Solsticing in Harlem 2014

What does that mean? Don't I usually go out to the woods or burn the kitchen table trying to embody or capture the essence of what this time of the ending of reduced light means to me?

Yup, I usually do. But that doesn't mean I haven't always wanted to get in my car and join Paul Winter for this celebration. Every year since he has been pushing out his concert I receive the following type email:

Well this year, Peter was able to not only get tickets, but JOIN for the first time in 15 years (although we met a lovely older woman who has been traveling to this event for years who came alone from Cambridge, MA. She was so thrilled to tell us about the event before doors opened and then we met up after and walked for a bit with her. Caring, compassionate connections, I'm telling you this is the stuff of life. Doesn't need to be family or even familiar or sustained, just soulful and sincere).

What a treat! Paul Winter's Solstice Celebration. This Paul Winter:

Paul Winter and his beautiful saxaphone which he uses to create Earth Music. Idology is allowed for  us Pastafarians, and Paul is on my list. Seeing him live is also on the bucket list. More on Paul:

http://www.paulwinter.com/

Now as an atheist and a Pastafarian, you know I avoid houses of worship as a matter of course. But, as an architectural and acoustic wonder, this place drew me in.

The 4th largest Christian Church in the World!

Chew on these specs.: The interior covers 121,000 sq ft (11,200 m²), spanning a length of 601 ft (183.2 meters) and height 232 ft (70.7 meters). The interior height of the nave is 124 feet (37.8 meters). It was massive. And like churches we have visited around the world, it too had scaffolding and workers plying their trade of restoring the great sanctuary.

Let's get inside. We missed the tours, b/c as we learned when we got there= no regularly scheduled tours d/t the afternoon's event. We weren't sad b/c we got to visit Columbia U and a bit of Harlem (more on that in a later blog).

First sight, and a familiar one to us frequent fliers at MASS Moca. We went w/ the kids to see this amazing art instillation by Xu Bing- Phoenix,  2  six ton 100 foot sculptures. At MASS Moca it looked HUGE, and here it only covered less than half the space. This church is soooo big!

Oddly enough, here is a piece of cool coin-ink-e-dink on Xu Bing and his NYC history.  Xu Bing became an expat from China after theTiananmen Square protests and political climate change where avant-guarde artists were not in vogue anymore. Xu Bing came to NYC in 1990 and took over Ai Wei Wei's old studio, whose exhibit we just went to see in SF (see old post).

For those of you who don't know the story of the Phoenix or Xu Bing:

Tree of Peace Cranes, simply beautiful. 

There were some downright oddities in this vast space, and these were a few. We passed w/ quizzical glances, but then later remembered and realized we'd seen them before- they were also at MOCA. "Chairs" (2009)—a work made from materials left over from "Phoenix", an installation created from debris and other materials gathered from Chinese construction sites.

 Some photos just speak for themselves.

I even thought the tiles on the floor where beautiful!

But some things  left me scratching my head!

Then the performance began, and it was soulful serenity. A place I was so needing to be was right were I was. And Paul Winter's saxaphone worked on me better than a massage or chiropractor or physical therapist could.

 I adored this symbol tree! It was moved to center stage to be played and danced around.

 The cellist, Eugene Friesen was incredible and has been with Paul for the entire 35 years of solstice performances. Also, he wore a baseball hat which I thought made him one cool cat!

 From the program: Abdel Salaam, choreographer of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre collaborated the bomba performers in this event "in the spirit of Bomba, paying homage, through rhythm and dance, to the survival of the African heritage in the traditional culture of Puerto Rico."

 Their energy and spirit and dance was phenomenal.

 This brave little lady did a solo Irish step dance!

 Special guest Danny Rivera came with a cadre of musicians and dancers and here the dancers are doing a traditional Puerto Rican dance.

Beauty.

The entire ensemble after the show. Danny Rivera is in Red and the cellist has his hand on the shoulder of the a woman with a stupendous voice (which made me cry), Theresa Thomason. She and Danny sang several beautiful songs.

And finally, a taste of what we saw:

http://youtu.be/G5x3JyxNB1Q