Dorothea Barth Musician and WriterElegant Violin Music for your Wedding or Special EventCeltic Sheet Music Arrangements
Original Compositions
Poetry and Prose

  • Contact Dorothea Barth
  • Home
  • Praise
  • Previous Venues
  • Oriental Dance
  • Original Dance Music
  • Original CompositionsClick to open the Original Compositions menu
    • Finding the Faerie's Voice
    • The Faerie Fiddler
    • Songs from Euterpe
  • Tea Rose ConsortClick to open the Tea Rose Consort menu
    • Irish Music
    • 2014 Christmas Performance
    • Christmas with Vocals
  • 2013 Audio Wedding PlannersClick to open the 2013 Audio Wedding Planners menu
    • A Thousand Years
    • Dana and Jay
    • Wendy and Eric
    • Roy and Brooke
    • Jessica and Michael
    • Breah and Jesse
    • Sample with Flower Girl
    • Jamie and Grant
    • Aggie and Eric
    • Michael and Bernadette
    • Hilda and Alfonso
  • 2014 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2014 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Wendy and Todd
    • Erin and Robert
    • Shaina and Abe
    • John and Cheryl
    • Yvette and Luke
    • Douglas and Mayra
    • Moriah and Nathaniel
  • 2015 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2015 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Lisa and Mike
  • 2016 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2016 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Anthony and Lindsay
    • Justin and April
  • 2017 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2017 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Taylor and Donnie
    • Tim and Nicole
    • Christine and Demetrice
    • Madison and David
    • Danielle and Michael
    • Ronda and Phil
    • Christina and Jeffrey
    • Megan and Daniel
  • 2018 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2018 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Sandra and Andrew
    • Alex and Max
    • Carol and Doug
  • 2019 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2019 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Brittany and Rob
    • Caitlin and Nathan
    • Rachel and Hatem
    • Lauren and Alfred
    • Yeni and Aaron
    • Jenny and Victor
    • Deb and Dana
    • Amanda and Daniel
    • Scarlett and Jason
  • 2020 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2020 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Glenn and Troy
  • 2021 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2021 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Melinda and Anton
    • Kristin and
    • Danielle and Sean
    • Molly and Frankie
    • Julia and Jason
    • Stephanie and Mike
    • Thai and Lauren
  • 2022 Audio Wedding PlannerClick to open the 2022 Audio Wedding Planner menu
    • Jason and Monica
    • Lois and Brett
  • Repertory InformationClick to open the Repertory Information menu
    • Celtic Wedding Recessionals Violin
    • Celtic Wedding Processionals Violin
    • Celtic Wedding Music - Solo Violin
    • Norwegian Recessionals
    • Norwegian Processional and Lyrical
    • Oktoberfest
    • Wedding Processionals
    • Wedding Recessionals
    • Wedding Prelude
    • Wedding and Reception Medleys
    • Spanish Music
    • Solo Violin Romantic Pop
    • Italian Music
    • Jewish Traditional
    • Celtic Wedding Music - Duo
  • Poetry GalleryClick to open the Poetry Gallery menu
    • Berklee in the Blizzard
    • Alterations
    • Remembered Flight
    • When I First Met Mendelssohn
    • Calistoga Kin
    • Petaluma Labyrinth
    • Landscape of the Wee
    • Sonnet for Sixty-seven
    • The Encounter
    • Autumn's Question
    • Let No Judgment Resurrect
    • Saturday in Sebastopol
    • On Crinkled Blooms
    • By Wistful Recollection
    • Standing Stones
    • Transformation
    • Christmas Brought the Stillness
    • The Wish
    • Citrus Breezes, Blossoms Rare
    • Dark Faeries
    • Suspended
    • Not Just in MidSummer Found
    • The Wings Grow Great and Bright Tonight
    • Might You Be Seeking Magic?
    • Wherever You May See
    • Wishing
    • Come to Life
    • Finding the Faery's Voice
    • Without a Sound
    • Hearts and Wings
    • Tongue-Tied
    • Kiki and the Cub
    • Walking Solo, Walking Well
    • When a Muse Alighted
    • For Joana
    • See Me Now
    • Fuchsia Dancing Ladies
    • Effervescent Surge
    • Still Life Green
    • Wings and Possibilities
    • Elves of the North Sea Mist
    • Dances
    • Ode to Sheet Music
    • Will You Fly Back Perchance?
    • Faeries of the Chaparral
    • Life Beneath
    • The Gathering
    • Gaia's Sculpted Art
    • The Hypnotist
    • Drumroll
    • Where the Grapes Are Grown
    • Catherine's Song
    • Songs
    • Royal Rondo
    • Flower of the Bleeding Heart
    • Lost Hat
    • Pickleweed Clan
    • Song for the Sacred Ibis
    • Battle in the Strait
    • Balanced Sword
    • Flame Song
    • Steiner Street
    • The Fiddler or the Band
    • Monarchs
    • Awakening
    • Capitol
    • Mortal to Mermaid
    • Horse of Russian Winter
    • Moment Musicale
    • For Sassy
    • Riding Hood
    • Holly on Her Apron
    • Renegade
    • Concerts
    • Grace
    • Where Magic Is the Best
    • Anna
    • Of the Earth
    • Autumn's Queston
    • Anniversary Villanelle
    • Asilomar
    • Rosewood to Redwood
    • Surfing
    • Puck's Villanelle
    • Sunning
    • Dropped Letter
    • Questions for the Chalice
    • Survival
    • Broken Wing
    • Altered Shore
    • Faery of Late Winter
    • Seeing the Light
    • Berry Bouree
    • Seeking Kokopelli
    • Snowflake
    • The Gnome, The Goose, and the Eucalypt
    • Cottontail
  • Celtic Sheet MusicClick to open the Celtic Sheet Music menu
    • Playford Promenade
    • Of Castles, Kings, and Courts
    • Flautilla: Sea Songs Salty and Serene
    • Green
    • Maidens of Melody Vol. 1
    • Maidens of Melody Vol. 2 (More Maidens)
  • WritingClick to open the Writing menu
    • About the Author
    • Copyright
    • Published Writing
    • Echoes of Verona
    • Available Writing

When I First Met Mendelssohn

by Dorothea Barth ©2010

When first I met Mendelssohn
The music made me swoon
In summer of my 15th year
My heart jumped o'r the moon

I played it for my teacher
One who was most renowned
And after a few measures passed
She stopped me, smiled, and frowned

It's lovely, dear, but truth must tell
It's not how it should be
And furthermore, it's far too late
You are no longer three!

With heavy heart and spirit sunk
I brought the tan book home
Forgotten dream, now tucked away
No longer mine to own

And through the years that followed
My studies did go on
I met the Bruch, Viotti too
But not the Mendelssohn

Until some decades later
(I was past 43)
I thirsted for the music
Found one to mentor me

I have no more illusions
I hastened to make clear
Lest verdict recapitulate
I did not want to hear

And then the music flourished
The repertory grew
And a long-lost friend appeared
The Mendelssohn anew

"Begin with the Andante
Take it nice and slow
Savor the shifts, caress the trills
And let the music flow"

Surrendered to the song's delight
Long past our first romance
It sounded sweet, we made it right
Our unexpected chance

Photo of author with her violin at about age 15, Pasadena, CA. Behind her is her grandmother, who was visiting from Amsterdam.

Copyright 2009 Dorothea Barth. All rights reserved.

Web Hosting by Yahoo!