Roland

Roland was the first of the other passengers we met back on Day One, and he was the last of the other passengers to whom we would ultimately say goodbye.  That was fitting, because Roland was a special guy, and Ellen and I both think he deserves his own post.

Roland and Ellen at dinner

Roland was in his mid- to late-70s, making him older than the rest of us.  Although we have referred to him as German, in fact he was Hungarian.  His family had had to flee Hungary somewhere around WWII.  So apparently he spent his formative years in Germany, and spoke High German, but he never missed the opportunity to remind people that he was Hungarian.

He was an artist.  By that I mean, he had studied and taught music and folk dance, and that was how he had made his livelihood.  It seems he had spent about 25 years in the United States -- mostly in Boston -- teaching and performing.  From the sounds of it, it had been a very good life.  He often mentioned five women musicians and singers that he and a colleague had worked with over the years, and whom they referred to as "The Five Goddesses."  He had a real fondness for Ellen, and I joked that she was his Sixth Goddess.

Roland and the Sixth Goddess outside

Roland's recent visit to America was his farewell visit.  He did not expect to ever return, and he thought that taking a ship back to Europe was a proper sort of way to say farewell to the U.S.

Among all his other charms, Roland yodeled. That was his thing. It was a major part of his folkloric artistry.  And what was particularly charming was that when he got excited about something, he would often yodel a few notes.  It didn't matter if we were at the dining table...walking around the deck...hanging out in the passengers' lounge...whatever.  

Here is a little snippet of Roland yodeling:

Being primarily a voice musician, he thought of the voice as an instrument, and he had a lot to say about voice training and whatnot.  One of the things that surprised me was that Roland could do overtones with his voice.  I was familiar with overtones on guitar and flute, but it had never occurred to me that they were possible with voice.

So here's a snippet of Roland's vocal overtones...

Again, Roland was a special guy with special charms.  It was a real pleasure to have made his acquaintance, and we were sad when it came time to say our goodbyes.