I'm reminded of Charlie Parker's quip that where ever he went he heard
people practicing his mistakes. Although it was said of Charlie Parker that,
on returning from his gig in the Ozark Mountains with Lawrence Keyes, he
could play every one of Lester Young's recorded solos. In jazz one is
expected, as part of one's training, to emulate and even copy the musical
expression of one or more previous masters of the art. But, then, one is
expected to develop a musical style unique to oneself, and it is considered
decidedly unhip to continue to slavishly copy the previous masters of the
art. We must pay due respect and homage to the masters who have given us
this music, but. then, we must make the music our own if the tradition is to
be a living tradition.
Best to All,
Gary Digman
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stewart McCoy"
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 20:46:58 +0100
To: "Lute Net"
Subject: Lute on Open Air Festival 2
> Dear Bill,
>
> The question of HIP is not confined to the world of early music. In
> the field of bluegrass, for example, there are enthusiasts who
> transcribe music from records, and learn to play note for note the
> semi-improvised music of such luminaries as Earl Scruggs and Bill
> Keith. So keen are they to be accurate, that they even copy and play
> mistakes which have crept into the recording. That's ridiculous.
> It's like those lute players who read from facsimile, and play every
> note they see, "because it's in the original", regardless of any
> human error on the part of the scribe or printer.
>
> The more you learn about the lute, the wider will be your knowledge
> and experience of the instrument and its music, and the better you
> will play. You don't have to end up playing like an introverted
> anorak, just because you know something about the music.
>
> The mistake is to equate HIP with being boring. Both HIP and non-HIP
> are equally capable of being boring or not boring. For example, if I
> were to imitate exactly your gleeful murdering of "tempus est
> iocundum" complete with American accent and accompaniment
> of Bolivian charango, it could be very dull. On the other hand, it
> could be highly entertaining.
>
> Some years ago people used the word "authentic" to describe
> performances of early music. The word implied that a performance was
> exactly how it would have been years ago. Yet no modern performance
> can be truly authentic, which is why it is now fashionable to talk
> of HIP (historically informed performance). I think it is an
> important distinction to make.
>
> The Beatles performed their music in the 1960s. It was a new,
> exciting sound, created by a group of young, long-haired musicians.
> John Lennon and George Harrison are now dead, yet even if they were
> still alive, and even if the four members of the group wanted to
> play together again, they would never be able to recreate those
> earlier performances. It could never be the same.
>
> There is a group called the Bootleg Beatles, who give concerts of
> Beatles music, copying as closely as possible what the Beatles once
> did. Their attention to detail is impressive, yet they cannot be
> truly authentic, because they are not the real Beatles. All they can
> hope to offer is a historically informed performance. I have been
> told that they are extremely entertaining. To some extent that's
> what we do with our lutes, although mercifully, even within the
> confines of a historically informed performance, there is much scope
> for improvisation and individual input.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Stewart.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "bill" < BR>> To: "Stewart McCoy"
> Cc: "Lute Net"
> Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 2:20 PM
> Subject: Re: Lute on Open Air Festival 2
>
>
> > i've been riding around on my tractor all morning mulling over
> what you
> > say in your letter (since joining the list, "early music" and all
> its
> > concerns have replaced dark, dead-end metaphysics as a prime topic
> of
> > internal debate).
> >
> > it occurs to me that formally trained musicians and composers like
> > yourself have always been at odds with "musicians" like me who
> will
> > gleefully murder a tune and disregard learned opinion if it
> "feels" ok
> > to do so.
> >
> > this must be very irritating.
> >
> > the only consolation i can offer you is that this haughty disd ain,
> on
> > one part and "don't care" obstinacy, on the other, is probably
> very
> > much in keeping with the hip ethos. your lot were probably
> slagging
> > off my lot, centuries ago.
> >
> > this is only because the confines of hip seem to exclude the sort
> of
> > music i'm interested in - music i would like to know more about if
> > documentation on it existed - but which (apparently) doesn't.
> >
> > i understand that medieval music was more or less the same for all
> but
> > that with the coming of the renaissance, music moved into the city
> and
> > music of the country - european, "country" music - seems to have
> > disappeared off the face of the earth - or so the absence of
> > documentation would suggest. i don't think country people ceased
> to
> > sing and play their instr uments when their city slicker cousins
> began
> > ignoring their efforts but speculation from the present -
> informed,
> > intuitive intelligent or otherwise - does not appear to be a
> virtue
> > with the advocates of hip.
> >
> > the delineation between baroque, renaissance and medieval music
> > probably didn't even exist in the country. more than likely, for
> them
> > it was just continuous, uninterrupted "music."
> >
> > so here i am, simply delighted to be amongst you as i strum my
> bolivian
> > made vihuela de mano (nee: charango), sing "tempus est iocundum"
> with a
> > slight - but discernible - american accent and put an ancient
> "two"
> > together with a very modern "two" and arrive at what i hope is a
> > timeless (and therefore extremely un-hip) "four."
> >
> > kindest regards - bill
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
--
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