Performance venues are very different in the US and Europe. I've heard some Europeans remark that there are no good halls to play in the US! A bit of an over-exaggeration, but you don't have the abundance of small, intimate spaces here. Pack in more people = more ticket sales. Also, most of the halls here were built for louder instruments (piano) and full, modern orchestras or amplified instruments. So, I'm going to make a leap and say that Americans are generally more sensitive to playing loudly since it's such an issue here. Yes, it's an issue with the lute in general, but a great space really helps the sound keep going. Maybe this is a way that the US environment shapes an American's touch/accent.
--- Donatella Galletti <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think it's possible, not just in vocal music, but in playing as well. I > think someone made some studies about accent , language and the way one > composes and plays and there is a link among them. I can usually tell the > American , English and German way of playing from the Italian one. Hoppy is > an exception, but he has been living in Europe for a long time. The > approach to studying is also different, generally speaking, so I think one > can compare the difference there usually is in a tractise made by a European > or an American and the approach to a musical piece. > I can also appreciate the more practical approach in playing, which makes > one produce more, in the USA, without some aspects which are considered very > important in Italy and are sometimes fussy, under the point of view of > marketing. I think it's a cultural aspect. Italy is very much considered for > design, for instance, but at a John Doe level it means that in many places > in Italy ( much more than you can possibly imagine) one cannot go out > without ironing clothes first or wearing colors which don't match etc.. > There are a series of unwritten rules which the foreigner cannot catch and > follow. In music it's the same, one finds himself in a maze of written or > unwritten rules which make it possible for him to reach a high level of > training and be compelled to choose another job to live on. There is even > the written prohibition for people studying in Conservatorio not to play in > public before finishing the ten year course, ( which students disattend) , > unless one asks the headmaster for a written permission, which is such a > complicated thing , burocratically speaking, that should one follow the > rules, one would never play. > > Donatella > > > http://web.tiscali.it/awebd > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Herbert Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 3:06 PM > Subject: [LUTE] An American accent in lute playing? > > > > > > Do Americans play lute with a distinctive "accent"? > > > > By this I mean: Suppose you took a good teacher with extensive > > experience in both American and Europe, and had him listen, > > blindfolded, to 10 American lutenists and 10 European lutenists. > > Could he pick out the Americans with any degree of success? > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > ------------------------------------- Christopher Schaub web: http://www.christopherschaub.com email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
