Johannes Gebauer wrote:
Otherwise there is very little difference between what we do and what
the Berlin Phil do in their baroque ensemble: modern wind, but gut
strings and bows. Played in a more or less modern fashion, yet
immitating the "Baroque Sound" which comes to us through Concerto
Köln or the likes. It is not historical, it is immitation if
anything.
There is a place however, IMO, for such performances, wh. certainly
beats what has happened in th US, where orchestras have essentially
abandoned the baroque precisely so as not to perform thus.
I have a set of Brandenburgs recorded ca. 1964 by Karl Böhm using
recorders and harpsichords, but everything else modern--including
ritards at the end of each mvt. At the time these were the last word
in Baroque orchestral performance, and they are still, to my ears,
pretty wonderful.
I have been pressing, hard, for the community orchestra in which I play
bsn. to program baroque music, and as a result (this comes under
the heading of be careful what you wish for) we are doing the Bbg. V
this season, w. soloists from the Philadelphia Orch. Now,I know
perfectly well that this is not an orchestral piece at all, but I'm not
going to say a thing about that to our conductor because a) our
first-chair strings are not good enough to play one-on-a-part,
and b) I have the sterling example of Mr. Böhm in front of me that
this work can be well, even wonderfully performed with a full string
section.
If I can just get 10 minutes in front of the orchestra to tell them
the following five things, and they pay attention, I'll be happy:
1) No vibrato
2) trills start on the auxilliary tone, and *on the beat*
3) bow from the wrist--if possible with the elbow down.
4) emphasize strong vs. weak beats. No. 3 will help w. this.
5) always bow on the string except where instructed otherwise.
Yes, this is just a beginning, and oversimplified to boot--but it's a
start, and will lead to a performance that, to our audience at least,
will sound stylish. For a bunch of amateurs, I don't think it's
realistic to try and demand more.
Andrew Stiller
Kallisti Music Press
http://www.kallistimusic.com/
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