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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000032.txt from 2003/11

From: Dan Duncan <dan.duncan@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Morons Versus Quality; Counterpoint
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:46:53 -0500

Bravo Phil!

On Monday, November 10, 2003, at 03:27 PM, PhilFrei@-----.com wrote:

> It's a mistake to deride all of Telemann's work because some of his
> music was written to be background music. Some of his music is first
> rate. I am a particular fan of this set of duets: (Sonates sans basse
> a duex flutes traverses ou a deux violons ou a deux flutes a bec,
> dediees a Messiers Georg Behrmann et Pierre Diteric Toennies--1727).
> There is a tremendous amount one can learn from them, including some
> first-rate imitative counterpoint. And he knows just the right moment
> to END the imitation, too. Counterpoint, in the hands of a second-rate
> composer, can be quite pedantic and self-serving.
>
> The notion that key signatures are obsolete (or that their lack is a
> sign of "modernity") comes as a bit of a shock. As a composer myself,
> I admit making frequent use of them, and in humble gratitude to the
> service they have provided, feel it is important to come to their
> defence.
>
> I am reminded of the first European musicologists in their initial
> contact with Nigerian drumming traditions. The rhythmic complexity was
> so advanced it went right over their heads. So much easier to call it
> "primitive" than to admit something was beyond their immediate
> intellectual grasp, and would require months if not years of study and
> work to gain true competance.
>
> Phil Freihofner
> Oakland
>
>
Dan J. Duncan
Professor of Bassoon and Oboe
Department of Music
Eastern Kentucky University
521 Lancaster Ave.
Richmond, KY 40475
859-622-1351
http://www.music.eku.edu/faculty/duncan/
dan.duncan@-----.edu