The Rural Voice, 1992-01, Page 24Cow plus Sow equa s
— making beautiful music together...
story and photo
by Yvonne Reynolds
Although their farms near Fuller-
ton were only three lots apart, dairy
fanner David Murray and pork pro-
ducer Dominik Franken had never
met. But an employee at the Mitchell
and District Credit Union, who knew
of David's artistry at the piano and
Dominik's skill with the viola, was
instrumental (if you'll pardon the pun)
in introducing the men about two
years ago. That's when David and
Dominik first discovered they made
beautiful music together.
The duo are opposites in many
ways. Dominik is tall and dark; David
is shorter and blond. Dominik defends
the free market system; David sup-
ports supply management. David was
born a Canadian, and Dominik recent-
ly become one by choice, five years
after leaving his native Germany.
What they have in common —
besides their agriculture -dependent
livelihoods — are a love of music, an
appreciation of each other's personal-
ity and talents, and a desire to share
with others the joys of their hobby.
David studied piano for 11 years,
then he switched to bassoon at Wilfrid
Laurier University. He directed a
choir while living in Switzerland with
his Swiss -born wife, then led the
Christian Reformed Church choir in
Listowel for two years. He is now a
member of the choir at Main Street
United Church in Mitchell.
Dominik began violin studies at the
age of eight. His teacher's gift of a
viola six years later sparked a passion
for that instrument which has grown
stronger over the years. By age 14,
Dominik was travelling the world as
part of the German Youth Orchestra.
Both laugh now about the mutual
misgivings they harboured before their
first duet.
Dominik had never found a satis-
factory accompanist, and expected
another disappointment.
"I wondered what this other person
would be like," he recalls. "But by the
The accomplished musical duo "Cow and Sow", seen here in practice session,
consists of Dominik Franken on viola and David Murray at piano.
time David had played five bars, I
knew: this was it."
Much the same was going through
David's mind. He knew that the way
people perceive others is very subjec-
tive.
"If this viola player isn't that good,
I'll be stuck. How will I get out
gracefully?"
As the first melodious
notes rippled out,
David's tune changed to:
"Thank God. He can play!"
The two got together as often as
farm work allowed.
"Sometimes we would play for
three hours, and other nights we'd
break, have a beer, and just talk," says
David. "We got to know each other."
A way to bring classical music to a
country audience grew out of these
sessions. Why not give a concert?
Realizing that the very thought of
heavy-duty, high-falutin' composers
and their works can intimidate some
listeners, the two applied a light touch
to all their plans.
The choice of a name set the tone.
Musicians billing themselves as
"Cow" and "Sow" obviously don't
take themselves too seriously!
The first concert, held November
9, 1990 in the United Church in
Mitchell, featured easy -listening com-
positions from some of the romantic
composers.
The musicians' wives helped, too.
Annamarie Murray made the posters
advertising "Cow Meets Sow", and
Kymm Franken prepared the pro-
grammes, which included a brief bio-
graphy of each composer.
The biographies served to make
the famous composers seem more
human. One, for example, reads that
Antonio Vivaldi was called the "Red
Priest" because of his hair colour, and
that he gave up his vocation to become
a conductor, house composer and
violin teacher at a private school of
music for girls. We also learn than
Vivaldi wrote concerts for each of his
students — concerts which, in the
opinion of some, are extremely simi-
lar. This, too, dissolves some of the
mystique.
Admission to Cow and Sow's first
performance was free, and all dona-
tions went to the Mitchell and Area
20 THE RURAL VOICE