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There is nothing indefensible about it. Really, that’s a ridiculous thing to say. You might as well say Renie’s recomposings are indefensible.
There is nothing indefensible about it. Really, that’s a ridiculous thing to say. You might as well say Renie’s recomposings are indefensible.
I would seriously consider using nylon strings then, at least for the summer season, and fresh coated gut strings. The only ones I can think of that would unravel are uncoated strings or really worn gut strings. Nylon strings also clean easily and should be less sticky. If you want that gut sound, just play lower on the strings with the same sharp attack and the nylon will sound just like gut.
You have to keep going. Muscle memory is only the first step. Starting in different spots, counting out the beats as you play, focusing on dynamice, phrasing and other interpretive details all engage the mind. Then you put it away. In a year or so, you pick it up again and start over, put it away. Maybe the third time, if you’re lucky, you have so assimilated it that it is second nature now, and you can only think about how to perform it, perfectly control all the effects, and be able to repair every memory slip. Then you must perform it at least once, somewhere, for experience, and then it is ready to be repertoire. A long process, to be sure, but it works, and you keep rotating your stock like a kitchen. I first starting learning Flight in 1980 at Tanglewood. I learned the notes, we all did that summer, and no-one could get it past 104 to the beat. Many times I worked it over. All last year. Until I performed it, it was never secure. Now it is so much more controlled and feasible. I think I can reasonably expect to be able to perform it at the tempo marked of 152 in the future. One nice thing about learning pieces like that, or the Variations by Salzedo: they improve your technique so much that everything else is improved.
And to answer Carl, the “leap” from Jamet to Salzedo was simply a reflection of my impatient mind. I am striving to play the original. If it is to be changed at all, then I would rather go all the way to Salzedo’s brilliant solution which sounds clearly, moves well, and is playable in the tempo Debussy seemed to want. And we know he liked speed. One thing I do not agree with is changing any notes of the slide into the last page. It must be in theis it Lydian-mode to set up the chords to follow and get the harp ringing in the mode.
And to answer Carl, the “leap” from Jamet to Salzedo was simply a reflection of my impatient mind. I am striving to play the original. If it is to be changed at all, then I would rather go all the way to Salzedo’s brilliant solution which sounds clearly, moves well, and is playable in the tempo Debussy seemed to want. And we know he liked speed. One thing I do not agree with is changing any notes of the slide into the last page. It must be in theis it Lydian-mode to set up the chords to follow and get the harp ringing in the mode.
And to answer Carl, the “leap” from Jamet to Salzedo was simply a reflection of my impatient mind. I am striving to play the original. If it is to be changed at all, then I would rather go all the way to Salzedo’s brilliant solution which sounds clearly, moves well, and is playable in the tempo Debussy seemed to want. And we know he liked speed. One thing I do not agree with is changing any notes of the slide into the last page. It must be in theis it Lydian-mode to set up the chords to follow and get the harp ringing in the mode.
That is a wonderful insight into the Lord’s Prayer, mass of treacle that it is. Yes, Salzedo was willing to rewrite and recompose pieces to make them sound better on the harp, to make the harp speak. I don’t think it was wrong, not when you are as fine of a musical mind as he was. Whether we keep them or not is our choice. I agree that it is necessary to rethink a piece if you are translating it into a new medium, just as translations can rarely be literal and be effective. Whether it calls attention to itself or seems merely to be part of the whole is a measure of the artfulness of the transcription. Leopold Stokowski was also the master of this, and if you listen to his orchestration of Soiree d’un Grenade, you’ll hear measures he added for the harp that are pure magic. I am working from the original of the Danses to find my own path into and from them. I have made some tiny changes here and there to improve the chord voicing or progression, but mainly, I am removing the layers of Renie and Salzedo, which can unfortunately obscure the message of the original. One really must study both original and transcription to perform a transcription well. One must understand the changes made and why, not play them blindly.
That is a wonderful insight into the Lord’s Prayer, mass of treacle that it is. Yes, Salzedo was willing to rewrite and recompose pieces to make them sound better on the harp, to make the harp speak. I don’t think it was wrong, not when you are as fine of a musical mind as he was. Whether we keep them or not is our choice. I agree that it is necessary to rethink a piece if you are translating it into a new medium, just as translations can rarely be literal and be effective. Whether it calls attention to itself or seems merely to be part of the whole is a measure of the artfulness of the transcription. Leopold Stokowski was also the master of this, and if you listen to his orchestration of Soiree d’un Grenade, you’ll hear measures he added for the harp that are pure magic. I am working from the original of the Danses to find my own path into and from them. I have made some tiny changes here and there to improve the chord voicing or progression, but mainly, I am removing the layers of Renie and Salzedo, which can unfortunately obscure the message of the original. One really must study both original and transcription to perform a transcription well. One must understand the changes made and why, not play them blindly.
That is a wonderful insight into the Lord’s Prayer, mass of treacle that it is. Yes, Salzedo was willing to rewrite and recompose pieces to make them sound better on the harp, to make the harp speak. I don’t think it was wrong, not when you are as fine of a musical mind as he was. Whether we keep them or not is our choice. I agree that it is necessary to rethink a piece if you are translating it into a new medium, just as translations can rarely be literal and be effective. Whether it calls attention to itself or seems merely to be part of the whole is a measure of the artfulness of the transcription. Leopold Stokowski was also the master of this, and if you listen to his orchestration of Soiree d’un Grenade, you’ll hear measures he added for the harp that are pure magic. I am working from the original of the Danses to find my own path into and from them. I have made some tiny changes here and there to improve the chord voicing or progression, but mainly, I am removing the layers of Renie and Salzedo, which can unfortunately obscure the message of the original. One really must study both original and transcription to perform a transcription well. One must understand the changes made and why, not play them blindly.
