How wise and zen.
Thanks for the reminder,
Susan
ElizabethanConversation.com
On Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 9:22 PM Tobiah <[1]t...@tobiah.org> wrote:
I was just playing a favored piece, and a familiar thought came to
mind. Slow down, and savor, and be faithful to every note. These
composers were wrestling with an instrument that could only *just*
muster the counterpoint and harmony they had in mind, and was then
only
realized when in the hands of an accomplished player who understood
those aspects just the same. One bass note missed, or a botched
note of
a sparsely expressed melody can ruin the otherwise perceived beauty
of
expression that was the intent of the composer.
It's wonderful to play and hear lute music at a rapid tempo, so that
we
can better witness the expression of the composer where his master
craft
actually lay: in the macro parts of the composition. A balance
must be
struck however while we as players develop, so that our desire to
master
the intent of the composition does not suffer from inattention to
the
fragments that make the mosaic. In lute music, if a trill, or a
beat or
a note is lost, the phrase can be lost, and so an entire section of
the
piece, and in accordance, the attention of the listener, that so
often
gets lost to the competing chambers of her mind.
My advice is to be mindful of both scales (of time): the magnified
finger change between two awkward positions, balanced with the
patient
understanding of the passage between phrases and sections.
There was a more concise quote by a composer of who's name I'm sure
I
will soon be reminded. It said in more impressive language, or
simpler,
which might also be more impressive, that one might practice slowly,
and
progress quickly.
Tobiah
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References
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