Hommel Mangas
It was about six years ago that I ran into a young man who was accompanied by his cello on his way back to the states. We were both in the New Delhi, India, airport and for some reason — maybe because I was the old woman on a trip amongst a college-age group — I stepped out of my normal introverted self and struck up a conversation.
I quickly found out Brail Watson was a classically trained vocalist, cellist, songwriter, rapper, producer and Berklee College of Music graduate from Topeka, Kansas. He was in India doing a private party for an England-based Sofar — a global music community that connects artists and audiences through live music.
I found out later that Sofar Sounds focuses on intimate concerts so one can experience live music in memorable spaces. Intimate concerts allow you to feel more connected to the music and see local artists up close and personal at each show. Unexpected venues for the shows have included city landmarks to private backyards — to experience live music in memorable spaces.
I thought, “What a fantastic idea these youngins’ are implementing.”
I love when the arts come together — this from one of seven siblings who fell asleep listening to their father practice and play music (guitar, piano, etc.) nightly.
Before I wished Brail blessings on his career, I attempted to briefly tell him the story I had written for the November/December 2012 of the The American Gardener , the magazine of the American Horticultural Society.
I felt like Nancy Drew putting all the pieces together for this article — it was so fun! But the art tie-in was that an Indianapolis couple, Dr. Robert and Jennifer Sloan, discovered after purchasing their home, they had an original Jens Jensen garden — father of Prairie-style landscape design. Jensen was born in Denmark in 1860 and immigrated to the United States when he was 24 (read the article, I’m going for the good stuff.) Jensen’s design style included a “players green” and a council ring for outdoor theatre arts and musical offerings.
From the article:
“The use of native plants was a key component of Jensen’s “prairie style” design, but other important elements were use of light and shadow, open space, movement, curving lines, water and native stone, particularly limestone.
Two features Jensen often included in his designs were a player’s green and a council ring. The player’s green was a slightly elevated sunny area that served as the stage for outdoor theatrical performances. ‘Jensen delighted in creating a space for outdoor drama whenever he found a willing client,’ says Robert Grese, author of Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens ‘These garden spaces were designed not as traditional theaters, with a developed stage and seats, but as natural settings for plays, musical offerings, or recitations.’
To form his iconic council rings, Jensen stacked flat limestone rocks to form a circular bench with an opening on one side. These rings were intended to serve as gathering places where story-telling, musical performances and theatrical productions could be held.
When Jensen died in 1951, the New York Times described him as the ‘Dean of American Landscape Architecture.’ His work lives on through his many designed parks and gardens and through the continuing influence of his design philosophy among contemporary landscape architects.”
When I was interviewing Dr. Sloan 12 years ago, and photographing his restored Jensen-designed garden, I couldn’t help but imagine the music and arts that were once played in the Jensen’s gardens.
Anyway, by the time you read this my daughter Phoebe H. Ritchie is releasing her first EP — with a full band in our gardens. We don’t have an actual player’s green or council ring, but it will do.
The last time live music was played in our gardens for more than family was in 2017 during the American Hosta Convention. As hundreds of people from four continents walked through, my father Frank Hommel played his guitar and sang with Phoebe.
She once wrote, “After growing up in a house full of blues, disco and worship, I am no stranger to the sense of belonging, and joy, a song can bring. I write to encourage that same emotional expression, putting language to feeling in order to facilitate revelation, growth and healing.”
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
