What would music be
without the saxophone?
Yet few have heard of Adolphe Sax.

Then what of Federico Bolognese
and his cantante del vento „Ÿ
singer of the wind?

The strings and winds are like two peoples
who speak the same language
but rarely congregate

except in formal, prearranged meetings.
Bolognese, their match maker,
joined them in a loving embrace

from which he created the cantante.
Breath blown over strings,
their shudder amplified,

altered, as the ear transforms
aerobic energy to sound,
this is its mechanism.

But how to speak of its soul?
Can one describe the voice of a cello,
compare the timbre of flute and oboe?

It is a whisperer
of forest secrets in the night,
duet of sun and moon

to the beat of sidereal time,
a wind rising over dawn water,
laughter of a woman in love.

back to top

send comments to info@poetrybay.com

first electronic copyright 2000 poetrybay. 
all rights revert to author