Klarinet Archive - Posting 000757.txt from 2003/02

From: The Ciompi Family <deal5@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Shepherd on the Rock
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:35:53 -0500

Dear Neil,
I think your bubble analogy at the end of your post is the right one. Play to your standards and
convictions. Hopefully, the audience will sense that, whether its the boors here in the states or the
ultra sophisticates in Europe! Even if you think us less "up" on things musically, why do people
come to our concerts if not to be educated, immersed as well as hopefully entertained?

Arturo

Neil Leupold wrote:

> --- Tony Pay <Tony@-----.uk> wrote:
>
> > First of all, an explanation of *why* you're unlikely to be convinced,
> > and a detailed source:
> > http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/Phrasing.html
>
> > Another way of looking at that, which might be worth reading first:
> > http://www.woodwind.org/Databases/Logs/2001/05/000572.txt
>
> I notice that you cite your posts as a common device. Do you have a catalogue of URL's at the
> ready, or do you conduct an archive search every time you want to reference historical Klarinet
> material?
>
> > Still, how crucial is this argument here? Perhaps not very. Even if
> > the soprano is obscured, we've heard what she's singing once or twice
> > before, after all. You could even make out a case that her being
> > finally overwhelmed by the clarinet is a dramatic sexual metaphor
> > (clarinets are better than....:-)
> >
> > But it *is* crucial at other points in the piece, and at very many
> > points in other classical pieces, as I try to make clear in the
> > references. Performances that use the 'going to' metaphor as the norm
> > particularly damage the clarity and simplicity of the 'Shepherd on the
> > Rock', and its clarity and simplicity is an important part of its
> > touching quality.
>
> The consolidated point made by these two paragraphs is not un-huge, in my opinion, i.e., that
> encountering the exact same musical phenomenon multiple times within a piece (be it opera, pure
> orchestral, chamber, or solo) -- in the case of Shepherd, the text itself -- requires a thoughtful
> approach relative to its purpose (as determined by musical context). Your suggested justification
> for a dynamic climax at the LT resolution involves a bit of faith and 'audience mindreading', as
> it were. Are the audiences of today musically sophisticated enough to pick up on the fact that
> they're hearing repeated lyrics, and that the literal meaning of those lyrics the 2nd and 3rd time
> around defensibly takes a back seat to other musical considerations (such as the one you suggest,
> the expression of a dramatic sexual metaphor)? Sadly, I would argue that they're not, in which
> case the "thought"-fulness behind any given interpretation of the passage is lost on them (which
> is not to suggest that a thoughtful approach should not still be taken and applied).
>
> Neil Leupold wrote:
>
>> --- Tony Pay <Tony@-----.uk> wrote:
>>
>> > First of all, an explanation of *why* you're unlikely to be convinced,
>> > and a detailed source:
>> > http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/Phrasing.html
>>
>> > Another way of looking at that, which might be worth reading first:
>> > http://www.woodwind.org/Databases/Logs/2001/05/000572.txt
>>
>> I notice that you cite your posts as a common device. Do you have a catalogue of URL's at the
>> ready, or do you conduct an archive search every time you want to reference historical Klarinet
>> material?
>>
>> > Still, how crucial is this argument here? Perhaps not very. Even if
>> > the soprano is obscured, we've heard what she's singing once or twice
>> > before, after all. You could even make out a case that her being
>> > finally overwhelmed by the clarinet is a dramatic sexual metaphor
>> > (clarinets are better than....:-)
>> >
>> > But it *is* crucial at other points in the piece, and at very many
>> > points in other classical pieces, as I try to make clear in the
>> > references. Performances that use the 'going to' metaphor as the norm
>> > particularly damage the clarity and simplicity of the 'Shepherd on the
>> > Rock', and its clarity and simplicity is an important part of its
>> > touching quality.
>>
>> The consolidated point made by these two paragraphs is not un-huge, in my opinion, i.e., that
>> encountering the exact same musical phenomenon multiple times within a piece (be it opera, pure
>> orchestral, chamber, or solo) -- in the case of Shepherd, the text itself -- requires a
>> thoughtful
>> approach relative to its purpose (as determined by musical context). Your suggested
>> justification
>> for a dynamic climax at the LT resolution involves a bit of faith and 'audience mindreading', as
>> it were. Are the audiences of today musically sophisticated enough to pick up on the fact that
>> they're hearing repeated lyrics, and that the literal meaning of those lyrics the 2nd and 3rd
>> time
>> around defensibly takes a back seat to other musical considerations (such as the one you suggest,
>>
>> the expression of a dramatic sexual metaphor)? Sadly, I would argue that they're not, in which
>> case the "thought"-fulness behind any given interpretation of the passage is lost on them (which
>> is not to suggest that a thoughtful approach should not still be taken and applied). I'm
>> referring more to American audiences here, and perhaps the state of musical awareness and
>> appreciation is different in Europe. Music, of course, is meant to be heard, making the audience
>>
>> itself part of the musical context that must play a dominant role in one's interpretive
>> considerations as a performer. Is this true? Or should our approach to a given performance be
>> constructed in a bubble, irrespective of who is going to hear it?
>>
>> Neil
>>
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>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Neil
>
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