Hi all,
While Ron is quite right about the Early Music scene not being terribly
informal, there are more than a few reasons, the greatest of which is
noise level.
When my wife, sister-in-law, and I were playing with the UCONN
Collegium (Deb and I as townies, Dianne as a student) they were
gathering each year with the University's chamber choir and brass
quintet to put on a Renaissance Dinner, which was a 3-evening event on
the campus for two and in Avon, CT for the third.
For the loud band and Brass quintet, it was fairly workable. For the
recorders and viols, it was hit or miss. More than once a night (every
time, one night of our multi-year experience on campus, and every
single time in Avon, where the venue allowed the quintet to hover over
the floor on a balcony) the viols and/or recorders would start up only
to have the quintet start a few bars into whatever we were playing:
They perceived that no one was playing because they couldn't hear us
over the crowd. They were stationed on the opposite side of the dias
from us, with only the chamber choir intervening.
When the chamber choir began their official performance portion, for
which the Collegium provided accompaniment on a few larger songs and
harpsichord for a few of the solos, and the quintet was scheduled and
signalled when to start, things worked better, especially since there
was a fairly free flow of wine during the preceeding dinner portion.
The proceeds financed travelling concert tours for the chamber choir,
but provided much-needed exposure for the Collegium, helping to obtain
grants from which instruments were procured. Although we had a lute, it
was rarely used for these venues.
I have provided incidental music for various college functions when I
worked at Mitchell College, from a nearly hopeless outdoor effort with
another violist (Boismortier duets during the reception after the
Granduation, where no mistakes were made, at least, no one could tell
because no one heard the right notes, let alone the wrong ones, which,
of course we never played!) Indoor banquets with the viol trio worked
much better, and we even got requests for business cards from people
who thought we'd be desirable for private parties, which never
materialized.
I
We did one thing that was an absolute success: We volunteered to play
Renaissance trios on viols before two history classes and an English
Lit class who were passing through that era. I highly recommend this to
anyone who can get their consort (or themselves if they are a solo act)
to take the time off from the day job or get up before noon: It will
not be your easiest room, but it will have a lasting effect which you
will see, the more you do it.
Our experiences were mixed. I got into the classroom before the class
entered, drew a timeline on the board, marked where each of the
composers we'd be performing lived and if possible, when the specific
part was written. I gave a very short presentation of the instruments,
all viols, why the tenor and bass looked different (one was a consort
tenor, the other a german bass), noted the relative sizes, number of
strings, tied frets, different way of holding the bow. That was enough:
the tone of the instruments was enough for the students who had any
idea what a violin or cello was. One or two students were rivited,
attentive, and focused through the whole class. They turned out to have
played instruments in High School. Most of them seemed disinterested.
One put his head on his arms and stayed moribund through the period,
others doodled.
We soldiered on, through the three classes, and my accomplices left for
home. I went back to work on the college servers. Later, I ran into
each of the professors who had let us into their domains. I expected,
at best, a sigh, and a "well, that didn't work." Instead, I was told at
great length how each student had responded, what they'd said to their
professor as they left the class.
The doodlers were art majors. Their doodles reflected their impressions
of the music. They had a visceral experience and said that it had
inspired them to get and listen to more of this fascinating music. The
history majors were all poleaxed. Their idea of music pretty much began
with Bach = Boring (a sad sad problem) and their interest began after
Dead White Men stopped writing boring stuff. They were amazed that Dead
White Men could have written interesting stuff, and some of them found
a connection to a 400-year period that they'd never been able to forge.
The most interesting was the sleeper. He was classified as a
special-needs student, mildly autistic and mainlined. When the music
started, he couldn't handle the aural and visual input simultaneously.
His head was down because he wanted to concentrate everything on
listening, and knew he had to keep the number of tasks he was occupied
with to a minimum. He remembered composers and their dates, he
remembered everything I'd said about the instruments and how they
related to (or didn't relate to) modern instruments, he was charmed and
excited by it all.
The most startling was the majority of each class, who sat with
horridly neutral faces, that look I remembered from the 60's as meaning
"I'm trapped in this classroom without hope of escape and someone is
boring me to death". It turns out that they were the ones who had never
in their entire lives been in the presence of a human being making
music come from a real natural instrument. Some had seen rock bands
from across a stadium. A small few had heard someone playing an
electronic keyboard. Most had heard recordings or radio, none had heard
classical music of any sort or anything earlier. All had been assured
through their entire Highschool career that nothing done by Dead White
Men could possibly be of any use, and that no Woman had been allowed to
write music before the middle 20th century, and they had been
oppressed. (Although we didn't have anything from a woman composer in
our collection, I had mentioned Hildegarde and the Convent musical
life, had mentioned in passing Vivaldi and the Ospedali (an institution
far more egalitarian and valuable to Baroque Italy than the Revolution
was to France).
All-in-all, it was a labor of love, and it had tremendous effect on the
students who received the gift.
When I was in school, in NY, we had an artist-in-residence at the
northeast SUNYs, and part of their responsibilities included performing
for every elementary student in the region on each visit. At one point,
it was a string quartet. One of their tricks was to have a student come
on stage to play their favorite stringed instrument. I was waiting on a
new 'cello, ordered but not received by the school system when they had
their big 3rd-grade music testing thing. I was the one chosen to go up.
The 'cellist sat me in his chair, leaned his 'cello on my shoulder,
helped me get a clumsy grip on the bow, and told me at his mark I
should just drag the bow hairs over the two middle strings. On cue, I
did, and the first violinist played "The Campbells are coming". That
kind of program has disappeared from most school systems. Over the last
half-century, arts, and music have eroded with budgets, and larger
budgets have almost invariably supported drama and sports. The only way
we can hope to rebuild an interest in the arts is by voluntary efforts
of artists and musicians, and amateurs are going to have to take up the
slack where professional musicians are already overworked and
underpaid.
Believe me, Students aren't going to judge your playing good or bad:
they will mostly be simply amazed to see and hear you.
ray
On Wed, Jan 3, 2018 at 11:32 AM, Ron Andrico <[1]praelu...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
Thank you for your New Year's greeting, Tristan.
Much as I would wish the US early music scene to be otherwise, it
is
for the most part not what might be characterized as informal,
inviting
nor inclusive. While there are a few soloists and ensembles
attempting
to perform in less traditional venues, the attempts are not
really
successful. Ronn McFarlane did in fact play in a bar in
Cleveland
once. I had lunch with him the following day and he reported
that
there were 10 people in attendance.
I have written about this at some length and will continue to do
so,
but the early music scene in the US really caters to
sit-down-and-shut-up audiences who are encouraged to participate
in
some weird fan worship culture. There are a few exceptions, and
Mignarda is definitely among the exceptions. We make it a point
to
seek out non-traditional audiences, and we have deliberately been
performing in a variety of smaller venues, restaurants, coffee
shops,
libraries and in house concert settings for most of our 15 years
as a
duo. We also perform in churches and the usual larger venues,
but we
like having contact with our audiences.
I am of the opinion that early music will die out with the
rapidly
ageing baby-boom generation unless more of an effort is made on
the
part of performers to connect with people of all ages and
backgrounds
and encourage informal ensemble playing. In the coming year, we
will
be initiating a series of local informal gatherings where
amateurs and
professionals can connect and share a love of making ensemble
music.
Wish us luck.
RA
____________________________________________________________
______
From: [2]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu <[3]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu>
on behalf
of Tristan von Neumann <[4]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de>
Sent: Wednesday, January 3, 2018 1:41 PM
To: lutelist Net
Subject: [LUTE] Early Music life
Happy New Year to all who are on the European calendar.
Here's one question - is there any noticeable Early Music life
going on
in your neighborhood, besides the 19th/20th century concert
context
(which I always find a bit awkward)?
Ever heard of a bar where there are Early Music jam sessions?
Have you ever seen Early music picknicks in the park or in the
woods?
Do you play table music at your own private dinner parties?
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