Tuesday Lunchtime Concerts

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I attended the weekly Tuesday lunch series concert on March 12nd, 2013. I had the privilege of hearing Karen Tweed on the button accordion, Timo Alakotila playing the baby grand piano, and Timo Myllykangas accompanying on the acoustic double bass. It was held in theater 1 in the Irish World Academy Building. The audience ranged from college students participating because of the requirement for this essay to seniors that came just to hear music.

When I walked in and sat down, I was curious as to what I was about to hear. The concert started off with just the piano playing legato, quiet music. After a few minutes, the accordion added in and played the same melody at first, but then it built into counteracting melodies. The music was so melodic and beautiful. It made you feel like you were in a dream and it made you anxious to see where it went next. Gradually, the piano started a background accompaniment as the accordion took the lead. The accordion player is so incredibly in love with music and you can see it when you watch her play. I truly believe it would have still been entertaining even if I couldn't hear the music. This song was written by the piano player, Timo Alakotila. He wrote it for his sister's birthday when they were young and didn't have enough money to get gifts. The name of the song translates to "The Luminosity of Snow". I would be honored to receive a gift such as that for my birthday.

The Second set of songs were Waltzes. The First waltz originated in France and the second one was written by the well known composer Chris Wood. When they started playing, I felt like I was back in Paris a few weeks ago. It sounded like the stereotypical music that can be found in movies when they want to reinforce the idea of the movie taking place in France. There was a lot of time changes in the pieces. It started off very fast then went incredibly slow. It repeated that one time. I'm not sure where one piece ended and the other began. Also, there was a very good use of dynamics throughout the song. The song would be at forte and then slowly change to piano. This developed unique character for this type song. My favorite part of this piece was when the accordion took the lead and used the buttons for chording while playing a melody. She must have had so much experience to be able to play the intricate melodies while chording and moving the accordion.

After these to beautiful sets, the bass play joined the other two musicians. The accordion player, Karen Tweed, introduced the new song. She goes to a music festival in the Shetland Islands a lot. It is a 10 day festival and lots of musicians from around the world are invited to play. They have them all meet on the mainland and put them on a boat all night to get to know each other and to get to the Islands. After all the festivities, they go back to the mainland the same way. One year she met an American bass player on the way back and they decided to go get some fresh air on the dock. She described the scene to us. The water was the most calm she had ever seen the ocean and all of a sudden a hole appeared in the clouds and a ray of moonlight showed down onto the ocean. The boat then turned and when right under the light. She wrote the next song exactly about that. The song is named "Moonlight Passage". The music started very slow, yet building. At first, the bass was simple and a bit sparing. He would play a few simple notes and then rest. As the song built, there was more bass and the song's meter started to increase. I'd imagine this part represented the moment when the boat passed underneath the ray of moonlight. Then toward the end of the song, all the instruments repeated a short riff a couple times in unison. That part of the song caught my attention the most.

The third song was a Tango. The pianist explained that there is a huge tango festival in Finland every year. The particular tango they played actually won the festival in 1992. At this festival, there are not only musicians, but there are also dancers. They would both perform at the same time. The music was very staccato, just like any tango would be. Hearing this type of music was a real treat for me because I have never heard it played on and accordion or even thought about it being played in such a unique way. The pianist used a lot of ornamentation in the piece and it was enticing just to watch his fingers fly up and down the keyboard even though it really wasn't an incredibly fast piece. Tangos are always fun to listen to and imagine dancing to.

The last set that was played was Irish Reels. They played three altogether. The first was "Road to Dingle" which was recorded at one point by Kevin Burke with the Murphy Brothers. At first the bass was not playing. The accordion and piano started off and the accordion continued to enthrall me. It must be a hard instrument to learn because there are so many things to think about while playing it. These songs were the only time that anyone moved during the performances. Irish music just does that to you. The accordion player walked around the floor and bobbed with the music. The songs started strong, then they backed off a little and slowly built up the music as it carried on. In the second reel, the bass player joined in with a bouncy rhythm. They finished out the reels very quietly, but they kept the same tempo until the last few bars, when the speed dramatically dropped off. I usually imagine reels being played with a violin and found the accordion a good addition to reels. It was also interesting that the song didn't stop abruptly but slowed down and quietly finished. All the Irish reels I have listened to before do not finish in such a manner.

All the musicians were highly talented and loved what they do, which was well portrayed just by watching them make music. My favorite song they played would have to be the ones the musicians composed themselves. I see it was a way to see into their heart. You learn something about a person when you listen to their music, especially when it is being played by them. I believe that after this, I will be going to all the lunchtime concerts for the rest of the semester.

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