Stolen Fire: Hilary Hahn/ Josh Ritter: Guilty!

Stolen Fire: Hilary Hahn/ Josh Ritter: Guilty!
By Albert Justice
Published: Jul. 18, 2007 at 11:02 PM

I find it both ironic and eery that beautiful
beautiful peace loving historic Quaker
inspired Guilford College's Dana Auditorium, was
the scene of this crime. They are Guilty!
Guilty I say! The proof follows.

July 17th at eight in the evening, a very mixed
unsuspecting crowd assembled at Guilford
College's Dana Auditorium as part of the
Eastern Music Festival. Little did they know
that their hearts would be layed open raw, as
Hilary Hahn and Josh Ritter both literally and
figuratively stole fire from the Gods, and, made
them like it. Disgraceful.

Young girls and old softies would be enticed
by Josh Ritter's opening folk songs, that was
not unlike the rare four of four star rated by
the "Rolling Stone" Tom Rush lyrically. Knowing
exactly how to break the ice, the coy, calm, cool
Josh Ritter was setting the stage for this crime,
as Josh's last song relied on the eternal "Last
Rose of Summer", evoking the equally powerful
image of a rose. Despicable! Oh yes, the plot thickens.

Showing the true connection between folk and
classical, the pied piper two would then deploy
lovely Ms. Hilary Hahn to finish off the poor
people, with a direct poignant example of how
Ernst interpreted Variations on "The Last Rose
of Summer" classically. These partners in crime
were playing pre-meditatively--I'm sure of this.
I will convince you of this.

Josh Ritter would rest the crowd before intermission
with a beautiful song: "The Blue Flame". But their
plotting and nefarious ways were not far behind.
And I think the rest may have had other motives.

I'm sure of their intentions because next Hilary
Hahn finished off the call to battle with the most
beautiful rendition of Bach's "Sonata for solo
violin No.2 in Am" imaginable after intermission.
Every note, every phrase, every vibrato was
perfectly intoxicating, rich, balanced, resonant
and God inspiring beautiful.

Or was it really God invoking and provoking? I
think you see the picture of their plot too,
as well as the intention of Josh's previous rest.
They were using the crowd, drawing them in,
for an epoch battle with Prometheus.

Sadly but tellingly, Hahn even warned the crowd
sort of. "If you don't like violin, you should
leave because for the next twenty minutes....",
as she played Bach. A pin drop could be heard. A
silence fell on the auditorium unmatched throughout
the entire evening. I could feel the entire group
melting. Of course nobody left--they were completely
mesmerized, completely.

Diva Hahn would truly begin the epochal battle
playing Ysaye's "Ballade"-I think a test to ensure
the crowd was present and ensnared in what would
happen next, by adding complex "abstract"
substance to their evoking of the Gods.

Hahn then reversed order of examples by interpreting
Erlkonig:Ernst's "Caprice for Solo Violin", after
Franz Schubert, Op 26. Even further drawing the crowd
in with her description of the four voices present
in the piece, the War was about to begin.

Josh Ritter boldy, even courageously stepped up
and shared his interpretation of the same Ernst
piece from Schubert, entitled as a direct translation
"The Oak Tree King", without so much as a flinch.

Josh's images were bright and lucid, and he told
the story in the true spirit of storytelling, but
in song in his most brilliant animation of the four
voices. The God's would soon show their displeasure
at Josh's sharing of eternal secrets.

The battle between Greensboro North Carolina and
Prometheus was just beginning though, you can be sure
of this.

Paganini's "24th Caprice", finished off the crowd who
had had their hearts melted with Hahn's interpretation
of Bach. Now the Gods tried to fight back!. Thunder
and lightening erupted loud war dances just above
Dana Auditorium as Hahn played Paganini. (True story)

One poor soul who was still trying to compose himself
from her Bach, displayed what seemed a maniacal grin,
given swollen eyes and a defeated embarrassed countenance
hoping nobody could see this defeat, as all hades
broke lose outside and Paganini filled the hall inside.
Translation: 'ee-hah.' These two showed no mercy friends!.
No mercy at all... They are guilty I tell you!

But after defeating the Gods, and involving the
entirety of Dana Auditorium, Hahn stood with her
foot on Prometheus' chest as she played
"Paganinians" for Violin by Milstein, bringing
Everyman's de Tocquevillian journey into the
present.

And Josh Ritter courageously stomped his feet right beside
Prometheus' right ear, by having the audacity to
accompany Hahn with classical guitar in Paganini's
"Cantabile" as an encore, quite beautifully--his first
attempt at that form.

Knowing they were defeated, the Gods quieted the
thunder and rain enough for the poor unsuspecting
victims and witnesses of this epochal adventure to return peacefully
to their hamlets and hollows.

There was an intoxicating and knowing spirit of intrigue
as survivors left, as if next time the
Gods themselves, would induce future wars of phenomenal
beauty, skill and interpretation of life itself. And
it will all be Hilary Hahn's and Josh Ritter's fault.
They are guilty!

Storytelling at it's best!. Brilliant. Exhausting.