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Sepia Saturday- Accordion, A Piano Recital And A Family Of Musicians

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Sepia Saturday is hosting this weekend with theme: Chess: Games: Musicians which made me think of my late father's accordion among other music mementoes.  That is my father, the late Hans Werner Bulchmann from Hedemuenden, Germany. People possibly remember him with his skill in playing the accordion and the piano. I remember he also played the accordion when he guested in a town fiesta here in the Philippines.


                                    Another photo below is him with his accordion while entertaining a guest at home. The photo was taken at our apartment in Bonn- Bad Godesberg.


 The next photo is also of my mom just posing with the accordion. No she didn't play any music instrument.

Photo below was of me in 1979 at a piano recital in Holy Family Academy, Baguio City where I went to a sort-of boarding school as a third grader.


The photo below is of a family of musicians with surname Musick from Hahnenklee. Circa 1960. 
And glad I found a note at the back of the photo, handwritten by my mom which reads: "Christmas in Hahnenklee with the Musick Family. All their 7 children play different instruments as their mother is a piano teacher. They have an appropriate family name, Musick, as they can play real music. This picture was taken inside their house before they served the sumptuous Christmas Dinner."





Here's another photo from that Christmas Eve celebration, taken from another angle, you can still get a view of the piano on the left side. There is my mom's friend Ms. Charito Delarmente (please find the lady on the 2nd photo first one from the left). (sorry the photo has some scratches)



Above, another photo with my mom (dressed in red) They were possibly singing Christmas carols then. 
This was taken during her first few years in Hamburg where she worked as a secretary/clerk at the Philippine Consulate.

Above, a photo of my father during our hometown Mangaldan's balikbayan homecoming where he played  the accordion.



9 comments :

La Nightingail said...

My grandmother taught me & my 3 siblings to play the piano. Fortunately we never had to perform in a recital. Many in my father's extended family played piano and all of us had good singing voices so when we gathered at Christmastime someone always played the piano while the rest of us sang Christmas carols - in harmony! :)

Helen Killeen Bauch McHargue said...

Loved this post. The musical family is interesting. I have a Chinese friend whose father named his kids Do, Re, Mi, Fa....etc and they all sang or played an instrument. There were enough of them to almost complete the scale. My friend was Mi, but became Mimi when she went to school. The others also adjusted their names...Re became Ray, Do become Doreen and so on. They used to sing and play at various events in Hawaii and always caught the attention of the local press who loved to print stories about their names.

Brett Payne said...

I grew up in a very un-musical family, but we've been fortuanet to have a daughter who was interested in pianao, and plays very well. Hopefully she'll pass the interest on in due course. Great photos, thanks for sharing them.

Unknown said...

Love the one of you at the keyboard -- I, too, played piano as a child, and I, too, HATED recitals! And I always had to play classical stuff, when I really wanted to play jazz. Drove me nuts...

Christinchen said...

@La Nightingail - wow, that is so wonderful of your family to be able to sing together at family gatherings, especially at Christmastime! One or two members in the family who could actually play the piano is already a blessing because they keep the family in joyous spirits :) our extended family used to be like that when I was much younger. These days, the karaoke is our source of family entertainment during parties - still much fun!

@Helen Musical families are sure interesting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your friend's family. Musical families kind of remind me of the Von Trapp family from the Sound of Music. I wonder how the Musick family of Hahnenklee perfomed at social gatherings or programs. It will be interesting for me to search online.

Christinchen said...

@Brett - thanks for liking my post. I hope your daughter excels in playing the piano, I say it is a very rewarding talent! I myself didn't play the piano much during my elementary grades, maybe not just motivated enough. During my college years, though, I learned to play some favorite songs like "Endless Love", "Love Story", "Can't Help Falling In Love (With You)" - among others. I wish I trained to be a great pianist. :)

@Deb - We are just the same! I didn't like playing piano that much before- to be honest- I felt it was a chore, haha! But still I can say it made a big difference for me appreciating music - yes, jazz included :)

Barbara Rogers said...

So wonderful to see and imagine hearing all the music of your family. I played the piano, and hated recitals, but kept going until my fingers just said no more. Sometimes I still sing in a choir.

Tattered and Lost said...

Each year a nearby town has an accordion festival. I've always thought of going, but never have. It's supposed to be a grand festival with players from all over the world.

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