Dear Peter:
This is slightly off-topic but pertains to your observations on the comments of
Ian Spink.
The slightly acerbic critical descriptions of 'our' music dished up by the last
generation of musicologists seems to have been something of a fad. One senses
an undercurrent of the judgemental analysis=2C with comparisons of the subject
to later 'better' music creeping into the writing.
John Ward=2C whose work I respect very much=2C seems to have indulged=2C both
by quoting others and with his own barbs. In his _Music for Elizabethan
Lutes_=2C he quotes Oliver Neighbour as describing the end of John Johnson's 'A
pavan to delight' as 'sluggish harmony 'supporting a dull sequential melody
that peters out altogether...[two] bars before the end'. In the same chapter
on Johnson=2C he seems to agree with Constant Lambert's assessment of the
musical quality of variations on a ground (in jazz) in the quote=2C 'It is the
monotony and paucity of musical interest in this perpetually recurring harmonic
ground that eventually makes us lose interest in the cadenzas themselves'.
Ward later describes music in the Marsh manuscript=2C an important source of
Johnson's duets=2C as follows: 'One wearies of the rapid conjunct movement in
figures often encountered but rarely assembled=2C of the constant rummaging
about in the middle register of the instrument=2C of the lack of!
compelling musical discourse.'
One thing to bear in mind is that no musicologist of that generation actually
played the lute. Playing transcriptions of the music on the piano might give
one an overall sense of the music but the 'sound world' of the instrument makes
a tremendous difference in the overall communicative experience of playing or
hearing music on the lute.
Best wishes=2C
Ron Andrico
www.mignarda.com
> Date: Sun=2C 27 Jul 2008 12:02:30 +0200> To: [email protected]> From:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [LUTE] Re: More on lute songs> > The Spink book
> is depressing because he doesn't like the music. Open the> book at random:> >
> "The conclusion seems inescapable then=2C that Blow=2C as a song writer=2C
> fails> at all levels ... he just has not got what it takes" (p. 251)> >
> "There is=2C however=2C little to say in favour of Francis Forcer=2C whose>
> numerous songs are among the feeblest written by any composer of the period">
> (p.178)> > "[Lanier] shows incompetence=2C or=2C at least=2C misjudgement in
> his handling of> words and a rather jejune taste" (p. 106)> > "Many of the
> contents of [Pilkington's] First Booke of Songs (1605) are> rather turgid"
> (p.33)> > And so on. Miserable. Frankly=2C I would avoid Spink and spend the
> time on> the music instead.> > P> > > > > 2008/7/27 LGS-Europe <[EMAIL
> PROTECTED]>> > > Bruno wrote:> >> > Thanks for the info! Is the book from Ian!
Spink still availlable? I only> >> find used ones...> >>> >> > I wouldn't
know. I found mine 18 years ago=2C new=2C in 'De Slegte'=2C the Dutch> >
bookshop that stocks what we call shop daughters: remains from normal shops> >
and publishers that are sold cheaply as the profit for the production of the> >
first print has been made. It's cheaper for the publishers to sell these> >
under normal price and to make room in their warehouses for new books than> >
to keep these in stock. But a decent library should have it for you. The> >
Musica Britannica can also be found in any decent library. These volumes are> >
rather expensive: something like 130 euros I think.> >> > David - finds his own
cds as shop daughters occasionally =3B-)> >> >> >> >
****************************> > David van Ooijen> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >
www.davidvanooijen.nl> > ****************************> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>
>>> >>> >>> There's a nice little booklet by Ian Spink on the repertoire
you're> >>!
> interested in. It's called 'English Song=2C Dowland to Purce!
ll' (Batsford=2C> >>> London 1974). And check out the MB series part XXXIII:
English Songs> >>> 1625-1660 (edited by the same Ian Spink) for a taste of what
happenend> >>> between the lute songs of Dowland and the continuo songs of
Purcell.> >>>> >>> David> >>>> >>>> >>> ****************************> >>> David
van Ooijen> >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> www.davidvanooijen.nl> >>>
****************************> >>>> >>>> >>> To get on or off this list see list
information at> >>>
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html<http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html>>
>>>> >>>> >> --> >>> >>> >> >> > > -- > Peter Martin> Belle Serre> La Caulie>
81100 Castres> France> tel: 0033 5 63 35 68 46> e: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> web:
www.silvius.co.uk> http://absolute81.blogspot.com/> www.myspace.com/sambuca999>
www.myspace.com/chuckerbutty> > --
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