A Note From Forest Halls
by Jane Valencia

...Crossing paths of time
Under vaulted branches
Into forest halls
Clear and cold the night

	- from "Into Forest Halls"

Years ago, my harp partner Deb Knodel and I rewrote the words of an
old French carol to create a song that would lead and our audiences
into a deep magical forest -- a space sparkling with music and woven
with myth.  Animal tricksters gathered to dance in the moonlight and
to tell their tales, the Forest Lady spread her grace over a winter
grove, and a folktale version of real-life harpmaker Jack Yule pieced
together the music of the forest wood into a magnificent harp for the
Green Man.  Now, living on a rural island in the Pacific Northwest, writing 
under a red cedar tree, and sipping a "wandering tea" that I created
on my walk to this spot (dried lavender from my kitchen, mint from the
playhouse garden, cedar and fir needles and trailing blackberry leaves
gathered along the way), I feel that I do indeed live in Forest Halls.
I live within a magical reality.

And a musical one.

As I grow in awareness to the shifting of the seasons in the forest,
to the sounds and silences at any hour, and to how one's presence is
deeply felt by the forest community, I glimpse how each of my choices,
each my actions ripples outward, creating music or cacophony, silence
or a starkness as heartless as concrete can be.  Winter is the time of
reflection, of turning inward, when the beings of the forest move into
survival mode.  I'm trying to slow down as well, attempting to listen
more carefully to what the earth is chanting to me.  Is that a
celebration song, or is it the blues?  Where do I hear a song of
honoring, and where is it the keening of grief?  

This listening extends to my communities--to those I'm a part of on
the island, and those who remain a part of my heart: family, friends,
and yes, Harpers Hall.  In slowing down with the season, I'm turning
more to those melodic and harmonic threads that have added so much
color and richness to my imaginative and cultural life.  I may live a
thousand miles away, but ways must exist in which I can resume being a
vital part of the Harpers Hall community.  We'll see what I can dream
up in here Forest Halls--after all, according to our story "the Forest
encompasses everything, to the horizons!"

It was a true pleasure to take part in November's Gifts Of The Harp
concert, and to experience again the magic of Harpers Hall, not to
mention the delicious goodies at the end!  Thanks to all of you for
inviting me back, and for giving Deb and me such a warm welcome.  It
felt great to play in the Harpers Hall ensemble once more, as well as
to "do our thing" on stage.

Perhaps the paths connecting our spaces in this Forest are not as
far-wandering as I've allowed myself to believe.  May we meet again soon
in Harpers Hall!