HPSCHD-L Archives

Harpsichords and Related Topics

HPSCHD-L@LIST.UIOWA.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Philip Kimber <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 23 Apr 2017 10:26:54 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (19 lines)
I admit I'm going off at a tangent here but still think the following is relevant to anybody playing music of any kind.
I was recently invited to a concert of Flamenco music and dancing in an enormous pop-music-type venue. Knowing the leader of the troupe for over thirty years, I took as a precaution a pair of earplugs. (I dislike the music intensely but sometimes needs must be out of politeness!)
Everything - the singers and the instruments were painfully loud even with the earplugs and in the interval I left. My ears took days to recover from the torture. To make matters worse, they performed a version of (please not again!) Carmen! Nothing is further from Flamenco than that kitsch!
(Such a pity too- all the performers had obviously put in a lot of practice).
A week later I was at a very nice performance of Mozart's Requiem - choir of 30-40, orchestra of maybe 20-30. The decibels were at a HUMAN level.
These experiences got me thinking about positioning oneself - on the market, if you're a professional musician, but also as an amateur. What do I want to achieve? What is my style?  This excludes immediately Carmen and Flamenco - and so many who play the harpsichord as if it were a piano (more in the past than now?). 

Thoughts?

Best
Ph.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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 .
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ATOM RSS1 RSS2