Stephen,
Thanks!!!
you are way too kind, and may very well cause a relapse of my aristophilia.
As to musical workings- you are "right on the money" as we say in this
country.
I should be careful not to repeat an old anecdote relayed by a contemporary,
who wrote that the reason why the friendship between Voltaire and king
Friedrich of Prussia worked so well- was because Friedrich thought that
Voltaire was really intelligent, and Voltaire was of the same opinion.
RT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Arndt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "BAROQUE-LUTE" <[email protected]>; "Roman Turovsky"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:58 PM
Subject: [BAROQUE-LUTE] Re: la belle cecille
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" <[email protected]>
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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