Klarinet Archive - Posting 000724.txt from 2004/10

From: "musicv" <musicv@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Putting a beat to K. 622
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 22:25:24 -0400

I've been playing with an orchestra this past month, that I haven't had =
the
opportuninty to play with before. It is normally a string orchestra, but =
for
their first concert of the season, they have added winds in order to =
perform
some larger orchestral works. =20

It's been fun playing for a different conductor, and seeing the =
techniques
he uses to extract the kind of performace he desires from the musicians.
One of the things he's been working on with the group is to encourage =
more
up beats and fewer down beats. In other words, these are the words he's
been using to describe the direction and phrasing he wants in the music.
For example, he may ask us to play all the notes in a series of measures =
as
up beats, as a way to get us to play those measures in a forward-moving
manner towards the climax of the phrase which is when he relents and =
finally
lets us play a note as a down beat. =20

Another comment he made is that today's popular music is pretty much all
down beats and that's why songs can only last a couple minutes. Whereas =
if
we consider classical music (i.e. not popular), it is mostly up beats, =
and
that is what gives the music its driving force and makes it interesting
enough to sustain our attention for 10, 15, or even 20 minutes... =
(thinking
of the length of a movement in concerto, symphony, etc.)

So after thinking about this over the last few weeks, and then reading =
Dan's
post about being puzzled over the discussion about putting a beat K.622, =
I'm
thinking that putting a beat to K.622 would be like doing the opposite =
of
what the conductor I've playing for has been asking - stop playing it =
with
all those wonderful up beats that lead you through the musical phrase, =
and
instead play it with many more down beats - and disco is a prime example =
of
music with a lot of down beats. =20

My own personal opinion as to why someone would want to put a (down)beat =
to
K.622 would simply be to make it sound more like today's popular =
music...
perhaps as a way of introducing some classical melodies to ears that
wouldn't normally be caught dead listening to anything other than =
popular
music. We've seen similar things when an artist has taken a classical
melody and put words to it a then give it popular setting (eg. Midnight
Blue, the popular song with the melody from the slow movement of =
Beethoven's
Pathetique sonata). Sometimes, people who learn those popular tunes, =
and
are then later introduced to the original classical setting, are then
pleasantly surprised, and perhaps a little more open to listening to =
more
classical music.

Ginny Scarfino
scarfinv@-----.net

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