way to the uplifting performance are all masteral students at the Mannes School but in my judgement there was no trace of amateurism in their voices.

Awed by the 10 vocal renditions by the soloists, the choir and the young musicians, we allowed ourselves to be taken away for a few minutes to a world only the heart can describe. We spoke in silence all throughout, agreeing in some sort of way, with an occasional quick side glance at one another - my niece, my friends and our guest Linda, Judy's sister. What an experience money can't buy!

By the way, Linda hit it off right away with this fellow we sat with at the crowded Whole Foods Market dining area where we grabbed something quick before the concert. He was tagging along with his partner on a business trip to the City and just loving it. It surprised me that he feels safer in Manhattan than he does in his home San Francisco. Well Linda, I'd say he's a good catch if you're not happily married. He is in the commodities trading business which sounds so lucrative. Did I hear he plans to buy property in Upstate NY? There you go Linda your home is in Buffalo right? Just kidding.

The 7th movement, The Night is Gone (or The Night is Departing), seems to have gotten stuck in my mind. As written in the text:
Die Nacht ist vergangen, der Tag ist gekommen. The night is gone, day is come.