Anvil Chorus.

Did we hear the Anvil Chorus at Deer Hill Mine? July 14, 2007.

On July 2007 we climbed to the Deer Hill Mine in the White Mountain National Forest in Stowe, Maine. Somebody owns this claim within the national forest. We think that it may be my brother's landlord. He recently purchased my brother's rusted Explorer for off-highway mining use in Western Maine. No matter. We were with a tour of the Oxford County Mineral and Gem Association's 46th Annual Western Maine Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Festival. A youth group was also there from the Gloucester, Massachusetts area. They are also a very mineral rich area. I have swum in at least three of the quarries on Cape Anne. The mine is a working mine. There was a crew working with an air compressor, jack hammers, air drills, a shovel, and a dump truck. As soon as the truck dumped a new slag pile, the amateur miners attacked it with a vengeance. Thus my idea of incorporating a new version of the anvil chorus in my Evergreen Valley musical.

The road up the mountain to the mine was difficult. The road was essentially washed out gravel, roots and boulders. It was steep and the weather was hot. My tools, on loan from a friend, rode up in the four wheel drive truck while we climbed. I don't know how those vehicles made it. I don't know how I made it. I know that I saw a filthy chair at the top and promptly sat in it. I am too old for this sort of activity.

I promptly changed to the only other shirt that I had in my knapsack, a sweatshirt on a near ninety degree day.

Three pound hammer, chisel, mosquito net, knee pads and all, I mined. I took home a few rocks. Please note that the sweat shirt was an artifact from the Opera Company of Boston. I had seen the anvil chorus on stage as conducted by the late Sarah Caldwell. I shall never forget it. It was tremendous! More about my idea for an Evergreen Valley musical. On Friday, July 25, 2008, eight days ago, we saw the world premier performance of "Lighthouse" at the Waldo Theatre in Waldoboro, Maine. I was immediately inspired by my long vacation at Evergreen Valley. I remembered the scenes, my pictures, the issues, all of it. I had a nearly sleepless night. All of the scenes jived and connected. The tensions were there, the stresses. I was writing lyrics, dialog and humming music. It is here some place in my heart. I hope that I haven't forgotten it. I do need assistance. I am not a lyricist. I am not a composer. Nor a musician. My keyboard is broken. The old Hammond organ is cumbersome. And I am lazy and have very little fire in the belly. More pictures:

Another favorite picture of the Deer Hill Mine.

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