This was one of the first times that I have very little memory of my actual playing. Did I get into that magical zone where you become the music. How did this happen? As Doug and I talked that evening and the following day, my euphoric bliss was still evident. Doug wondered if my trip to Scotland had allowed me to tap into those visual images and energy that is unleashed in the music. That made sense, and was one of my goals from my travels to Scotland.
I was also wondering if the significance of 9-11 played a role. As I was leaving my hotel in Somerset, other hotel guests were leaving to attend memorial services only a short distance away where United Airlines Flight 93 had crashed. As I gave my introduction for the song “Will Ye Go Tae Flanders?”, I was amazed at the intensity of emotion that swept over me. This song from the 1700‘s explores the grand dream of going off to war and the reality that ensues. This felt very close to the events that unfolded after 9-11 and continue still.
The risk in talking about all of this- is that it was, somehow, a fluke. And I don’t want it to be a fluke. I want that heightened emotional impact that I felt to happen again and again. I think people in the audience felt it too. I want this experience to get repeated. Lots.
