On Jun 25, 2006, at 11:39 AM, John Howell wrote:
I agree with what David says, especially in terms of the huge differences between professional and amateur/school/community ensembles, but the above sparks some second thoughts. On the surface, what he says is quite true, but it applies across the board to ALL orchestral instruments, since they have all gotten louder since Beethoven's time.
The history of music is the history of music getting louder. Good or not, depending on the use and circumstance, but that's the fact.
There was some discussion of amplification recently - having to do with B'way pit orchestras. I played in the first show to use this extensively - "Promises, Promises" (Burt Bachrach - orch. by Johnny Tunick). The pit was about 75% covered with fiberglass panels, and all the instruments and 4 women singers in the pit were miked and piped into the theater. Phil Ramone was the engineer/sound designer, and for a number of reasons, to my ears, it was a disaster of balance, timbre, and quality of experience in spite of Phil's best efforts and a large budget. I don't know if things have improved over the years but, for my own experience, I prefer smaller halls and sound that is not squeezed through wires and loudspeakers. To me, hearing music that way is like "...eating a picture of food" (Bill Dobbins), or getting kissed over the phone. I don't mean to start a war with those who, like myself, understand the need for, and appreciate the good use of, amplification in those circumstances where it is truly necessary in order to make the music intelligible and balanced. But those circumstances are few compared to the situations of amplification overuse and misuse.
Chuck Chuck Israels 230 North Garden Terrace Bellingham, WA 98225-5836 phone (360) 671-3402 fax (360) 676-6055 www.chuckisraels.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
