My love of photography can only be surpassed by my love of
music. This video combines these two
pastimes of mine into a project that I’ve been working on since 1968. Back then I was in the Navy and stationed in Sicily, Italy. Prior to entering the service I was a
music/drama major in college. After
studying voice and acting (like many music majors and drama students) I came to
the realization that my choices were really limiting me in what I would be able
to do in life… so I volunteered for the Navy (like my father and grand-father
before him did). I wanted to see more of
the world and grow up and figure out what I really wanted in life.
After being stationed in Sicily
I continued to take voice training and being in Italy, I fell in love with Italian music. I had been in Sicily
for about a year or so when in 1968 I was spending a weekend (which I did often) in Taormina. On that particular weekend I heard a song
that was sung by an Austrian named Udo Jürgen... The song is an adaptation of “Adagio in G
minor” by Tomaso Albinoni… originally written around 1708 then tucked away in
Dresden until the city was bombed in February and March of 1945 by the British
and American Air Forces…. The people of
Dresden had
evacuated and preserved most of its cities music collection and shortly after
the war a guy named Giazotto's purported discovery of a tiny manuscript
fragment and recreated the long forgotten music of Albinoni. I was sitting in a restaurant and the
recently released song was played in the background. The song rattled around in my brain for 44
years when I decided it was time to do something about wanting to sing the
song. I had purchased a 45 rpm recording of the song after hearing it that first time.
It took months of searching and finally I found someone
(Rene Jocharde of Austria)
who knew the song and he (through Facebook) contacted me and sent me a German
version of the sheet music and then later the translation into Italian. From there I contacted someone (Chad Pippin
of Modesto) who arranged for me to make a recording of the song. Yvonne Thompson (whom I’ve known since 1975
and who is one of the best pianist I’ve known) recreated the feel and tempo of
the song. Chad Pippin added acoustic
guitar and strings to the background, and I was off to the recording studio to
record what had been on my mind all these years. By this time 45 years had passed from the
time I first heard the song until I was able to make this recording at age 67. My version of the song was for my family –
however, after hearing from many people that they liked the song and wanted me
to post it, I made a version mixed with photos that I’ve taken (rather than the
version I did with me singing that I did for my family) and this is the
result. I enjoyed finally being able to
finish this project after so many years.
I hope you enjoy the video with photos.
Thank you for taking the time to listen and view the photos.
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