Sketchbook del acordeonista - Un dia en S. Orange; Le Sketchbook de l'accordeoniste - A Day in S. Orange; Der Akkordeonist der Sketchbook - Ein Tag in S. Orange; Akordeonista w Sketchbook - Dzien w S. Pomaranczowy. This improvisation reflects upon a day spent visiting South Orange, New Jersey in 1974, some 39 years ago. I had just left my 4 year tour of duty with the US Air Force and needed to procure some services in this urban area. After leaving my car with a local service agency on Valley Street, I walked over to a small park to admire the urban landscape and to enjoy the adventures of the day. The railroad tracks ran right next to the park and added a sense of intense drama to the overall ambiance of the city. I walked to the main street (Route 510) and spent most of the day there, admiring the pleasant atmosphere of this neatly laid-out town. Throughout the day I sensed the pulse of the city, the sounds of traffic (trains, buses, cars, trucks), the busy boulevards, the cafe/ restaurant environments, the leisurely crowds walking along the streets. Here was the pulse of a thriving urban core, where one might chance to hear a thousand rhythms, textures, patterns and unique registrations. I felt a surge of notes & chords within my very being at the notice of this haven of commerce & transportation.
The patterns and the rhythms are reflected in the pulses of this music, where sequences seemingly continue in perennial fashion, moment after moment, episode after episode. Yet I also felt the unusual dichotomy between the urban landscape of South Orange and the rustic beauty of South Mountain Reservation, a forest preserve just to the West of the city, running North to South.
What a wondrous environment of juxtapositions, the city's urban intensity vs. the tranquil charm of the forest! South Mountain Reservation unveils a rich tapestry of natural splendor at places such as Hemlock Falls and Black Rock Falls, entirely different from the density and lively atmosphere of the city's interior. At certain vistas, you could look to the West and see the beguiling beauty of the low ridge of hills stretching out before your eyes, almost suggesting the regal setting of royal palaces and European chateaus. On a clear and pleasant day, the sights could be somewhat breathtaking.
This music is an impressionistic reflection upon the rhythms which I heard on that rather remarkable day. Most of the descriptive patterns here relate to the urban landscape, not the forest preserve. I felt that I had described many of those memories in the previously posted series of improvisations entitled "Baltusrol Impressions," based upon experiences enjoyed on Baltusrol Avenue in Springfield.
Performed upon my vintage Iorio accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMH configuration.
The patterns and the rhythms are reflected in the pulses of this music, where sequences seemingly continue in perennial fashion, moment after moment, episode after episode. Yet I also felt the unusual dichotomy between the urban landscape of South Orange and the rustic beauty of South Mountain Reservation, a forest preserve just to the West of the city, running North to South.
What a wondrous environment of juxtapositions, the city's urban intensity vs. the tranquil charm of the forest! South Mountain Reservation unveils a rich tapestry of natural splendor at places such as Hemlock Falls and Black Rock Falls, entirely different from the density and lively atmosphere of the city's interior. At certain vistas, you could look to the West and see the beguiling beauty of the low ridge of hills stretching out before your eyes, almost suggesting the regal setting of royal palaces and European chateaus. On a clear and pleasant day, the sights could be somewhat breathtaking.
This music is an impressionistic reflection upon the rhythms which I heard on that rather remarkable day. Most of the descriptive patterns here relate to the urban landscape, not the forest preserve. I felt that I had described many of those memories in the previously posted series of improvisations entitled "Baltusrol Impressions," based upon experiences enjoyed on Baltusrol Avenue in Springfield.
Performed upon my vintage Iorio accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMH configuration.
Google Earth image of a small park along Valley Street (Route 638) in South Orange, New Jersey.
This small gallery of Google Earth images gives a good overall impression of the South Orange environment and neat urban character of the commercial and residential districts one might see in a typical day of shopping or visitation. Several views here indicate the beautiful wall of green trees to the West in the vicinity of South Mountain Reservation. I can still feel the pulse, patterns, and rhythmic spirit of this area in the moment of my artistic recollections.
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