[VIHUELA] Re: more Foscarini

[Stuart Walsh]

Monica Hall wrote:
Hi Stuart

Pleased to hear you are still plucking away at Foscarini!   I think 
you are
right about the rhythm and barring.   However I think you are playing 
the piece too fast.   It is a passacaglia after all and it sounds 
rushed in places.   The strummed chords on line 3 would be more 
manageable at a more moderate tempo.

I tried playing it slower and it really drags. I think the piece needs a 
lot better technique than I've got. I imagine that players of the time 
got very fast with their chord changes.

  Also it depends a bit on how you strum.   I strum with my fingers, 
not my thumb which is what some of the books say you should do.  (I 
can't strum with my thumb anyway as I cut the end off it many years 
ago and this rather cramps my style).   If you use you fingers then 
you don't need to more your right hand so far away from the strings.

I'm glad you tend to agree with me about the strum marks.   These 
serve a dual purpose.   They are almost the equivalent to putting in 
the note value for every note, instead of only when these change - as 
in some lute tablatures.   This is also why he puts in the dots.  
Originally, in Colonna and F's earlier book these  did indicate the 
duration of the notes (rather erratically).

This piece was discussed some time ago and I don't think that you are 
supposed to e.g. include open courses in all the chords  willy nilly 
because there is a stroke mark.

I think Tyler's comments about Foscarini being daring and original is 
based on a misconception.  On the whole his musical language is quite 
conservative.

It's interesting listening to Tyler's performances of Foscarini on his 
old Saga recording. I think of James as a very cheery sort of bloke but 
he plays Foscarini with surprising intensity. He mostly plays the pieces 
very slowly. Too slowly, I think.  Even the slightly more upbeat, 
strummed 'Folia' seems worried!


Stuart


Foscarini's notation is innovative, but inconsistent.

Monica





To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html