A House Near Luccoli by DM Denton

I love the stories in history that wait patiently to be lifted out of the shadows, offering room for the imagination to balance between the known and unknown; stories that are fresh and fascinating, about someone or something obscurely rooted in the past which, with attention and nourishment, might grow and blossom into enlightening entertainment for the present.

In 2002, while driving to work, I was fortunate to be near enough to the Canadian border to listen to CBC Radio 2, specifically a program called In the Shadows. The show highlighted the lives and works of artists—mainly musical—who for a variety of reasons had been largely ignored or forgotten. One morning a 17th Century Italian composer, whom I and obviously many others had never heard of, was featured. His music was stunning: fluid and melodic, with clear expressive vocals and distinct instrumentations. His story was replete with romance and intrigue, triumphs and tragedy, like an opera drawing on the divinity and failings of gods and men.

By the time I pulled into the parking lot at work, I knew why I was listening. I “knew” Alessandro Stradella. I recognized his distinct voice, his swaying form, his infectious smile, and his wandering heart. I had witnessed the rise and fall of his talents, how his music had showered him with forgiveness if not fortune. I spent the rest of that morning and many hours more in pursuit of him, my writer’s urge “to do something with him” easier stirred than accomplished. He was so little on the pages of Google searches and music histories; a desire to create something significant out of my interest in him was soon frustrated and abandoned.

It wasn’t until 2005 that I returned to Stradella as the novel subject I was looking for. The timing must have been right, for “suddenly” resources, although still not in abundance, were easier to find. As I read my costly used copy of Alessandro Stradella, the Man and his Music by musicologist Carolyn Gianturco, I found an opportunity for imagining my way into his story, focusing on his last fateful days in Genoa—not to change history but quietly humanize it, not merely to appreciate a great musician but personalize him, to reveal the ordinary in the extraordinary and the significance of the insignificant. Equipped with specifics and speculation, a growing CD library of his music, and a fictional female protagonist stepping out of my own hopes and disappointments, I was ready to begin.

A House Near Luccoli is a novel of chance encounters, beautiful music and the paradox of genius, focusing on one of the most legendary and undervalued figures of Italian Baroque music, Alessandro Stradella. Published by All Things That Matter Press. It is set in Genoa 1681-1682.

It was published at the end of August (2012) by All Things That Matter Press, a small publisher based in Maine.

My Website: http://www.dmdenton-author-artist.com/
My Blog: http://bardessdmdenton.wordpress.com/

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Crestmont by Holly Weiss

Perhaps you have heard the saying, “Barn burned down, now I can see the moon.”  I hated it when I first read it. Why? I was immersed in a barn burning in my own life. Post-polio syndrome, a condition that effects people infected with polio virus as children, often returns when polio survivors reach the age of fifty. The poliovirus infected me in 1952. Well-meaning doctors encouraged polio survivors to push past the muscle weakness and paralysis. I became an expert overcomer. I received degrees from college and graduate school and went on to a successful three-decade singing career. When unrelenting back pain presented itself after every concert five years ago, I had to retire. In addition, to conserve what little energy the post-polio syndrome left me with, I was forced to cut in half other activities in my life. I grieved for years because my voice, my primary means of creative expression, had been silenced.

Then, bing! On a lark, my husband and I stayed overnight at The Crestmont Inn in the Pennsylvania Allegheny Mountains. Our room was a luxury suite converted from a staff dormitory built in 1926. I envisioned what life must have been like for young people working a summer job at a bustling inn. Then I recalled this quote:

“Another opportunity is given you as a favor—and as a burden.

The question is not:

Why did it happen this way? or

Where is it going to lead you? or

What is the price you will have to pay?

It is simply:

How are you going to make use of it?”

…Dag Hammarskjöld.

We can be so entrenched in our idea of we want for our journey that we ignore God’s guidance in the turning of corners. He had to hit me over the head with a two-by-four to show me to leave my singing behind, write a book about The Crestmont Inn, and make use of what life handed me. One voice led to another.

Although I had never written a book before, a wonderful experience opened before me. I set the novel in 1920s Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. Researching the history of the real Crestmont Inn enriched me. My music inspired me to imbue Crestmont’s main character, Gracie with the desire to sing. A Native American legend says that the Great Spirit flooded Eagles Mere Lake out of anger. I gave that a different twist, wanting to set the tone of grace around which Crestmont is built. In my novel, he cried tears of forgiveness. The eagles joined their tears with his, both mingling together to gently fill the lake called Eagles Tears or Eagles Mere.

Because grace had moved me past a sad impasse in my life, I wanted to emphasize its concept in the novel.  Crestmont main character, Gracie (purposefully named) is a courageous young woman who knows she needs to leave home to find herself. She’s not sure how she will work it all out. Allowing herself the opportunity to fulfill her desire to sing is uppermost in her mind. She says, “A dream, after all, needn’t be fueled by particulars, only desire.” Did Gracie become a famous cabaret singer? You’ll have to read Crestmont to find out. One thing I can promise you is that she found a spirit of acceptance and grace at The Crestmont Inn.

Writing was a natural progression from singing for me. Every song requires a different persona—a unique character the singer develops to make the song real. Inventing characters for Crestmont was an adventure I was well prepared for after thirty years of creating them in song. Violinist Itzhak Perlman said “Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”

I am thankful that one voice led to another—the voice of a singer to that of an author. I loved every minute of the writing. The characters of Crestmont revealed their stories to me in imaginative ways and I thank them.

Several years ago my barn burned down, but magically, now I can see the moon.

Holly's Website : http://www.hollyweiss.com/

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A Song in My Heart by Roma Calatayud - Stocks

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY:

Answers to this question from an interview by Billy Watkins from the Clarion Ledger Newspaper: June 18, 2011

Q: What are your earliest music memories?

A: My mother played recorded classical music every Sunday, which exposed me to various musical styles, but waltzes were my favorite.

Q: What appealed to you about orchestral music?

A: The music from composers around the world, the abundance of sounds, counter melodies, and when the main melody is repeated and performed by varying sections of the orchestra, giving the musical motif of the composition a different arrangement and emotion.

Q: Will you tell us about your book and where the idea came from?

A: It is about the life of Alejandra "Ale" Stanford who's born into a bi cultural family in Minneapolis in 1902. As a young pianist and budding composer, she resolves to become a conductor despite the obstacles. She will travel to the great cities of the world in pursuit of her goals.

The idea for the story was born in 2002 when I was producing a concert for the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association. As the creator and artistic director, I selected the composers and the musical program. Then, it became clear to me what a privilege it would be to be a conductor and interpret the music of legendary composers.

In the early 1900s most of the musicians and all conductors were men. I thought "what if a young woman's dreams of being a conductor is at the core of the narrative?" That was a story that had not been told.

Q: This is historical fiction. How much of it is true?
A: Most everything around the characters' lives is true, from the debut of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, to World War I, to the Roaring Twenties.

All of the pioneers, composers, conductors, artists, dates, places and institutions are also real. What is most surprising and interesting is how the true historic time line fell almost perfectly with the fictional storyline.

Q: What is the message you want to convey?

A: It was important for the novel to be entertaining, yet written within a compelling period in history that people would enjoy.

A Song in My Heart highlights the contributions of many cultures and dozens of institutions, individuals, artists and composers from the U.S. and other countries through music and the arts.

I also wanted to convey music's relevance in our lives. And while there may be challenges in a person's life, anything is possible with conviction and determination, regardless of the odds.

The protagonist Alejandra "Ale" Stanford who faces many of life's challenges, is herself a virtuoso pianist and budding composer. The original soundtrack that accompanies the narrative serves to provide the protagonist's own creative and emotional expressions through music during pivotal times in her life.
 
A Song in My Heart is book one of a trilogy, and I look forward to completing the second book "Striking the Right Note" which begins in 1933, Berlin, Germany.

A Song in My Heart, A Historical Novel, Including CD with Original Musical Score written and composed by Roma Calatayud-Stocks. The musical score, with fourteen songs and instrumentals with classical, jazz, and Latin influences, to A Song in My Heart was composed by Roma Calatayud-Stocks and arranged and performed by Chan Poling and other excellent musicians who are listed in the book.

On a personal note, Roma serves as a trained volunteer docent at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center, and also volunteers for Minnesota’s Vocal Essence’s Cantaré Program and MacPhail Center for Music.

Blog: www.WhyTheArtsMatter.wordpress.com

http://www.RomaStocks.com

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