Hola folks, hola Ulrich, I am a fan of Valentin´s playing. I had never heard of him before I went to St. Chartier 2 years ago and saw him playing. My friend who was with me fled in disgust whereas I stayed enchanted!! (we are still friends though!) I feel his music opens up new dimensions.
I love Jazz and also Blues and used to listen to avangarde Jazz Sunday mornings in Frankfurt at the Römer. I have been trying to get "Heresia" but to no avail. Where can it be bought Ulrich? My hurdy gurdy teacher here in Valencia has Valentin´s teaching book and says it is very good. I will try to buy it although I do not speak French but I have a hg teaching book by Marc Egea written in Catalunian and I can work with it. Recently I found a CD by Valentin: Great Masters of the Hurdy Gurdy. It has 22 tunes, traditional and also modern ones. Great listening. Cheers Christa 2009/2/4 Ulrich Joosten <[email protected]>: > Hello folks, > > > > well – Valentin's music is not everybody's cup of tea for sure. And it was > not either the day he showed up at St.-Chartier two and a half decades ago, > playing his music and changing the hurdy-gurdy ever since. Not really > co-incidence (even if he asserts it is) that later on he called a CD > "Heresia": When he started to revolutionize either playing techniques > developing new ways of playing far beyond the pure traditional techniques as > well as instruments by challenging luthiers to adapt their instruments for > his then unique playing style, many traditionalists called him a Judas and / > or heretic. But no one can deny that he has had an impact on the modern > hurdy-gurdy like no other. Without him, probably a small couple of hard core > gurdyists would still sit gathering in Central France playing "Bourrée > carrée de St.-Chartier" and no one would give a damn. In his first years > Valentin split up the gurdy players in two fractions: the ones who screamed > "traitor" and the others who adapted a famous citation and said "Clastrier > is god". Neither of these extreme positions is true, but without any doubt > he is and was the most influential hurdy-gurdy player who made the > difference – without him the instrument would still not be accepted as a > fully-fledged instrument but be smiled at by professional classical > instrumentalists, as a necessary evil to stage Leopold Mozart's > "Bauernhochzeit". > > > > I can understand that Valentins music is not for anybody's taste and this is > very okay – since you can't argue on taste. For me also much of his music > does not really touch my heart, especially in case Valentin plays jazz music > together with Michael Riessler and Carlo Rizzo. These recordings are deeply > impressing qua virtuosity of three individuals together on highest level. > But me personally, I can't stand this music any longer than 5 minutes. Yes, > it impresses my brain, but not my heart. Nevertheless, there are CDs by > Valentin that are worth listening, to name his first recordings on "La > vielle à roue de l'imaginaire". And if one day you get the chance to see > Valentin life on stage – please do yourself a favour, put aside your > objections and go for it. This may change your perspective sustainable. > Seeing him solo life on stage – THAT is the moment when he touches me > deeply. Valentin does not only use the hurdy-gurdy as a percussion > instrument by simultaneously playing and tapping it – at the same time he > also uses a kind of big wooden stomp box with a mike inside for percussive > effects played with his feet. One has to see this before believing it … Any > time I see and hear him playing I get inspired wishing that I could do just > a little of what he can do and it highly motivates me to rehearse. > > > > Even if one does not like Valentin's music I would highly recommend his new > book "La vielle & l'univers de l'infinie roue-archet". The DVD included > showcases his coup-de-poignet techniques and your eyes may pop out seeing > what is possible. All his various coups are illustrated with a kind of > wheel-position-mandalas and also you can see them animated on the DVD. > Unfortunately, it is in French only, but if you can read French a little or > if you have somebody at hand who could translate, than the book would > probably help to improve your playing. > > > > Sincerely yours, > > Ulrich > > > > > > ________________________________ > > Von: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Im > Auftrag von Jim Petersen > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 4. Februar 2009 21:04 > An: [email protected] > Betreff: [HG-new] Re: Valentin's music > > > > I find it interesting how taste varies from individual to individual. How > do we arrive at these different tastes, what stimulus while we were growing > up formed these variances? Although I do not doubt the man's talent for a > minute the "perfect" word I can use to describe what I heard, especially at > his site is "cacophony". > > I do not know if it is my simplistic approach to life or my lack of music > theory but I think "if you are going to play music make sure it has a > point, it makes it more interesting for the listener." > > This is not meant as a dig to the performer or meant to be harsh, I just do > not > understand it. > > Discussion anyone? > > Peace > > Grey Aengus (aka Jim) > > http://www.greyaengus.com > > > > often in error, never in doubt > > --- On Fri, 1/30/09, ungava <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: ungava <[email protected]> > Subject: [HG-new] Valentin's music > To: "hurdygurdy" <[email protected]> > Date: Friday, January 30, 2009, 8:03 PM > > I found an interesting site a youtube with Valentin Clastrier. > > Valentin's web site in French with sound samples! > > http://www.valentinclastrier.com/content/index.php > > Valentin plays and briefly speaks (in French.) > > Just to mention: his music always defies perfect words, but very > > complex and exciting. > > A thrill. Kind of rock slightly. Some jazz improv., which he clearly > > has used devotedly with > > the > > > > hurdy gurdy on his own DCs. It seems to be > > in D, the drone is hard to hear, but model, like melodicly centered > > around A or the dominant tone, suggesting A minor almost but with Eb > > in a D major that gives this an eastern feeling. The "Barana Trio," > > but it is more than 3 performers in this film. Behsat Uves drums, > > Steven Kamperman soprano sax, Bart Lelivelt accordion... with guests > > Valentin Clastrier/hurdygurdy, and Carlo Rizzo on the tambourine. > > Live, April, 2007. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yib4QGNYja8&eurl= > > refernce-the trio's site: > > http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=147140116 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. 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