marcus@pyuxt.UUCP (M. G. Hand) (09/13/84)
<omission would be unintentional anacrusis...> For those living in the tri-state area. I have just listened and watched a magnificent performance from the Lincoln Center on Channel 13 and WCNC. The performances were by The Academy of Ancient Music from Great Britain featuring original instruments, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center using modified (modern) instruments. In addition to many marvellous performances of Bach pieces back to back there were a number of most informative interviews and discussions of the relative merits of modern and ancient instruments, improvisation in baroque music, and a most amusing address by Christopher Hogwood. There is a repeat to be run on Sunday 16th at 1.00 on channel 13, unfortunately it doesn't look as if this one will be simulcast. Catch it if you can. Marcus Hand (pyuxt!marcus)
hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (09/13/84)
I also enjoyed Bach to Bach, and recommend it. I would caution viewers/listeners that the miking (microphone placement and control) was extremely poor. This especially worked to the disadvantage of the Hogwood group, but also caused imbalance in the sound of the CMSOLC. Herman Silbiger CGE
robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) (09/17/84)
References: Harpsichordist Ken Cooper used a number of techniques that are unusual among the best recorded harpsichordists. For one thing, he played a lot of ornaments that are not in the original. Ornaments give a performer a chance to add a lot to his interpretation of a work. In general, one assumes that every baroque piece was intended to be played with ornamentation. Leaving it out is like playing Jazz with straight rhythms. And yet (why??) many recordings of baroque music have little or no added ornamentation. In the particular case of J.S. Bach, some musicologists claim that pieces which he composed to be played by others (including the Brandenburg concertos) had all the ornamentation written out, since Bach knew he wouldn't be there to explain what he intended. I greatly doubt this in the case of the 5th brandenburg, since the part is not that heavily ornamented. Cooper is an excellent musical scholar, and has probably made a very informed decision about what is a suitable degree of ornamenting. Paula Robison (flute) and Ani Kavafian (violin) ornamented their parts as well. Since there are a lot of phrase echoes between them, they naturally had to pick up and respond to each other's ornaments. Judging from the expressions on their faces, the ornamenting was quite spontaneous, and they were really enjoying it. Cooper also played "notes inegales", which, according to music theorists who lived in the baroque era, were quite common, especially in French music. The idea is that a sequence of, say, 16th notes, are not played in a smooth equal way. Instead, every oddnumbered note is played slightly longer, and each even nombered note slightly shorter. The theorists spoke of proportions between the notes as 3 to 2, or 4 to 3 (that is, almost similar lengths, and an irregular division in comparison to the meter). I've played a lot of notes inegales, and they impart a lively, almost jazzy flavor to baroque music, especially for instruments like the harpsichord that cannot play individual notes at controlled different amplitudes. Cooper played the first of each note-pair shorter than the second, in about a 3 to 4 ratio. The result, particularly noticeable in the cadenza, was a very perky sound to his playing, with a great sense of forward-moving energy. Cooper is really a fascinating harpsichordist to listen to. He is incredibly creative, and his ideas are founded on thorough musicological knowledge. - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison or: decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison or (emergency): princeton!eosp1!robison