Instrument players - come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

I thought we could have a thread to chat about playing! I play the piano (not as badly as I fear but not as well as I hope) and have recently tried my hand at chamber music. Would love to hear what other people are doing.

CoteDAzur Here's a picture of the instruments they used in Rameau's Dardanus.

. Please ignore all hesitations ...

Well done!

A quick comment on interpretation of Baroque music: This will sound odd to you like it did to me when my teacher first mentioned it, but Baroque music is all about "inégalité" of equal-value notes. So all of those semiquavers are not meant to be:

They are supposed to be played as:
_

_

_
_

Does that make sense? The idea is that you are holding the first note in each group of 4 just a little longer to emphasise it.

Did your piano teacher mention something like this? I'm curious as to how this music is taught on the piano.

We discussed that. I'm not playing as it was written for the harpsichord but as a piano piece.

Argh. That didn't come out right. I was trying to show that the first of the 4 notes is held just a little longer. Like this:
_ . . .
_ . . .

How is it to be played as a piano piece, did your teacher say? With all notes completely equal, or do you hit the 1st of 4 notes a little harder to emphasise it?

It is a big topic of discussion for piano players, I believe. But I don't really care - I'm a pianist and will play as I feel like on the piano. To me it's not as hard as trying to play Mozart, who had something like a piano but not a piano, and trying to get the right touch, not an ounce too heavy and not an ounce too light. Basically I've given up on Mozart...

Where they used to give space we give weight. Or sometimes space, if it sounds better ...

I guess the modern piano being quite so flexible is a curse as well as a blessing.

And as promised yesterday, here are the notes that my teacher added to D2 (at the tip of my fingers).

Extra squiggles?

I have listened to these pieces so many times with their authentic Baroque interpretations that I can only play them on the piano as on the harpsichord

The music was written to be played on the harpsichord, though, and so was meant to be "phrased" with unequal notes. I remember going at my teacher the first 100 times she told me this, so I can only imagine that you're doing the same to me now For example, Bach's music was never played on the piano during his lifetime. (He famously tried a pianoforte and declared that there's no future in that instrument ).

Of course we will all play like we feel it - hence the beauty of being a musician!

Yes, extra squiggles which means extra notes like the ones on the second line of the Gavotte (at the beginning). See pic.

It's all about the judicious breaking of rules.

That's right

Meanwhile, since you asked my 1st session of choir went well. I love it. I don't know why I haven't done it before. Teacher handed out notes that we had never seen before and told us to start singing them and not just any notes. Vivaldi's Gloria. Especially the second part was beautiful.

I was placed towards the soprano end of the altos for the time being, so I sang the second line ("Contralti").

I'm so happy

(He famously tried a pianoforte and declared that there's no future in that instrument ). Ha can just imagine him huffing. I admire your musical knowledge Cote

And quite agree with you both about judicious rule-breaking.

Choir sounds brilliant cote!

I can see how one would be horrified by the pianoforte. Who in their right mind would play a thing that is quite so capricious and requires so much control!

Cote love the choir music - that must have been a blissful experience! I’m hoping you get the chance to play the organ as well - I’m sure DH can cope!
Never you’re inspiring me to have a go although I think this could be a very long project! I do need something that isn’t just my grade pieces. After this one I really don’t think exams are the way to go.

If I were to play pieces that I have a genuine chance of perfecting I would play Dmitry Kabalevsky's miniature children pieces. (As it is, I do play them now and then, many many times, because they are so lovely.)

Thanks Broken but I don’t have much musical knowledge at all - just started my first ever music theory lessons I do read a lot and tend to go through periods of obsessing about dead Baroque musicians, so have read biographies of Bach, Handel, and Rameau.

Never DS2’s teacher ‘borrowed’ my Kabalevsky book and I still haven’t got it back. Time to drop some hints, I think!

That's because it's so good everyone wants it.

Help! Teacher decided that I need to discover other composers than Bach, Rameau, and Handel. (WHYYY??? ). Any recommendations? Something similar to these 3 Baroque geniuses, please. I can't be doing Mozart, Debussy, etc.

She suggested that I look into a French contemporary of Rameau's called Duphly. Since yesterday, I listened to most of his keyboard stuff. He sounds like a not-gifted Rameau imitator. Sort of like a Salieri trying his best (which is not enough) to reach Mozart, if y'all have seen the film Amadeus.

What do I do? I'm too old to work on pieces that don't inspire me

Telemann? Scarlatti?