Dinner party went well. Old friend, Frank Kane (whom some may remember from his sojourn in MPLS 25 (years ago) brought some fabulous cheese, called St. Félicien~- one of those wondrous, runny French ones that you eat zith a spoon. Frank is doinig very well: bingin up his two children, now aged 13 and 11 and working as a free-lance translator as well as giving workshops on singing and sound, on the continent and the UK. He recently acquired a British passport (his late mother was Scottish), so now he has triple-citizenship: American, French, and British.
Mozart Reqieum was glorious, as one would expect. Especially notable was the bass-baritone, an African American right out of central casting. He had the body of a Sumo wrestler and the voice of Paul Robeson. he also sang at Mass on Sunday morning: a duet of "Oh, What a Beautiful City", with a tenor; and "Deep River", accompanied by the "Cole Porter piano". (This is a unique, old Steinway, unusual in that it is decoratively painted - like an 18th C. harpsichord. Porter owned it and left it to the Cathedral)There is something satisfying about these classically-arranged Spirituals; sung with authentic Jazz intonation - bending the thirds, and improvizing some of the harmonies.
I came to Thiais (SE suburb; just east of Orly, of airport fame) to visit my old friend, Jean-loup (our AFS student in high school and my reason for visiting France as often as I have done). We had fun talking about old friends, philosophy, and polkitics. He made a delicious steak - a cut called hampe; He says it come from the knee of the steer, and that it is usually kept by the butcher. I cqn see why. One of the best I have tasted: cut very thin, but completely jicy and flavorful.
Now back to Suresnes to get ready to go to Barcelona.
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