Roman,
Forgive me for waiting so long to respond to your posting. If I understand
correctly, you have taken a traditional Belgian song and arranged it for
Baroque lute. Although I am not familiar with the original, I find your
version very pleasing, quite melodic with an underlying chord progression
that seems to move very well (I feel a little embarrassed trying to express
myself here, since I am not a musicologist and perhaps don't have the
vocabulary to say very clearly what I wish to say). I also think I notice a
couple of your personal touches, such as the repetition of a single bass
note on all four beats of a measure and the chord shift in measure twenty.
I have been a lurker on this list for a couple of years now, and during that
time you have posted your works with a certain regularity. I don't know how
many people have replied to you privately, but I have noticed that not many
respond on-list. If you are getting little feedback on your work, that fact
must be discouraging to you. Whatever the case, I would like to take the
opportunity to thank you publicly for your tremendous efforts. Your website
is quite impressive, and your personal output voluminous. Although I haven't
looked at every single piece, I have printed out and played through a stack
about an inch thick and have listened to the midi files of many more pieces.
In particular, I appreciate the melodic lines, the interesting rhythms, and
the general accessibility to the intermediate-level player (which I am
striving to become). I have tried to think of a phrase that would sum up
your endeavor, and I don't know whether you would agree with me or not, but
the phrase that comes to mind was used by Pope Leo XIII in his 1879
encyclical "Aeterni Patris" to describe what he saw as the task of Christian
philosophy at the close of nineteenth century: "vetera novis augere at
perficere." It seems to me that you are taking the "vetera," the Baroque and
perhaps early Classical forms and styles, and increasing their number
("augere") by adding the "new" element of your own personal style and
perhaps Slavic influence ("novis") and thus bringing them to a certain
perfection ("perficere") by achieving a synthesis of the ancient and the
contemporary. I know that other people have composed original works for
lute, but you seem to do so with an unequaled persistence and dedication and
in a style that remains sensitive to the nature of the instrument itself.
I am drawn to Renaissance and Baroque music for the simple fact that I find
it beautiful--a beauty that I have difficulty discovering in most
contemporary art forms, whatever their other merits may be. Your music
strikes me as beautiful, and I greatly appreciate it. I hope that other
members of the list give you the recognition and encouragement you deserve.
Again, I apologize for doing so on such infrequent occasions.
Stephen Arndt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roman Turovsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "BAROQUE-LUTE" <baroque-lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:59 AM
Subject: [BAROQUE-LUTE] Re: la belle cecille
A small offering in particular to friends from the Low Countries, as well
as
everyone:
A Limburgian tune from Van Pelt speelmansboek from Maastricht-
http://polyhymnion.org/swv/music/cecille/cecille.pdf
http://polyhymnion.org/swv/music/cecille/cecille.mid
Enjoy,
RT
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