Dear Mathias
Thanks for your explanations, yes I do understand your
feelings. I have a number of friends here in Paris, who prefer to play
Weiss (or similar) rather than French music, more or less for the
reasons you state.
Only the bare-bones seem to be encoded in the tablature, and a great
depth of understanding is needed to interpret the simplest of pieces.
Economy of composition and melodic ambiguity, seems almost
contradictory; French classic literature shows similar economy, but
seeks out "le mot juste" (whereas according to a recent BBC programme,
English authors delight in ambiguity).
I do delight in melodic ambiguity, but am far from mastering the art of
its interpretation or grasping the "grammar" of its rhetoric.
My first teacher, Terrence Waterhouse, before I temporarily retired
from lute playing, was a student of Michael Schaeffer, and I heard much
about his theoretical in-put, through him. At that time I was only
learning renaissance lute, and there was unfortunately a long break
before I returned to lute playing and the baroque lute.
I am in contact with an expert in the interpretation of the French
lute, and always amazed at how he makes a piece sing, or talk; in
comparison my playing is completely flat, but I strive on. I love his
playing of Weiss, but find it almost melodically indulgent (if you know
what I mean), I must be rather a melodic puritan, I fear.
Best wishes
Anthony
__________________________________________________________________
De : Mathias Roesel <mathias.roe...@t-online.de>
A : baroque-lute mailing-list <baroque-lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Envoye le : Samedi 17 mars 2012 10h56
Objet : [BAROQUE-LUTE] Re: Ne Anthony Bailes CD
Dear Anthony,
I do not blame you, and I hope you didn't offense in what I wrote. As
for
the "Pieces de luth" LP, I do regret that it was my first encounter
with
French baroque lute music. When I first listened, I was like, wow, they
had
jazz in the 17th century. It's so sophisticated, I couldn't tell triple
time
from even time by listening, I was amazed by the glittering sound,
amazed by
unexpected progress of harmonies, amazed by unidentifiable rhythmical
structures.
From then on, my idea of that music was, I kinda like it, but this is
so
artificial, I will never understand how it works. This music was
completely
veiled before my ears because of many rubatos, arpeggios instead of
broken
lines, and so on. Had I first listened to, say, Michael Schaeffer,
things
would have been different for me (but if and would are the fool's last
words). That first contact coined my idea of what French baroque lute
music
was.
And that's why I kept my hands off from it for a long time. Like many
others, I took my way through Giesbert's method and later through
Toyohiko
Satoh's. To me, the greatest composers who wrote for the baroque lute,
were
Bach and Weiss, and none other compared to them. I knew there was some
French music, but it was much too tricky and way not rewarding enough
as to
be worth a try. Sorry for oversimplification, but it comes close.
> He does mention his stringing in all the booklets relating to the
> Wengerer lute (his last two CDs), but as I made clear, he says
nothing
> about th stringing of the 12c lute (a pity). I am sorry that you
didn't
> remember it.
That's right, he doesn't say a word about his stringing in the booklet
of
Old Gaultier's Nightingale.
Best,
Mathias
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