40 Years Ago. Leitz Elmar 50mm

Yesterday, I had a What'sApp video call with a friend and fellow musician.  We have not spoken for almost forty years...  There has been the odd birthday greeting, the odd observation on FB, nothing more.  Back in February, E told me that that she had booked to fly from South Africa to attend the annual Bachfest in Leipzig, a week of shoulder-to-shoulder concerts celebrating the music and life of Johann Sebastian Bach.  This year, the organizers had arranged a blow-out event, since 2023 is the 300th anniversary of JSB being hired as the Cantor of the Thomaskirche.  E seemingly attended everything, and texted me each day with her concert and tour schedule.  I felt as if I were there with her.  My Editor and I attended Bachfest back in 2003, so it was easy to imagine the excitement of being there for this amazing event.  The festival came to an end after a week, and I said, Don't you think we should catch up on the last few decades when you're back home?  And so we did.   We scratched the surface, and promised to do it again.
This turn of events sent me into my archive to find a series of photos which I took back in 1983 at rehearsals for the concerts which we gave regularly back then.  They were taken with my Dad's Leica M2 with the standard Leitz 50mm Elmar lens.  This old image of our little ensemble, the first in South Africa to attempt playing "old" music on the correct "old" instruments, was an exciting experiment for us.  I had recently completed a copy of a 17th Century Italian virginal, and this was its debut concert at the German Lutheran San Martini Church in Cape Town.  That instrument followed me to Boston, and I related the story here of my decision to rework it into a piece of furniture  The project took nearly two years, and I published a portrait of the completed cabinet here.  Today's old image completes the loop, from the virginal's musical beginning, to its completed metamorphosis.  My reconnection with E ties the tale’s final knot.  As an Extra, I offer a portrait of her breathing life into the keys.