Rob Le 19 nov. 08 à 09:26, Rob MacKillop a écrit :
> 2008/11/18 Anthony Hind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > However, I have been told that most lutenists find their playing > drops by around 20% when playing in public or before the mike. > > Anthony, it is actualy 17.8 per cent. Please get your facts right. > This is a scientific list. We care about such discrepancies. My problem is that my performance drops by around 70%, and it doesn't start off very good, even when in private. I do envy your 17,8%!!! > > Some lutenists are using these to put up their definitive > performances of a piece > > Are they really? Surely there can be no such thing? I certainly > would never claim any of my performances have ever been definitive. > (Something we can all agree on!) Of course you are right, a performance can always be improved on, or varied, but once it is recorded, let us say as an LP or a CD, it is there for perpetuity (i.e. for 50 years, that sort of definitive), in my second point, not yet sent to the list, I suggest that it is this fear of the recording as long term witness, that causes many performers to be over cautious when recording trying to avoid any slip, and then frequently, they over-editing, removing all the life present in a live performance. Live performances are partly exciting just because a slip could and does happen (like the excitement when watching a tight-rope walker). I heard a La Callas fan saying that what he loved about her singing was exactly the fact that it was not perfect. It was the imperfections he claimed that made her performance incarnate. Over edited recordings, are not only bland, but they raise expectations to a rediculous height. Audiences today, quite wrongly, expect perfect, rather than expressive, performances. One could therefore say with Sergiu Celibidache, that no recording is worth listening to, and demand that everyone switch off their computers, Cds and Gramophones, and attend live concerts. However, your recent anecdote, shows this is just not feasible for our instrument, and personally, I do like to listen to music when relaxing at home, even to analyze other people's performances, and I would like the best recordings possible. Now perhaps an MP3 recordings might be more spontaneous (although they are also very easy to edit), but, in any case, its compressed format will destroy other essential information. I have listened to your "The Healing" CD. I don't know how edited this was, but at least I could have some perception of your delicate touch. I don't believe that with MP3 or with YouTube I would be able to do that, even while wearing earphones, as you suggest on your site. I listened to a Jakob Lindberg recording through MP3, and frankly the Rauwolf sounded metallic, and Jakob"s playing slurred. I bought the CD, and although it has problems because of the room acoustics. It is acceptable. In a recent message, I spoke about the nuances obtained by using different strings, there again, I doubt whether these would come through on MP3. In an ideal world, I would like more people to go to live concerts, I would prefer MP3 to be only used as a sort of sketch book for a future performance, or as a teaching and practice aid. Although, it is true that sometimes the sketch is actually preferred to the final painting, and this could occasionally be true with MP3. I would like recordings that are supposed to last, to be made at a single take, using the best pair of mikes available (ribbon or similar), capable of capturing the micro-dynamics of the lute, and the recordings stored on the least compressed format available. The fact that you advise people to use the best earphones possible, and your apologies for the MP3 quality, probably means that we are at least partly in agreement, here in terms of the ideal world. Your anecdote has shown that we are far from this ideal world, and I do understand and respect your reasons for deciding to give up CDs for the MP3 format. Regards Anthony PS I don't need to add my second point any more. > > Rob MacKillop -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
