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Harpsichords and Related Topics

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Subject:
From:
Michael Brazile <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 8 Jan 2016 08:14:56 -0500
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Thanks Philip, and thanks to Owen for his input.

I can only say that I am not against doing something that has historical
precedent
or that the composers asked for - like inégale. To take this back to
Claudio's
issue with this unnamed player's disuse of  inégale Personally, I find
inégale to be the essential
element that makes most French courantes come alive in the harpsichord and
lute music
of the 17th century; but I find myself applying it to pieces and sections of
pieces because it "SOUNDS RIGHT" and musically satisfying to me, not because
the composer told me I had to do it. The same goes with ornaments, I take
them out
and add them as I see fit.

My last word on this is simply that, just as Claudio finds it pitiable that
a player would not
use  inégale in a place that a composer said it "should" be used, I find it
disappointing
when people dismiss a performance simply because it does something that the
composer
would not have sanctioned or envisioned. At the end of the day, I play
music - with the harpsichord
as my medium - in order to have a transcendent experience. Where that
starts getting muddled
and dragged down to satisfy for "correctness" or "authenticity" or "style",
I have absolutely no interest.

Have a great weekend all.


On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 4:13 PM, Philip Kimber <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> 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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::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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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