Very good questions! I have been tinking about it recently, especially after watching Rooley's concert. It's funny, he was so concerned about an authentic performance of English songs (getting to a point of avoiding applauses not to disturb the quiteness of the lute), but at the same time he was using nylon strings and playing in a hall which was anything but authentic for such kind of music.
Maybe this is a question of priorities in music performance... 2007/10/7, G. Crona <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > I think that these two mails clearly indicate that the lute should perhaps > be amplified for big venues. But where's the limit of acoustics? Can it be > measured in cubic meters? Or number of listeners? Does a lute sound loud > enough in a gothic cathedral? > > G. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bruno Correia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 4:13 AM > Subject: [LUTE] Lute concert > > > > > > Dear lutenists, > > > > While having a glass of Malbec wine and my memory is still reasonably > > fresh, I'd like to share a few coments about the concert that Anthony > > Rooley > > and Emma Kirkby gave here in Rio de Janeiro last Friday. > > First of all, I was very excited to see two very famous specialists in > > early > > music in a recital dedicated to English songs (Dowland, Campion and > > Coprario). By coincidence my last concert was on English songs as > well... > > > > The hall is fairly large one, 835 seats to be specific. However the > > acoustics is wonderful, I've seen many great concerts there. But that > > night > > only one third of the hall was full and I on purpose was seating on the > > 8th > > row (about the middle of the theatre) just because I wanted to know how > > the > > duo would deal with the sound projection in such a place. For a moment > > before the concert I thought that it might be amplified... silly > thought, > > it > > wasn't. > > > > The concert began and they made a very good visual impression, she was > > dressed beautifully, perfect for the ocasion while he was more discreet > > but > > nevertheless good looking on stage. Her singing was superb from the > > beguinning of the concert to the end, hard to describe how well sang: > Her > > gestures, phrasing, dynamics, interpretaion, diction, knowledge of the > > style, sensitivity, everything combined to deliver a first class > recital. > > > > Well, I was suposed to be talking about the lute! Sorry... > > > > On the other hand, the lute sound was very, very, very small... Anthony > > joked before the second half explaining about the English lute song > > repertoire and especially the lute: "The smallest sounding instrument > men > > ever built" (his words...), people laughed, unfortunately for a moment a > > felt myself as having "The smallest pXnXs in the world"... > > In fact it was hard to hear his (Anthony) playing and in the few > ocasions > > where he did solos, it was also painful to hear or to understand what he > > was > > doing. later I understood why. > > > > The second half I sat at the third row on the right side of the hall. I > > must > > say it was better not only to see Emma's closely and wach her > expressions > > but also to hear the poor chap on the lute. Then I had a better idea of > > what > > was going on. Apart from the size of the hall being not ideal for such a > > performance, the lutenist was playing with guitar technique, not resting > > the pinky on the soundboard and not plucking the strings properly (I > mean, > > using the technique described by Pat O'Brian as releasing the finger > from > > the string, which enhances the sound quite a bit), his hand was also > > jumping > > every chord he played and finally there was no sight of thumb under or > > even > > thumb over (as Nigel North) in the divisions and scales. It was not for > > free > > that his overrall sound was very stacato and specially the divisions > were > > very non legato with his index middle alternation. My impression was > > simply > > that he did not bring the sound effectively from the instrument and in > > fact > > everyone I knew in the concert complained about it (I'm not that > crazy...) > > > > After the recital I decided to ask him a few questions. He said he was > > using > > nylon strings and Pyramid wounded basses. Well, at least now is very > > clear > > why the sound was so dark on the trebles besides of his faulty > > technique... > > With PVF or even better Nylgut (gut would be very tricky) the result > could > > have been a little better. > > > > This kind of event makes me feel great by seing our instrument being > > exposed > > to an wider audience, but the general feeling according to most people > > that > > I know including musicians, that the lute is not apt to the concert > > plataform, still remains. > > > > Note - Coments welcomed! > > Ron A. answered: > > Dear Bruno: > > I feel obliged to say a few words here. While your concert review was > much > appreciated by those of us who, unhappily, do not have the opportunity to > hear such great artists perform in our locale, your comments about the > lute > playing seemed a bit misguided. > > My first question to you is, do you know how much ground work Anthony > Rooley > has done to make the 'lute revival' what it is today? While this question > has nothing to do with technique, nor with your concert experience, I > think > it is important to demonstrate a bit of respect for the people who have, > through writings, recordings and performances, created an example from > which > we have come to understand and interpret this music we love so much. > > Secondly, I have to ask how much do you perform on the lute? Have you > played in the hall you described? There are certain things that are just > beyond our control when we perform, and the size of the hall is usually > dictatated by matters such as availability of the space and monetary > considerations. We all know that the renaissance lute was meant to be > played in a small, reverberant space for only a few listeners. While this > performing situation is not practical if one wishes to have a monetary > return on the performance, it helps if the audience is fully aware and > chooses to focus attention on the nuance of the music, rather than carp > that > it's not loud enough. > Lastly, a word about lute technique. We, as humans, are all put together > a > bit differently. We all have different fingers. This was undoubtedly the > case 400-500 years ago as well. There never was _one_ way to play the > lute, > and there still is not _one_ way to play the lute. If your background is, > like so many lutenists, classical guitar, then I can only say I'm > sorry. I > understand the idea that Segovia's technique is the only way to play > guitar > has slowly given way since that great artist passed on. > > Hopefully, lutenists will at some point stop being afraid that they are > doing it wrong, and get on with playing music in a way that touches the > listener. While I have not had the privilege of hearing Emma Kirkby and > Anthony Rooley in a live concert, I do appreciate their obvious mutual > understanding of the music they play. I accept the quiet performance > because it gives me the opportunity to listen intently and focus on the > music. > > Best wishes, > > Ron Andrico > > -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
