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Water Music in Astoria
Despite the
cancellation of the Festival, two intrepid travelers bring |
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| Photo by Bertram Barth | |
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When Bert and Dorothy Barth first visited Astoria, Oregon in glorious July, 2007, they were enchanted. With fantasies of making Astoria their future home, they took in the sights of the town and the river and met two very helpful Astorians. One, a long-term resident of the oldest home on the walking tour, graciously encouraged them to return in February. Then a writer who found them playing their recorders in the alcove of the Liberty Theater (to no one in particular) seconded the suggestion to visit again in February, since there would be a Handel Festival. He even pedaled back to his apartment to bring them the program. What a wonderful coincidence, so February it would be! Imagine their surprise when, one day before their departure from San Francisco, they came across a January article in The Oregonian announcing the cancellation of the Handel Festival! Undaunted, they came, bringing ebony soprano and alto recorders and two books of Handel's music. They purchased a music stand in town, and noted, sadly, that the alcove of the Liberty Theater would not be a suitable venue in the February rain. But thanks to the wonderful people at Godfather's Books who on one day's notice provided a venue, they were able to keep the sounds of Handel alive that weekend. If you were passing by the bookstore between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 9, 2008, perhaps, mingled with the rain, you heard some water music, or even some royal fireworks. |
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Bert and Dorothy Barth at
Godfather's Books
UPDATE: A
version of this article appeared in the February 22, 2008 Daily Astorian |
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