I’m afraid that Michael has imposed a rather false dichotomy. Why would it be the case that paying close attention to what the people who created and loved this music had to say about making it work best suggest sterility and a lack of emotion? The analogy that, in my opinion, clarifies this best is Claudio’s about Mexican chili. Same things about historical designs and materials in harpsichords. The real thing will always be more moving and colorful, and, within its boundaries, more satisfying than the imposition of distortions in the interest of establishing one’s cutting-edge creativity. Michael may be “hearing” academic conservatism and stifling correctness in attention to the affekts of the real deal, but for me, as I imagine for Claudio and others, intelligent use of the proper gestures… well, here’s another analogy: real Delta blues, or blues played by the “more creative?” Lawrence Welk orchestra?
In other business, as they used to say in the local government reports, I’d like to add one (to me) interesting example of modern harpsichord decoration to Domenico Statuto’s list. Many years ago my second “from scratch” harpsichord came into the possession of the late Douglas Leedy (in later years known as Bhishma Xenotechnites), a profoundly gifted musician, composer and scholar. (Please consult the marvelous biography of him by the composer Daniel Wolf in Wikipedia, s.v. Douglas Leedy). It is a pretty close copy of the 1697 Nurnberg Grimaldi. It is a true inner-outer with a separate outer case, and when Bhishma first owned it, the outer case was still in the raw wood for some years.
He had wonderful drafting and design skills, and came up with a stark, but I think beautiful design for the outer case which he asked me to execute for him. The design entails many applications of the golden ratio, in terms of position and volume of components, but is quite geometrical and stark, consisting mostly of very broad stripes in contrasting, highly saturated red and green. At the time obtaining truly clean and saturated colors was difficult, and we had recourse to some exterior house paint!
He always expressed the feeling that the design, at its core, owed something to the painter David Hockney, of whose work he was very fond (as am I), but personally I could never quite understand the similariities, and instead think of it as suggestive a bit of the bold color blocks of painters like (am I remembering the right name?) Frank Stella.
In any event, once the instrument in its case was situated in Bhisma’s study, with his library of musical facsimiles, studies and old and new treatises, and classical texts, Greek and Latin, in front of his statue of Ganesh and next to his Sri Yanka, the 22-note-per-octave hammered dulcimer I built for him after his own design, I always felt that it was just beautiful, in a paradoxically grounded and quiet manner.
We cannot post pictures here, alas, but I shall, after a bit more coffee this morning, post a photo of the instrument when it was still at Bhishma’s place, on the new Facebook Group page dedicated to the use of our members here.
Oh, and a follow-up: after Doug’s death in late March this year, his brother donated the instrument to Portland Baroque Orchestra, a pretty impressive band directed by Monica Hugget, an outfit that found its origins in his year-long Handel Tercentenary festival in Portland in 1985, where, still happily presenting itself in the colorful outer case, it is going strong.
Owen
On Jan 8, 2016, at 12:00 AM, HPSCHD-L automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> There are 17 messages totaling 973 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. Pedal Harpsichord
> 2. Not all the notes are inégales (5)
> 3. Authenticity (5)
> 4. Harpsichord Technician Needed
> 5. Authenticity and piquancy
> 6. égales
> 7. Authenticity, le bon gout
> 8. voicing quill?
> 9. Modern harpsichord decorations
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 14:01:36 +0000
> From: KNIGHT VERNON <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Pedal Harpsichord
>
> Iwould like to invite all members of the harpsichord list tovisit my latest photo album on the CONSTRUCTION of a PEDAL HARPSICHORD Just go the following link and scroll down. Clickon the first photo and each photo in the album is discussed.
>
>
> https://www.facebook.com/Knight-Vernon-Harpsichord-Maker-370364512992773/
>
>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
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> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 16:44:17 +0100
> From: "J. Claudio Di Veroli" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Not all the notes are inégales
>
> We all know about acclaimed harpsichordists from different countries (a few
> are reading this post) who have produced excellent and stylish performances
> of French Baroque music, with the well-known notes inégales.
>
>
>
> So it comes to a surprise to find that authentic performance is by no means
> the rule. I have just been signalled, by a distinguished member of this
> list, a recording by a supposedly outstanding young French harpsichordist.
> Let us not make names. The webpage allows to hear a few recorded pieces,
> some in videos. It is mostly Rameau. What I see and hear is:
>
>
>
> - An Allemande in "C" in semiquavers played absolutely égale and legato
> throughout ("pace" Hotteterre and others sources from which we know that
> these pieces were played inégales and therefore non-legato.)
>
>
>
> - Les Tendres Plaintes played as if it was an unmeasured prelude.
>
>
>
> - A webpage showing a French harpsichordist playing six French Baroque
> pieces, with no inégales anywhere.
>
>
>
> There is certainly no scarcity of excellent French harpsichordists who know
> better, yet this is not the first time I encounter young French
> harpsichordists giving recitals and recording French Baroque music with not
> a single note inégale.
>
>
>
> A real pity.
>
>
>
> CDV
>
>
>
> http://play.braybaroque.ie/
>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 11:13:35 -0500
> From: Michael Brazile <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Not all the notes are inégales
>
> I have to reply with respectful but tremendous disagreement with your
> general
> argument, Claudio. It's very disappointing to hear you bristling at a
> player because they dare to perform
> in an "inauthentic" way that isn't justifiable with historical sources.
>
> In my view. the judgment of someone's playing shouldn't be based on how
> "historically correct"
> their playing is, but whether it touches you, gives you something new to
> think about
> or allows you to see the music in a completely new way, even if it's in a
> way that the composer
> might have never heard it.
>
> This business of "historically correct" or "authentic" performance is an
> aesthetic that I wish
> would completely die out in the early music world. I am so tired of the
> "authentic performances"
> that are churned out over and over, of the same old music, that could just
> as well have been played by
> Person X or Person B.
>
> In my view, if you're going to bother playing at all, be fresh! Be
> original! Do something new! Play something new!
> This applies doubly if you're playing any of the "standard" fare of Bach,
> Handel, Scarlatti, Rameau etc...
>
> As Wanda Landowska once told Paul Wolfe, with whom I studied: "If it sounds
> right, it IS right, nevermind what the books and the treatises say."
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 10:44 AM, J. Claudio Di Veroli <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> We all know about acclaimed harpsichordists from different countries (a few
>> are reading this post) who have produced excellent and stylish performances
>> of French Baroque music, with the well-known notes inégales.
>>
>>
>>
>> So it comes to a surprise to find that authentic performance is by no means
>> the rule. I have just been signalled, by a distinguished member of this
>> list, a recording by a supposedly outstanding young French harpsichordist.
>> Let us not make names. The webpage allows to hear a few recorded pieces,
>> some in videos. It is mostly Rameau. What I see and hear is:
>>
>>
>>
>> - An Allemande in "C" in semiquavers played absolutely égale and legato
>> throughout ("pace" Hotteterre and others sources from which we know that
>> these pieces were played inégales and therefore non-legato.)
>>
>>
>>
>> - Les Tendres Plaintes played as if it was an unmeasured prelude.
>>
>>
>>
>> - A webpage showing a French harpsichordist playing six French Baroque
>> pieces, with no inégales anywhere.
>>
>>
>>
>> There is certainly no scarcity of excellent French harpsichordists who know
>> better, yet this is not the first time I encounter young French
>> harpsichordists giving recitals and recording French Baroque music with not
>> a single note inégale.
>>
>>
>>
>> A real pity.
>>
>>
>>
>> CDV
>>
>>
>>
>> http://play.braybaroque.ie/
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>>
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
>> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
>> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
>> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
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> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 17:21:43 +0100
> From: "T. Diehl" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Authenticity
>
> Well, then Michael, why even bother playing the harpsichord at all?
>
> If the sounds and playing methods of the harpsichord's music don't interest
> you, and it is all about emotions, then make your life easy and just play a
> piano (or a synthesizer, even easier).....
>
> Theodore
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
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> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 11:40:17 -0500
> From: Michael Brazile <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Authenticity
>
> Why is it all or Nothing Theodore? I LOVE the sound of a historically
> copied harpsichord, and the infinite challenge of playing expressively on
> one.
>
> Can't one love those things but also look, as modern players do, to find
> new ways to interpret the old music, including all the ways the composers
> never mentioned or envisioned?
>
> My issue with the Early Music movement is that it has tended to be so
> incredibly conservative. Even Leonhardt, whom I much admired, went so far
> as to say in an interview ( from the early 2000's!!) that interpreting
> early music
> according to one's one artistic "whims" represented immoral conduct.
>
> Immoral conduct!? Come on. That just goes far too far in my view.
>
> And Attitudes like that do absolutely nothing to insure that early music
> survives, never mind
> has a vibrant life, into the 21st century and beyond. What Attitudes like
> that do a great job at, however, is alienating
> would-be fans, listeners and even players.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 11:21 AM, T. Diehl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Well, then Michael, why even bother playing the harpsichord at all?
>>
>> If the sounds and playing methods of the harpsichord's music don't interest
>> you, and it is all about emotions, then make your life easy and just play a
>> piano (or a synthesizer, even easier).....
>>
>> Theodore
>>
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
>> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
>> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
>> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 17:48:44 +0100
> From: "J. Claudio Di Veroli" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Not all the notes are inégales
>
>> Michael Brazile wrote: I have to reply with respectful but tremendous
> disagreement with your generalargument, Claudio. It's very disappointing to
> hear you bristling at a player because they dare to perform in an
> "inauthentic" way that isn't justifiable with historical sources.
> In my view. the judgment of someone's playing shouldn't be based on how
> "historically correct" their playing is, but whether it touches you, ... ,
> even if it's in a way that the composer might have never heard it.
> This business of "historically correct" or "authentic" performance is an
> aesthetic that I wish would completely die out in the early music world. ...
> ... be fresh! ... be original"
>
> Dear Michael: your counter-reformation is not consistent and, even worse, it
> is not even original! It has already been done by centuries of playing the
> old French harpsichordists with the piano, with neither inégales nor added
> ornaments and with a fully modern aesthetics.
>
> At the risk of repeating what many widely admired musicians have written,
> the revival of early instruments like the harpsichord had as its first and
> foremost goal to enable the musician to complement the early music score
> with all the implicit things that (though sometimes specified in treatises
> but not written on the scores) allow us to play the music the way it was
> composed. And this (again books and books written on this) still lives you
> LOTS of freedom: no two recordings are alike!
>
> You may play a French Baroque piece égale and omitting ornaments: if so,
> however, you are no longer playing the original music, but a modernised
> version. You may play it on a piano, electronic instrument, perhaps a modern
> orchestra: there is nothing wrong with this, and many people like it, why
> not?
>
> It is simply not what the harpsichord has been revived for, and what most of
> us harpsichordists try to achieve with the "authentic" interpretation that,
> witness recordings by the greatest harpsichordists of our time, is amazingly
> varied and expressive, far from being the sterile thing you describe.
>
> Best
>
> CDV
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 16:54:41 +0000
> From: Bruce Jacobs <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Authenticity
>
> Something I think about often:
>
> There were two great things about the HIP (Historically Informed Performance) movement, when it began.
> - The first and obvious benefit was the whole wealth of creative options newly opened to the performer by having instruments and ideas in far better alignment with those of those available at the first performance. We heard thoughts from the composer as if a veil had been removed.
> - HIP performances were <really> different from the we had been hearing. A new recording of an "old standard" benefited from some of the element of surprise experienced by the first listeners. And of course, in the day of these compositions, music was ALL about novelty, with old styles and compositions quickly fading into obscurity.
>
> But once HIP becomes "established", how do we create both a compelling expression AND a sense of fresh excitement? Perhaps we sometimes leave out ornaments that we have all come to expect in a familiar work. Perhaps, even, make an entire recording <without> inégales, if the listeners have come to expect it.
>
> I would only ask as a minimum requirement:
> - is the performance compelling?
> - is the performer aware of all the creative options open to them?
>
> Bruce Jacobs
> Saint Paul
>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 18:08:06 +0100
> From: "T. Diehl" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Authenticity
>
> MB: "...Why is it all or Nothing Theodore? I LOVE the sound of a
> historically
> copied harpsichord, and the infinite challenge of playing expressively on
> one..."
>
> That to me, Michael, is a much more nuanced statement than your previous
> one, if I may say so?
>
> The heart of the matter is that it is extremely difficult to combine an
> historically responsible approach with real emotional impact, and very few
> achieve this. It is the challenge of every harpsichordist who is serious.
>
> YouTube and the download sites are filled with hundreds of abominable
> harpsichords, played 'historically' and boringly, and often enough in the
> wrong temperament for the music concerned. No-one needs that kind of
> historic approach, which is often nothing more than an excuse for a lack of
> musicality.
>
> We also forget that in her time and place, Landowska was also very
> 'historic', and oftentimes espoused by the public because of that, in prose
> analogous to that used by many in the 21st century who dislike historical
> practices or keyboards. Sir Thomas Beecham's quote sums the majority view
> back then: "The sound of a harpsichord is like two skeletons copulating on
> a tin roof in a thunderstorm."
>
> I would say that it is lack of intellectual vigor today, where everyone
> imitates the latest recording, that has led to a vacuous
> copy/paste dead-end style in purist harpsichord performances. Blaming
> historical practice itself is just shooting the messenger.
> Regards,
> Theodore
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 12:53:19 -0500
> From: Michael Brazile <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Authenticity
>
> Well said Bruce Jacobs!
>
> Theodore, the fact that you use the term "historically responsible" signals
> that I don't think we're going to ever get together on this issue. And
> that's fine - it does
> not change that we are both dedicated passionately to the harpsichord!
>
> I can only say that the only litmus test for my own playing and others' is
> that
> it touches me, excites me and/or shows me something completely new.
> Authenticity,
> responsibility to a composer or their rules just doesn't interest me. You
> can PHYSICALLY
> play the instrument -- touch the keys -- in a way that's reminiscent of the
> old composers,
> while making **interpretative** decisions that differ greatly from what the
> old composers instructed
> or approved of.
>
> In closing let me say that that my own musical aesthetic is one that's
> often inspired by the soundscapes created
> by Björk's or Tori Amos' use of the harpsichord, and then I try to connect
> that to playing a Louis Couperin unmeasured prelude or Ennemond Gaultier.
> New ways of conceiving of old music is what interests me:)
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 12:08 PM, T. Diehl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> MB: "...Why is it all or Nothing Theodore? I LOVE the sound of a
>> historically
>> copied harpsichord, and the infinite challenge of playing expressively on
>> one..."
>>
>> That to me, Michael, is a much more nuanced statement than your previous
>> one, if I may say so?
>>
>> The heart of the matter is that it is extremely difficult to combine an
>> historically responsible approach with real emotional impact, and very few
>> achieve this. It is the challenge of every harpsichordist who is serious.
>>
>> YouTube and the download sites are filled with hundreds of abominable
>> harpsichords, played 'historically' and boringly, and often enough in the
>> wrong temperament for the music concerned. No-one needs that kind of
>> historic approach, which is often nothing more than an excuse for a lack of
>> musicality.
>>
>> We also forget that in her time and place, Landowska was also very
>> 'historic', and oftentimes espoused by the public because of that, in prose
>> analogous to that used by many in the 21st century who dislike historical
>> practices or keyboards. Sir Thomas Beecham's quote sums the majority view
>> back then: "The sound of a harpsichord is like two skeletons copulating on
>> a tin roof in a thunderstorm."
>>
>> I would say that it is lack of intellectual vigor today, where everyone
>> imitates the latest recording, that has led to a vacuous
>> copy/paste dead-end style in purist harpsichord performances. Blaming
>> historical practice itself is just shooting the messenger.
>> Regards,
>> Theodore
>>
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
>> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
>> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
>> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 12:05:40 -0500
> From: Bob Morgan <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Harpsichord Technician Needed
>
> I have what the Paris Workshop callS a Single Manual French Junior. It
>
> is a 8'x2 with buff, single manual. Photo here:
>
>
>
> http://harpsichordphoto.org/morgan/
>
>
>
> The first few steps of construction started with a kit, but it was
>
> returned to Zuckermann after the case was assembled and they finished
>
> it - ZHI, correctly, considers it a factory-built instrument.
>
>
>
> The front and back 8' registers stick when the humidity exceeds about
>
> 45%. I've been advised that I need to remove the jacks, remove the
>
> registers, and either plane or sand the inside sides of the registers
>
> to provide more freedom for easy register movement.
>
>
>
> I'm finally playing the instrument daily (at last I'm taking lessons)
>
> and would like to be able to use both registers, but lack both the
>
> physical ability and the confidence to tackle the register repair
>
> myself.
>
>
>
> I live in Lexington KY, and would like to know of any qualified
>
> harpsichord technicians in the Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati
>
> areas.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Bob Morgan
>
> <><
>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
> [log in to unmask] saying HELP .
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 19:19:59 +0100
> From: "J. Claudio Di Veroli" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Authenticity and piquancy
>
>> Michael wrote: it touches me, ...
>
> Exactly the same said Francois Couperin in his treatise. BUT he was excited
> by different things.
>
> Many modern musicians are excited by NON-baroque performance manners. The
> best advice I can give them in order to get really excited is to play more
> modern music on more modern instruments!
>
> The harpsichord music is not that expressive unless you add the early
> manners for which the music was composed and the instruments built.
> Inégalité is one of the main manners of French Baroque. They even pinned
> inégales they barrel organs!
>
> Far from being an academic thing, if properly performed the inégalité is
> actually a recipe for variety: according to a few ancient rules but also and
> mainly to context, you play some pairs almost égales, others more inégales,
> others very much so, sometimes the two hands coincide, others they play
> "staggered", in Allemandes you sometimes linger a bit in the first of every
> 4 or 8 notes, and so on and so on. To suppress the inégales in French
> Baroque music is to delete something that is supposed to be there and adds
> variety: the music becomes not just out-of-style, butf plain and boring!
>
> It is like Mexican food. You cannot tell a Mexican: "Look, your food with
> all that chili is very monotonous, let us make your Mexican food more
> varied. Let me cook for you a Mexican mole with no chili at all". He/she
> will retort: "You do not understand Mexican food. Chili is VERY varied: they
> come in many different strengths and flavours, and can be cooked in
> different ways and proportions! If you are Italian, feel free to suppress
> chili, but do not try to cook Mexican food that way because it will NOT be
> Mexican food at all!"
>
> CDV
>
>
> ---
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 18:50:40 +0000
> From: Bruce Jacobs <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: égales
>
> When I married late in life, it came with terms: that I WOULD study and become proficient in ballroom dance.
>
> The teacher was wonderful, but one thing that bugged me as a musician was the routine of direction "slow, quick, quick" rather than "1, 2, 3". What you get when with folks who can't count, or something....
>
> The other thing that bugged me was the triple swing step. Big step left, with two little steps, big step right, with two little steps, then a rock step. "STEP, step-step, STEP, step-step, rock step." I just felt like a complete klutz.
>
> Then one day in our lesson, it clicked when it dawned me and I said to my wife "It's like Notes Inégale!" to which the teacher excitedly responded "it's EXACTLY like notes Inégale!". Turns out she had spent years with the local baroque opera company and wrote a master thesis on Inégale.
>
> Point is, great swing performances have this flexibile tension outside the bounds a triple or dotted rhythm, with much the same "recipe for variety" suggested by Claudio. And now that I think about it, perhaps there is NO way to make a compelling performance of swing music, without swinging it.....
>
> I recently took to the harpsichord for a wonderful performance of the Charpentier Te Deum. Funny, how very sensitive singers with a long track record of the baroque get stuck in the rut of wanting Inégale to be exactly a triple or dotted rhythm.
>
> Time to bring out the swing recordings...
>
> Bruce Jacobs
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 15:13:04 -0600
> From: Philip Kimber <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Authenticity, le bon gout
>
> I've been following the present discussion between Michael Brazile and Claudio Di Veroli with great interest because this whole idea of "le bon gout" has been going round in my head for some time.
> I find myself agreeing with both of you! In order for our composers to "move" us we need all the mannerisms of their time. And the greatest joy can be found in trying various amounts of "inégale" , "suspension", playing a mordent, for example, more slowly or faster.
> Simply playing the music "as written", perhaps even leaving out the ornaments, just makes it boring. I think that romantic piano music, too, has to be played with discipline, i.e. correctly but also with suitable rubatos, accelerandos, crescendos etc, i.e. with all the "mannerisms" of its period for it to touch our feelings. It would be a poor pianist who did nothing but get all the notes right! A machine can do that. But the basic question still remains:
> What is this good taste? I feel there are many answers - and that's great!
>
> Best
> Ph.
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 16:22:54 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: voicing quill?
>
> Sounds like Dietrich's on the right track here.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dietrich Hein <[log in to unmask]>
> To: HPSCHD-L <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tue, Jan 5, 2016 5:18 am
> Subject: voicing quill?
>
> Greg,
>
> what exactly do You mean by voicing here, -trying to influence the
> overtone-structure that the instrument will yield? I find myself at
> the most adjusting the volume/strength of pluck very little, by
> shaving (sure, scraping may work as well) away from the underside of
> the quill (much easier here than with plastic). And I am not trying
> to really get any taper in thickness here. If that doesn't give me
> the best I can get out of the instrument, I would suspect that a
> possible problem is anywhere else but in the "voicing". I can't
> emphasize enough, that the cut on the front edge of the quill has to
> be absolutely "clean", which means that one does need a constantly
> maintained surface of a dense endgrain on the voicing block and
> obviously a sharp knive with a not too flexy blade.
>
> Much looking forward to other opinions,
>
> Dietrich
>
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>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 00:27:29 +0100
> From: Domenico Statuto <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Modern harpsichord decorations
>
> Dear listers,
> we all know fairly well the usual historical decorations, but what about modern decorations? I'd like to gather as many pictures as possible of harpsichords with modern decorations, but I only was able to find 5 or 6 over the Internet.
> I can't say I like them, but I found once a soundboard modern decoration that seemed very convincing to me (alas, I didn't download the photo and now I can't find it again).
>
> What do you think on the subject of modern decorations? Both case and soundboard. And what about the rose and the keyboard?
>
> And of course, I'd be grateful if you could send pictures or give links.
>
> Thanks in advance and best regards,
>
> Domenico
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 12:30:42 +1100
> From: Andrew Bernard <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Not all the notes are inégales
>
> Hi Michael,
>
> Much as I admire Wanda Landowska – and I do admire her – to use this as the clincher in your argument is philosophically problematic. For who is to say what ‘sounds right’? This is entrely subjective. What sounded right to her in her Pleyel sounds dreadful to many contemporary people. Her musicianship is supreme, but directed in a way that many contemporary players do not find attractive or moving. And so on.
>
> And then, what is ‘right’ or correct? Who is to say?
>
> It’s one of those glib quotes that is memorable and catchy, but empty of value, and the disregard implied toward scholarship is disappointing.
>
> Andrew
>
>
>
> On 8/01/2016, 03:13, "Harpsichords and Related Topics on behalf of Michael Brazile" <[log in to unmask] on behalf of [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> As Wanda Landowska once told Paul Wolfe, with whom I studied: "If it sounds
> right, it IS right, nevermind what the books and the treatises say."
>
>
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 21:30:43 -0500
> From: Michael Brazile <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Not all the notes are inégales
>
> Ohhhh Andrew honey, stop!! You KNOW damn well what She meant! ;) Don't
> parse this - you know what she is talking about is *artistry.* Though she
> did her research like nobody, she was always happy to throw it over board
> in favor of a scintillating interpretation that electrified. The whole
> point of her statement is that interpretation is SUPPOSED to be
> subjective.
>
> As someone with a musicology degree and who is still very much a fan of
> musicology, I say very strongly that Scholarship is not the point of
> performance. Put another way, You can yack all you want about great sex -
> and to some degree yacking about it is useful - but at the end of the day
> when it's you and your beloved on the bed, I'm hopeful that for everyone's
> sake, you're not sitting there with a clipboard reviewing bullet point by
> bullet point just exactly what you're going to be doing, in what position
> and for how long....
> The whole point is that it's all as subjective and spontaneous As possible.
> Fin :)
>
>
>
>
> On Thursday, January 7, 2016, Andrew Bernard <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Michael,
>>
>> Much as I admire Wanda Landowska – and I do admire her – to use this as
>> the clincher in your argument is philosophically problematic. For who is to
>> say what ‘sounds right’? This is entrely subjective. What sounded right to
>> her in her Pleyel sounds dreadful to many contemporary people. Her
>> musicianship is supreme, but directed in a way that many contemporary
>> players do not find attractive or moving. And so on.
>>
>> And then, what is ‘right’ or correct? Who is to say?
>>
>> It’s one of those glib quotes that is memorable and catchy, but empty of
>> value, and the disregard implied toward scholarship is disappointing.
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>>
>>
>> On 8/01/2016, 03:13, "Harpsichords and Related Topics on behalf of Michael
>> Brazile" <[log in to unmask] <javascript:;> on behalf of
>> [log in to unmask] <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>
>> As Wanda Landowska once told Paul Wolfe, with whom I studied: "If it sounds
>> right, it IS right, nevermind what the books and the treatises say."
>>
>>
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>> Note: opinions expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the individual con-
>> tributors and not necessarily those of the list owners nor of the Uni-
>> versity of Iowa. For a brief summary of list commands, send mail to
>> [log in to unmask] <javascript:;> saying HELP .
>> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>>
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of HPSCHD-L Digest - 6 Jan 2016 to 7 Jan 2016 (#2016-7)
> ***********************************************************
____________________________________
Owen Daly Early Keyboard Instruments
557 Statesman St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
http://www.dalyharpsichords.com
(503)-362-9396
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