2 lane black top

[mlr]

I went to Albuquerque & Santa Fe for a quickie trip on Sunday - back late Tuesday night. Before the internet, before bears, before I had income to spare, I went to New Mexico religiously. First to Santa Fe - for the mountains & hiking, for friends, for the opera, for the food, etc. Then later to Albuquerque, while my friend Philip was in residency and fellowship there. Somehow, my road trips to anywhere have been gradually replaced by flights - thus my travel to the land of enchantment has greatly diminished.

I went this time for a day and a half of an organ convention (in both cities), and to have lunch and catch up with Jo. The organ events were surprisingly good: 4 organ recitals and 3 choral concerts. Daniel Roth played Sunday evening at the Episcopal cathedral in Albuquerque. Quite stunning. After the intermission, he concluded with the Widor 'Symphonie Romane'. The thought of sitting through a composition like this in my 20s would have had me bolting - a piece so clearly belonging to the aesthetics of the late 19th century. But somehow now, I can listen to something like this and become quite involved - granted it requires a truly gifted and amazing musician, and an amazing instrument and acoustic environment. But if everything lines up, like it did here, it can take your breath away. All of the other recitalists (including Stephen Tharp) were excellent. Of the choral groups, I enjoyed De Profundis the best. They were probably the most amateur of the 3 groups, but the easy rapport they had with each other, the lovely blended sound they made, and the very sensitive and intelligent program they sang moved them to the top of the list.

I miss New Mexico. I miss Larry's Hats in Albuquerque, I miss green chile being an option on every menu. I miss the mountain pastures. I miss the small funky towns that seem lost in time. I miss the harrowing 2-lane-blacktop drive back to Texas on Highway 104 - the way it slowly descends from the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the plains, the ways the skies change over and over, the way the dramatic thunder storms quickly rise and fade.