Hi Stuart
Pleased to hear you are still plucking away at Foscarini! I think you are
right about the rhythm and barring. However I think you are playing the
piece too fast. It is a passacaglia after all and it sounds rushed in
places. The strummed chords on line 3 would be more manageable at a more
moderate tempo. Also it depends a bit on how you strum. I strum with my
fingers, not my thumb which is what some of the books say you should do. (I
can't strum with my thumb anyway as I cut the end off it many years ago and
this rather cramps my style). If you use you fingers then you don't need
to more your right hand so far away from the strings.
I'm glad you tend to agree with me about the strum marks. These serve a
dual purpose. They are almost the equivalent to putting in the note value
for every note, instead of only when these change - as in some lute
tablatures. This is also why he puts in the dots. Originally, in Colonna
and F's earlier book these did indicate the duration of the notes (rather
erratically).
This piece was discussed some time ago and I don't think that you are
supposed to e.g. include open courses in all the chords willy nilly because
there is a stroke mark.
I think Tyler's comments about Foscarini being daring and original is based
on a misconception. On the whole his musical language is quite
conservative.
Foscarini's notation is innovative, but inconsistent.
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Walsh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2008 8:01 PM
Subject: [VIHUELA] more Foscarini
Here is a passacalle from Foscarini, a lot earlier than the one discussed
a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/FoscPass.jpg
It looks technically easier than the other one but it's still quite
intimidating: a whole page without a bar line in sight. (And elsewhere in
Foscarini, where there are barlines, the rhythm signs are haphazard.)
Perhaps I'm subjectively imposing patterns on this but I see it as 40
bars - 10 fairly straightforward strains of a four bar routine. It's the
strum signs which are the key to it all and then fitting in the rhythm
signs with a bit of invention.
So I've been trying to play it. It looks easy enough but I find it really,
really difficult. For a start, genuine mixed tab like this has your right
hand flying away from the strings when you strum. Normally on a plucked
instrument you try to keep your hand really close to the strings ready to
move effortlessly to the next position you need to be in.
Also the pure alfabeto bits. You'd think these would be very easy. But
take line three, especially the H, G, O, E, I(4-3),E (and it is repeated
at the end) - that's really difficult. Just the change from O (G minor) on
the quaver of the bar to E (D minor) is a killer.
I'm following Monica's advice and interpreting some 'strum' signs as not
really strum signs. I think you have to do this all over the place. I've
tried to record it many times and this is about the best I can do for the
moment. Perhaps I should have written it out. All I did was pencil in
where I think the bar lines should be. I dedicate the clonks and crashes
in it to Rob's percussion class:
http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Fos.mp3
I've been struggling with this, off and on, for a while now. Just as an
experiment I dug out some other easy music. A couple of pieces by Logy - a
Ballet and a Minuet. Of course, these really are easy pieces but I played
through them a couple of times and then made a quick recording here:
http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/2logys.mp3
Maybe it sounds like it, but it took just a couple of minutes to record
and it's a basic, OK amateur performance (I think!!) whereas I really am
still struggling with the seemingly easy Foscarini piece.
I'd be fascinated to hear anybody else's attempt at it.
Stuart
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