and herein lies the long

and herein lies the long version that wasn't printed, the first of many short versions that weren't printed, and lastly [the one in bold] the one that they finally accepted.
i am still bereft of words on the matter.

If Kristina Forester were a country she would be Spain. If she were a city, she would be Prague. If she were a cloud formation, she would be shifting back and forth between a stratocumulus and those thin wispy ones that seem to drift endlessly from one world to the next. If she were a poet, she would be e. e. cummings. If she were a Greek myth, she would be Leda and the Swan. If she were a painter, she would be Chagall. If she were an animal, she would be a gazelle. If she were a stone, she would be an enormous piece of amber, holding the wings of ancient butterflies. But Kristina Forester is, after all, none of these things. She is a woman who plays the cello, and her playing will touch you. It will show you the wooded pathway that leads to eternity. It will hold your hand gently, and may even seduce you, as you stumble to your knees; skin to earth. The sound she makes is the sun on your back, crashing in through branches and spilling light onto your childhood memories. Her powerful breath of notes is completely irresistible. Her movement of melody is the dream that you’ve had a million times, but cannot remember when you wake. It is the taste of longing upon your tongue. It is everything you‘ve ever known. It is eternal.

Yes, yes she has played with great and famous musicians. And she has studied at the most prestigious of places; and she has had the fever. The urgency that only music can give, causing her to sit for countless hours, her wondrous hands caressing the strings at arms end. She is constantly looking for and finding new meaning in the spirit of her instrument, as she defines its life, and it defines hers. The answers are in the places in-between. But she knows this. The places where stillness breathes. The places where mystery is found. The places where the two worlds come together; the merging of this life and the next. What a perfect guide through the unknown: the sounds of cello at the hands of a truly brilliant player. Alas, she will remain forever.

And you are invited.

And you are there beneath the open sky, watching the colors spin and blend and twist and turn. A whirlwind of echoes in a dance of light. The northern lights. The lights at the end of the earth. The curtains of your soul rise and fall, leaving delicate crimson petals in their wake. Scarlet red. Mysterious. You hear the sound of strings breathing their languid, painfully lamented, whispers into your blood. Oh Kristina, what is this glorious language that you speak?

She is currently embroiled in a project called Above The Orange Trees, whose music is a celebration of life in the face of ever-present mortality. Their world is that sweeping, lush, sound that captures even the most dour of us, and opens the heart unabashedly. You may find more of her there [www.abovetheorangetrees.com] lingering in the shadows and dreaming of days in the French countryside, as birds dance overhead, the sound of a million cellos’ ghosts at play in the wind. An oak tree, standing strong. Effortless.

Kristina resides in The Bay Area, where she cultivates a sometimes bombastic garden, and attempts to manage the eccentricities of her three cats. She believes in magic and adores the unpredictability of existence. At night, when she sleeps, her dreams are lucid and elaborate and strange beyond belief; and she remembers them all in the morning, much like you will remember her. Big, big, love.

#2. Kristina Forester and you are there, beneath the open sky, watching the colors spin and blend and twist and turn. A whirlwind of echoes in a dance of light. The lights at the end of the earth. The curtains of your soul rise and fall, leaving delicate crimson petals in their wake. Scarlet red. Mysterious. You hear the sound of cello breathing its languid and painfully lamented, whispers into your blood. Oh Kristina, what is this glorious language that you speak? Alas, she is a woman who plays cello, and her wondrous playing will touch you. You may find more of her at www.abovetheorangetrees.com.

and finally...
Kristina Forester studied at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and is currently embroiled in an ensemble called Above The Orange Trees. She has performed with an extensive list of players including Fred Frith, Wadada Leo Smith, Jeff Pitcher, Joan Jeanreneaud [of Kronos Quartet], and Alan Parsons. This is her fourth production at California Shakespeare Company, where she will play both a standard acoustic, as well as a 5 string electric cello [made by Jensen] with guitar processors. You may find more of her work at www.abovetheorangetrees.com, leaving delicate crimson petals in its wake. Scarlet red and mysterious. Eternal.

oh why oh why must i clutter your mind with this?
because i am obsessed.

Posted by at August 22, 2002 09:47 AM

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