dhbailey wrote:
Jeff Beck did a wonderful acoustic guitar version back in the 60s
I find whole question of performance history and how it informs our listening to be quite interesting. This is especially true of tune like that for "Greensleeves", with its meandering inflected 6th degree. Is the composer of this tune known?
But even in much more recent history, where the composer is well-known, questions abound. Here are two thorny ones from the world of horn music. Brahms wrote is horn trio for the natural horn, but because it was so difficult without valves, and because valve-horn playing was so well-established by then, most performance in his lifetime were probably on valve horn.
Conversely, Schumann wrote his Concertstuck for the absolute bleeding edge of technology (for his time): valved horns. But valve horns then were so crude, and the skill of playing them so fresh, that in early performances the most difficult top part was probably played on natural horn. (The most objective and informed expert I know on valve vs. natural horn practice is John Ericson, who I believe is at Arizona State.)
This leaves aside the whole thesis of Richard Taruskin (e.g., google his book, "Text and Act") that historically informed performances are not really about hearing, e.g., Bach the way an early-18th cent. person heard his music. He thinks that is not possible. After all, unlike the 18th-century person we've also heard Strauss, Stockhausen, and Pink Floyd, and even the most rigorous historically informed performance has jets flying overhead and car horns blowing outside. (These days, probably cell phone beepers too.)
Taruskin's thesis (which I find convincing) is that historically informed performances are/were more about finding a new way to hear Bach in the 20th century. That is, they are a 20th century phenomenon and part of the performance history of these pieces *in the 20th century*.
A cycnic might add that they also allowed the recording industry to sell a whole new set of standard rep recordings to their audiences.
-- Robert Patterson http://RobertGPatterson.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
