Dear Rob,
Thanks for directing us towards this Polish website. I don't understand
Polish, but I listened to the background music - a piece by Dlugoraj. It's a
lovely piece of music, exciting, with lots of drive, yet on this website it
is played arhythmically - totally out of time. Why do so many lutenists play
like that? Playing out of time is not necessary, not expressive, not
skillful, and I find it thoroughly irritating. Do they ever consider what
the rhythm signs above the tablature staves mean? What evidence is there
that lutenists in the past ignored rhythm signs, and interpreted music in
this dreamy, self-satisfying way? In attempting to find evidence, I came
across the following at the end of Mary Burwell's Lute Tutor:
"In Conclusion the greatest Errour that is in playing upon the Lute is to
play too fast, and not to keepe the tyme, and not to use the right fingers,
without that play never soe well you are but a Bungler and fitt onely to
amaze the ignorant Sorte of people and make a foole of yourselfe."
Not wishing to rely on one source, I turned to Thomas Mace's _Musick's
Monument_ (London, 1676). On page 124 he writes:
" ... you cannot fail to know my Mistress's Humour, provided you keep True
Time, which you must be extreamly careful to do, in All Lessons: For Time is
the One half of Musick."
This comes where he is describing how to play a piece called "my Mistress's
Humour", which, you might think, he would want to be played with the utmost
expression. He wants louds and softs, he wants ornaments, and he wants his
piece to be played in time. He even says that you should play in time not
just in this piece, but in all pieces (lessons).
In the last few years, Julian Bream has given master classes at Lute Society
meetings in London. He stressed two things: the need to play notes together,
(i.e. not to roll and spread chords); and to play in time. He said, "I may
be old-fashioned, but I like music to be played in time."
There are very many eminent players today, much admired, playing in
concerts, on CDs, and on YouTube, who consistently play out of time. May
they meet the ghost of Lully banging his stick.
Stewart McCoy.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'LuteNet list'" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 11:02 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Polish, anyone?
Nice picture of a 'mandora' on this site:
http://www.innow.com.pl/muzykadawna/contrabellum.htm
What's it all about?
Rob
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