And the Victor Meldrew Award for Music Criticism goes to Stewart McCoy! For those who have never heard of Victor, the archetypal grumpy old man: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Meldrew
I'm only pulling your leg, Stewart, obviously, but I do have a serious point to make regarding time keeping and respecting composers' wishes. Those who go against a composer's wishes are operating well within period performance practice of ANY period, let alone the Renaissance and Baroque. Whether you think that is a good thing or not, whether you support fidelity to the written score or not, is entirely your own choice. Dowland and many, many other composers complained that performers were changing their scores - that's what performers do, and that's how composers respond, especially when they are trying to sell new editions...'The performer is king'. To be honest, I don't care much for brother Karamazov's performances either. He not only looks like Jim Carey on the 'forlorn' video, but phrases the music like Carey acts. But I will defend to the death his right to do it that way if he wants to. Dramatic gestures while performing were not invented in the 19th century, and fidelity to the written score has led to some of the most insipid 'early music' performances over the last 30 years. Thankfully we live in an age when there are more and more performers to choose from, should we wish to choose. Odd to think that more people have heard Karamazov perform Dowland than ever heard Dowland himself...Karamazov has a different audience, and he does a remarkable job at bringing new blood into the modern lute world. Whether we need that, of course, is another matter. Rob www.rmguitar.info -----Original Message----- From: Stewart McCoy [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 30 January 2008 17:18 To: Lute Net Subject: [LUTE] Playing in time (olim Polish, anyone?) Dear Rob, Thanks for directing us towards this Polish website. I don't understand Polish, but I listened to the background music - a piece by Dlugoraj. It's a lovely piece of music, exciting, with lots of drive, yet on this website it is played arhythmically - totally out of time. Why do so many lutenists play like that? Playing out of time is not necessary, not expressive, not skillful, and I find it thoroughly irritating. Do they ever consider what the rhythm signs above the tablature staves mean? What evidence is there that lutenists in the past ignored rhythm signs, and interpreted music in this dreamy, self-satisfying way? In attempting to find evidence, I came across the following at the end of Mary Burwell's Lute Tutor: "In Conclusion the greatest Errour that is in playing upon the Lute is to play too fast, and not to keepe the tyme, and not to use the right fingers, without that play never soe well you are but a Bungler and fitt onely to amaze the ignorant Sorte of people and make a foole of yourselfe." Not wishing to rely on one source, I turned to Thomas Mace's _Musick's Monument_ (London, 1676). On page 124 he writes: " ... you cannot fail to know my Mistress's Humour, provided you keep True Time, which you must be extreamly careful to do, in All Lessons: For Time is the One half of Musick." This comes where he is describing how to play a piece called "my Mistress's Humour", which, you might think, he would want to be played with the utmost expression. He wants louds and softs, he wants ornaments, and he wants his piece to be played in time. He even says that you should play in time not just in this piece, but in all pieces (lessons). In the last few years, Julian Bream has given master classes at Lute Society meetings in London. He stressed two things: the need to play notes together, (i.e. not to roll and spread chords); and to play in time. He said, "I may be old-fashioned, but I like music to be played in time." There are very many eminent players today, much admired, playing in concerts, on CDs, and on YouTube, who consistently play out of time. May they meet the ghost of Lully banging his stick. Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'LuteNet list'" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 11:02 AM Subject: [LUTE] Polish, anyone? > Nice picture of a 'mandora' on this site: > http://www.innow.com.pl/muzykadawna/contrabellum.htm > > > > What's it all about? > > > > Rob To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
