And that, I think, sums up the whole debate in a most concise manner. 'nuff said. Colin Hill ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 7:21 PM Subject: [NSP] Re: the vagaries of the written note
> As most people have already said, the written note is most useful, does show > the pitch of the note and its duration, and is one of the best ways of > preserving compositions for future generations. However so much more is not > conveyed. I know that the discussion is mainly related to folk music and NSP in > particular, nevertheless I would like to quote an example which I feel is > pertinent. Recently, 12 good pianists gave an informal recital of the > preludes and fugues from the "Well-tempered Klavier" by J.S. Bach. During 9 of the > pieces the audience was yawning, looking at their watch and staring out of > the window - bored stiff, anxious to get to lunch and longing for the program > to finish ! But when 3 of the pianists were performing, Bach suddenly > came alive. It was the most wonderful music we had ever heard! Everyone's > attention was rivetted to these beautiful sounds, interesting inner voices and > exciting interplay of parts It really brought home to the audience how much > is needed in addition to "just playing the written notes". > > Of course, how to develop this skill is another matter. > > Sheila > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > >
