12.47
Centro Spiritualita’ S. Lucia Filippini,
Montefiascone,
Italy.
The Sisters have assigned me the Teacher’s Room…
Through the sheers…
To the left is where the Sisters live…
To the right, on the bottom floor, is our kitchen, dining room & meetings rooms…
Alessandro the Good has invited me here to join the Rome Guitar Circle for two days in their short retreat. Several other visitors, of varying degrees of GC experience - from 17 years to nil – are also attending.
Rise at 06.30
Sitting at 07.15.
Breakfast 08.00
Introductory meeting at 09.15. Fifteen attendees in all, including Robert. Several people I have not seen before, and not all have been on courses.
Continuing with a guitar meeting plus Chapman Stick & harp. This is a first. Circulating in C major & C natural minor, with variant forms of both. Then to a trio of Mr.Stick, Ms. Harp & guitar in 7/8, and the other guitarists in 5.
A break for practising in 2 groups, then together again at noon. The electricity failed & Mr. Stick fell quiet.
In the break between meetings I had a sense of my own work in the next period. This requires a radical re-orientation of my professional life.
Challenge presented c. 12.40: a lunchtime performance for trio of Stick, harp & guitar.
14.10 An honourable performance by the trio, with a second presentation demanded by their lunching audience, one of whom very loudly & rudely sucked their soup during the playing.
Comments & two questions.
20.50
Tea at 16.00.
At 16.30 7 personal meetings covering a range of questions with & without guitars. Some of these hands I have been seeing for years, with little sign of change. Now, the possibility of change is becoming available.
A visit to the chapel at the top of the house. There is a beautiful energy within. The devotional aspect of the house emphasises the Holy Mother.
Intro to the morning sitting at 18.30 for those very much at the beginning of their practice.
Dinner late at 19.30. Two performances by the Rome guitar Circle & by the Trio. Mr. Stick’s electricity supply did not inspire confidence.
Some very good comments & questions over dinner.
Meeting with instruments at 21.15.
Al has received a ‘phone call from one of the Sisters praising our cleanliness, and attributing this to an inner cleanliness. This is a very high order of compliment.
22.10 What the generous Sister did not say, in addition to her comment on our cleanliness, was… by the way, your playing sucks, your time is awful and you don’t know C major for shit. Had she done so, no vow of truthfulness would have been violated & the good Sister would have demonstrated a surprising familiarity with the Hell Boys’ repertoire.
Meeting of inner & outer circles at 21.15. A scale, nominally based on C major, appeared & moved towards C unknown before collapsing into C impossible. One circle came together from the ashes of the preceding two & I left it examining developing variations on an Fm figure in 12/8.
Overall, through my eyes, a very good day in a House of abilities & experience more mixed & disparate than any GC undertaking I can remember.
"Hearing transforms sound into music."
