Gary, --- On Sun, 10/17/10, Gary Digman <[email protected]> wrote: > > That being said, I have to admit that I have attended lute > concerts given by some of the leading lights of the lute > world for audiences numbering in the hundreds where the lute > literally could not be heard at all past the seventh or > eighth row. Very frustating to pay $35-$80 for a ticket only > to find out you will not be able to hear the lute no matter > how focused you are. I think if we're going to play for > audiences this large, some sound reinforcement may become > necessary even though it is a compromise. Other instruments > have had to deal with this problem. Jazz bassists amplify > the double bass, even though the best and purest sound of > the double bass is thereby compromised, in order to be > heard. >
Back when I got my Master's in classical guitar, projection was a major focus of our training. While the ability to produce a dynamically nuanced performance was assumed and formed a major part of our grades, we were also expected to understand the practicalities of performing in less than ideal circumstances. We were told repeatedly: get to the hall early; have someone listen to you as you test the dynamic threshold; be prepared to let go of some of the precious dynamic or phrasing ideas you worked out alone in the practice room; you might want to consider moving your right hand position a little closer to the bridge as a general position for this concert; descend to really low volume as a special effect only were dramatically appropriate - maybe once or twice in a program; above all, HAVE REGARD FOR YOUR LISTENERS. I've never encountered this in my lute training, where the emphasis has been decidedly on working out even more subtle gradations. This is all well and good - professionals should have total control over the instrument - but what about the people on the other side of the lute? There's no reason a lute can't feature in the same size halls as classical guitar. Although the overall volume is slightly less, it carries far better than the comparatively bass-heavy, mellow modern guitar. The real problem comes down to two culprits: the myth of the lute as "mystical window to another era," and the strong-weak articulation. I'm prepared dismiss the former, a view which embraces the idea of the lute as some sort of delicate magical device whose spell will be broken if its voice rises above a hush, because this is a fairly tale modernism. The latter is more difficult. We all know that good-bad, strong-weak alternation was part of early music. In practical terms, however, if you're playing in a large hall and no one can hear your weak notes, the audience is literally missing half of what you're playing. A player might have to settle for strong-less strong or REALLY STRONG-strong or even strong-strong in some cases. Sorry, you might just have to eschew showing off what an erudite, HIP musician you are in lieu of showing off the music. I once took a large group of my classical guitar students to hear a big name lutenist who was performing in a not-especially-large venue. My students all said that the concert was boring because the performer only played simple little pieces. When I actually showed them the sheet music to some of the pieces played, they couldn't believe the degree of musical sophistication involved. They left with the impression that the lute had some great music written for you, but its really a weak little instrument. I had to sympathize with their position because I too felt that many of the subtleties of the music never got to the audience due to the incredibly intimate, sensitive touch of the performer. As a lute fan, I could appreciate the performer's awesome control, but I could not actually experience it. Ultimately, despite great artistry, this person was really a poor ambassador for the instrument. Chris > Gary > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Andrico" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 11:29 AM > Subject: [LUTE] Lute volume > > > > To All: > > We have a new post on our blog that > may be of general lute interest, > > concerning volume in performance. > > http://mignarda.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/sound-check-is-it-loud-enough/ > > Best wishes, > > Ron & Donna > > www.mignarda.com > > -- > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.862 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3199 - Release > Date: 10/15/10 11:34:00 > > >
