A Tuning the Air Journal
Saturday November 14, 2009 – The Sherman/Abel Wedding
We began arriving about 5:30, with the plan to begin the music a little after 6pm. We were the Performance Team (minus Taylor, of course), plus Christina and Greg. Tony was on solo 12-string. The circle was not actually circular – the facility did not really work for that. Instead we were in a very slight arc, going up a ramp behind the folks seated for the ceremony. Tony was stationed just to the left of the celebrants, and lightly amplified. Ian was at the whims of public transportation, and arrived just as we were about to go on.
Because we were in an arc, we elected to circulate with return rather than trying to complete the circle in a situation where hearing was going to be difficult, and sight lines unreliable. We stuck with major keys, and kept it simple, as the guests arrived and began to find their places. Our aim was to set an atmosphere, rather than draw attention to ourselves. As the ceremony was about to begin, we modulated to Bb Mixolydian, setting up Tony’s first piece. For the prelude, during which the wedding party entered, we circulated as Tony played. Then Tony moved to the Processional for the entrance of the Bride.
For the ceremony we remained in place. Fortunately, it was not very long, so standing still with guitars was not a burden. A lovely and moving ceremony. At the end, Tony launched into the joyous Recessional as the wedding party made its exit. Last to leave was the judge/celebrant, who invited the guests to move to the reception area for cocktails, and on that cue we launched into Brasil, 3 choruses, with half-step modulations. We had kept the length open, to be called in the moment. Three choruses seemed sufficient, which was good because in rehearsal the 4th modulation was where things tended to come unglued.
Very generous applause, and we moved back to the “green room”, circled up to complete our contribution, packed away our guitars, and made the transition from musicians to simple wedding guests. Music for dancing would be provided by a DJ.
A terrific event in every way.
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Thanks for this take Curt! I just spoke with Judge Hurtado. He really enjoyed this part of the ceremony...I think he's been telling many people about the sound that was created by the circulations. Hopefully, he will come to the show on December 17. The DJ was also completely enthralled. In the back, he kept shaking his head with his hands on his hips. Mary Beth
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