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.

It's lovely lovely lovely.

Late baroque: - a different style, cute and great fun to play.

Will you consider modern composers? Like Bartok and Grieg and Kabalevsky?

Well, modern-ish.

No no no I somewhat prefer the Scarlatti piece to the other one, which is entirely too jumpy & waltz-like for my taste. I much prefer pieces in minor key, I think.

I'm too old to work on pieces that don't inspire me Exactly, was just saying that on my thread.
Scarlatti is a good suggestion, love it. His later work is transitional between baroque and classical, apparently.
I'm not a Kabalevsky fan.

You do like your music bangy

There are symbols and abbreviations on that sheet music that I've never seen before in my life

I haven't looked closely. I might give up half way. You never know. But hey, I'm allowed!

Never Scary ambitious! Me neither Cote. But hey, why not. Similarly I printed Dr Gradus ad Parnassum to tackle...one day...I won't get through it any time soon.

What is sec.?

And what is Led.?

Repeatedly used in Never’s sheet music.

Do you like Corelli harpsichord pieces? And Vivaldi? Their violin pieces may be more famous but I like Corelli's harpsichord sonatas and trios.

Is the Led. a curly L? I have old music which has curly letters and the 'Ped.' for pedal looks like Led.

I’d love Corelli & Vivaldi recommendations - Pieces I can play solo on the harpsichord, please, not trios & sonatas.

[Corelli and Vivaldi]
I had a bit of a hunt for my piano transcription of Corelli's Christmas Concerto. Can I find it? Like hell I can. But it may still be available - I love that piece and its a good time of year to learn it.

I remember playing piano arrangements of Corelli (especially the Concerti Grossi) and of Vivaldi's ensemble pieces years ago. I'm sure they were regular publications and not all specials for exams/training - it may well be worth looking for them new or SH or for home printing.

I also like Vivaldi's harpsichord concerti (ok they are not as good as Bach but I still like them). I'm pretty sure Trevor Pinnock has published harpsichord arrangements of pieces from these composers.

Movements of Baroque ensemble pieces are still transcribed for use in grade 6-8 exams - I discovered this happily when my own kids were going through the grades. It can be worth having a look through the listings from recent years as the exam books are often available second hand.

I used to resist playing composers I didn't like but was required to when going through the grades. My teachers stressed that different composers develop different techniques which would make me a better all round player. Looking back this was true, although I'll never love Wagner! I did develop a love for Debussy's preludes having started out hating them. I think I just liked the internal patterns once I got stuck into them.

Yes, it's Ped for pedal in fancy writing

I laugh in the face of unknown symbols and abbreviations.

I'll cross the bridge when I get to it, if I even get to it.

Broken I like Dr Gradus. I like a few Debussy pieces, but mostly I find them a bit too blurry, IYKWIM. Also I would quite like to be able to play some of them but the amount of effort required doesn't seem to be worth it...

C8H - I’m sure those concerti & ensemble transcriptions are great but I’m looking for solo harpsichord pieces. Corelli & Telemann for example have written many. I should probably just sit down & listen to them all to find a few that I like.

Meanwhile, I listened to all of that loser Duphly’s keyboard music. All 4 “books” of it. He was SO trying to be like Rameau, it’s not even funny. Many if his pieces are directly inspired by Rameau’s. So they sound vaguely like Rameau, without the genius.

Rameau’s La Timide

Duphly’s Les Colombes

I wrote a long email to my teacher last night, detailing Duphly’s shortcomings including predictable counterpoint, shambles musical construction, no satisfactory tension/resolution etc with examples of his plagiarism

“Ped for pedal”

That must be it I thought the pedal was used continuously through most pieces on the piano? That’s how pianists I know always play anyway.

"I thought the pedal was used continuously through most pieces on the piano?"

It very much depend on what you are playing!

In discussion about whether you pedal or not in some pieces - for one piece my teacher said "it is up to you - but if you use the pedal we don't want to know about it". That pretty much sums up how pedals should be used for me - you are allowed every trick in or not in the book but everything is to be done to achieve what you want to achieve musically.

Do you hear the pedalling in Natacha Kudritskaya's Rameau?

Not really

I’m a pedal moron. Never used it, never needed to. Harpsichord doesn’t have it and I never felt I needed to add to the music when playing on the piano at how, either.

Meanwhile, I am now pretty much done with Bach's Gigue and its Double from BWV 997, which are in the same suite as the Prelude I posted downthread (). And here's , in his characteristic super-fast flair. I have to say that I find myself also making weird faces and rolling my eyes when playing this piece It's such fantastic brainhurty ecstasy to play

And now I'm on to Rameau's Courante from his Nouvelle Suites. . I largely prefer it on the harpsichord , though.

It is such incredible music. There is an incredibly heart-wrenching part towards the end of the second half. I can't wait to play it.

I started it a couple of days ago and am pretty comfortable with the first half now. If I told you how many hours I played this weekend, you would think I've gone nuts