Klarinet Archive - Posting 000160.txt from 1998/07
From: "RJ Carpenter" <emerald1@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: Mozart and the V word
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 12:14:37 -0400
I think we all know that "playing from the heart" doesn't actually mean
playing from the heart; but it's a phrase that still has meaning. It simply
means that you should play "spiritually", utilizing the emotions that a
certain piece brings to you; and than convert that into musical energy. If
you don't do this; then you will be one of the most boring, least successful
soloist ever.
I also think that it is safe to say that most of this argument about
vibrato and emotion has been based on playing in the solo setting; as the
argument originated from the mention of Kv. 622. I would think that very
few of us would use vibrato or a questionable interpretation of a piece
within an orchestral setting; I know that my orch. would kill me!;-)
I apologize about my earlier comment of you playing the part of the
"arrogant fool". It was not meant as an insult; it was only meant to convey
a point; I have great respect for you, and don't yourself be lead to believe
otherwise. I just don't always agree with you.
Sincerely,
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tristan Carpenter- Clarinetist, Saxophonist, and Bassist.
emerald1@-----.net
www.geocities.com/bourbonstreet/bayou/2048
"...music is the voice of the soul."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 06:01:49 EDT
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
>Subject: RE: [kl] Re: Mozart and the V word
>
>> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.71
>> Subj: [kl] Re: Mozart and the V word
>
>> P: Dan, that was well written and argued cleanly. However, I still say
>> it is not really possible to know how an 18th century performer actually
>> sounded and whether or not that sound matched the composer's intentions.
>> How would Beethoven know??? No written descriptions, no matter how
>> detailed, can describe a sound. Even a recording is not totally
>> adequate.
>
>In effect, what you state is that no arguments that can be advanced
>on the basis of reportorial information can possibly satisfy you,
>and in that case, you are a free agent to do as you wish.
>
>Since this is the case, it does not pay to continue such a dialogue.
>Do as you wish. Make up the rules as you go along. That is
>probably enough to get you a gig or two with the New England Polka
>band that does all the White Eagle Halls of Massachussets. It will
>not get you far in the world of music that I suspect you would like
>to belong to.
>
>Music is NOW. Anyway, I write more from the perspective of
>> the consumer and the teacher. I am not, and never wanted to be, a solo
>> performer. I've heard music with no heart - music lauded by those
>> blessed with erudition - and I'd rather spend the time programming my
>> computer to play that way than listen to it in many cases.
>
>Let's change tactics. You talk a great deal about music with no
>heart. Let me be absolutely serious in the following question:
>do you really believe that the human heart has any role whatsoever
>in music except for the pumping of the blood through the body?
>
>I doubt if you do believe that, somehow, the heart is engaged in
>emotional issues. That's poetry and love stories. In life, the
>romantic and/or sexual impulse (which is really what we are talking
>about when we speak of this element of music) comes from somewhere
>other than the heart. It is clearly not the liver, the spleen, the
>left lung, etc. So what organ in the human body (and it is not that
>organ either) is responsible for the erotic or romantic in music?
>
>Without become too personal, exactly what part of your body produces
>all of this romance about which you seem to be inordinately attracted?
>You infer that intellectual approaches to music are as exciting as
>programming your computer, so you certainly know where that aspect
>of music comes from; i.e., the head. OK. I'll accept that.
>
>But from where does all the gooey stuff come that attracts you, and
>once we understand where it comes from, then maybe we can find a
>way to understand it better.
>
>The difficulty in speaking about music precisely is that eventually
>you have to be so precise that you wind up throwing out a lot of
>junk that has become almost biblical over the years, like "dark
>sound" and "play from the heart" and "German style" and those
>million phrases that have absolutely no meaning (and even less
>value) that have become a part of your belief system.
>
>>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For additional commands, e-mail: klarinet-help@-----.org
For other problems, e-mail: klarinet-owner@-----.org
