- Playing
- Linda's Gift
- From
- Catherine Girardeau
People deal with grief and loss in many different ways. "Linda's Gift" tells the story of my struggle to cope with my mother-in-law's terminal illness through an obsessive search for a violin -- an instrument that matched a sound stored in my memories. The story reveals how losing my childhood music teacher a few months later made the violin part of my healing.
Aired on May 22, 2004 on PRI's "Public Radio Weekend" (now called "Weekend America").
Licensed by WYSO Antioch University Yellow Springs, OH; aired 5/9/05.
"Linda's Gift" won a Silver Reel award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, 2005, in the Personal Essay category.
The story could be pegged to Mother's Day; stories about music; and stories about grieving and loss.
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Piece Description
People deal with grief and loss in many different ways. "Linda's Gift" tells the story of my struggle to cope with my mother-in-law's terminal illness through an obsessive search for a violin -- an instrument that matched a sound stored in my memories. The story reveals how losing my childhood music teacher a few months later made the violin part of my healing. Aired on May 22, 2004 on PRI's "Public Radio Weekend" (now called "Weekend America"). Licensed by WYSO Antioch University Yellow Springs, OH; aired 5/9/05. "Linda's Gift" won a Silver Reel award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, 2005, in the Personal Essay category. The story could be pegged to Mother's Day; stories about music; and stories about grieving and loss.
2 Comments
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Review of Linda's GiftThis is a great little piece, being at once entertaining and intelligent. It recounts in a light, literary manner the narrator’s search for a violin that will reproduce a specific sound—a sound that has been hauntingly playing in her head. She compares searching for a violin to looking for a true love. Impressively, this comparison really rings true. She is looking for something that will complete her and fulfill a certain nostalgic ideal born from childhood. Most musicians feel that their instruments are living things. It’s a kind of mystery that I’ve always suspected can only be really grasped if you are a musician; but his piece helped me to see how each instrument can be unique and alive, possessing its own personality and history. For Catherine Girardeau each violin is, in its way, The Red Violin. |
Broadcast History
Aired 5/22/04 on PRI's "Public Radio Weekend" (now called "Weekend America", distributed by American Public Media).
Licensed by WYSO Antioch University Yellow Springs, OH; aired 5/9/05.
"Silver Reel" winner, NFCB awards 2005.
Transcript
Linda's Gift - TRANSCRIPT
5/4/04
Catherine Girardeau
Earprint Productions
415/821-4264 h
415/794-1374 cell
catherine@earprint.com
In the past year, I lost two mothers - my mother in law and my music teacher -
but found a voice.
Let me explain.
I developed an obsession during the months before my mother-in-law's passing. My husband was away, most days and many nights, helping his mom through cancer treatment. When he surfaced, for a meal or a change of clothes, his exhaustion and grief filled the house. We couldn't seem to connect. I felt like I was losing not only my mother-in-law- but my husband too. Everyone and everything I'd ever missed haunted my dreams. I desperately needed to gain control, to reclaim something I had lost.
So I began to search for a violin.
I'm an amateur musician - I'm lucky if I can find ten minutes a day to get out the violin and practi...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Total piece length: 00:07:27
Musical Works
1. Tin Hat Trio, CD Title "Helium", Track 10, "Esperanto" (composed by Carla Kihlstedt)
(Angel, CDC 7243 5 56935 2 5)
Mark Orton - Guitar, dobro, tenor banjo
Rob Burger - Accordion, paino, pump organ, harmonica, marxophone
Carla Kihlstedt - violin, viola
2. Cassandra Wilson, "Blue Light 'Til Dawn", Track 1, "You Don't Know What Love Is. " (Blue Note, CDP 0777 7 81357 2 2). Charlie Burnham, violin.
2. Regina Carter, "Paganini: After a Dream", Track 8, "Excerpt from Alexandra" (composed by Regina Carter). (Verve 440 065 554-2)
3. Stephane Grappelli, "One on One, With McCoy Tyner"
Stephane Grappelli, McCoy Tyner; "St. Louis Blues"
(Milestone #9181)
4. Iva Bittova, "Iva Bittova", Track 6, "Ples Upiru, or The Vampire's Ball". (Nonesuch 79455-2). Iva Bittova, violin and vocals
5. Catherine Girardeau, “Catherine’s Blues” (©2004 Catherine Girardeau)
Additional Files
- TRANSCRIPT (LINDASGIFTTRANSCRIPT.txt)
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Posted on May 21, 2005 at 10:11 AM | Permalink
Review of Linda's Gift
A gem! They say a mother's voice can heal. Tightly constructed and powerful up until the moment the last notes fade out, this is a love letter to two mothers who've found different ways to make grief go away.