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Subject:
From:
Claudio Di Veroli <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:22:27 +0100
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> Jonathan wrote: 
> Claudio Di Veroli wrote:
> > You said "instinct": good point.
> > I believe that we have to train ourselves continuously to 
> overcome our 
> > instinct (yours, mine, everybody's) which in Baroque 
> matters is often wrong.
> 
> I don't think I can really agree with this statement.
...
> Of course, you can make the opposite mistake, and ignore 
> evidence entirely, without even trying to see if it might 
> work, but I think this is a lesser mistake. Without following 
> details of 'authenticity' (no matter what style we're talking 
> about), good performances can still result, but some use of 
> musical instinct, there's not much chance!

I APOLOGISE FOR CHANGING THE SUBJECT.

I tried some free advice Jonathan: you are free to disagree!

EVIDENCE. I also disagree with your statement that ignoring evidence would
be a "lesser mistake": it would be the worst mistake of all which is playing
out of style.

MUSICALITY. Yours "musicality" is an argument from personal taste. Just an
example: the great fortepianist Malcolm Bilson once said in an interview
published in Early Music that he was convinced that a student playing on a
replica of Mozart's fortepiano would produce a better interpretation than
the most musical of the pianists trying on a Steinway. Some musicians found
issue with Bilson's statement: I couldn't agree more. (C.P.E. Bach, the
champion of expressiveness, once wrote that the best musical taste could not
compensate for wrong fingering, elsewhere he wrote the same about the wrong
speed). 

BAROQUE STYLE. I find that we should try and imitate everything we can
apprehend about how Baroque musicians played. If it sounds "unmusical" to
us, we should not say "it does not work let's try something else": that is
discardig useful knowledge. We have to find out and resolve the
contradiciton. "Unmusicality" is often what we feel when the performer if
not familiar enough with an author's musical style, thus playing without the
necessary consistence: all things that the performer can fix with study and
analysis, without any need to put reverse and going against ancient
evidence.

FOLLOWING THE LEAD. So many performers nowadays follow an "accepted
authentic average Baroque style": a lot has been published in recent years
on this issue. I guess the great William Christie had his reasons to play
arpeggiato 100% of those chords that originated this interchange, yet I have
my reasons to arpeggiate only 75% of them! (Not a great difference isn't it?
...). 
To play in style we need to have a "mental model" consistent with the known
evidence about how the author would have expected his work to be played. If
that leads to surprising results, so be it, we should not be afraid - as it
will inevitably happen - if somebody says e.g. that a performance of mine
had "too little rubato, too unlike famous XXX recording, too thumping".

Claudio

> 
> -- 
> Jon-o Addleman - http://www.redowl.ca
> 
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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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