June 18, 2024 – Montréal QC
We step onto the stones of Place d’armes, the summer sun beating down oppressively. The fountain with its statues is stunning as always, but the reason we listen closely and quicken our pace is underneath the trees where the shade gives a reprieve from the heat. There he sits, in his black T-shirt and jeans, with his gray hair falling over his eyes. What he holds propped on the ground is what has captivated us: a cello.
The piece being played is vaguely familiar and definitely classical, but it is hard to place. He continues to play and we discuss whether to request a number. His technique is most beautiful, with a perfect amount of tremolo. He plays a small part of Winter by Antonio Vivaldi. After another piece or two, I step up to him and ask about another piece, but he declines. Michael had suggested Canon in D, and I ask if he would play the well-beloved piece. The musician is most receptive to that selection, commenting that he won’t have to play the boring bass part. His speakers will fill that place, and he can play the other parts, which are far from mundane. They have wide-ranging high and low parts, with intricate fast notes and slow notes bringing lots of feeling.
The resulting experience that we are treated to is hard to explain. Many times, bowed strings bring out emotion in overflowing amounts!
Pachelbel’s Canon is such a beautiful, rich mixture of intricacies and slow chord progressions.
We walk away, reeling a bit from the experience (and thoroughly disarmed 😉) as we walk down into Vieux (Old) Port, toward Place de Jacques Cartier.
~Written on the train, Somewhere between Saratoga Springs, NY and New York City.
For glimpses of the Montreal unit life by Michael Peachey, visit: https://www.bonjourpeach.com
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