You think she didn’t roll her eyes at Jesus when He initially refused to help at Cana? And I can’t imagine her and Joseph doing anything other than a lot of eye rolling once they realised they’d managed to lose God’s only Son (after the initial shock of course).
Thanks. God bless you too.
I know the kind. We still once in a while get requests for “Mother, At Your Feet is Kneeling”. I admittedly take a little liberty of making slight changes to the “score” so that it doesn’t sound as cheesy and saccharine. Sometimes, you hear people singing it with scoops all over the place and it really does become a caricature of itself when heard like that.
Second point: please please please listen to Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert play it before you let anyone tell you that about the Canon in D (says she who has played it 50 zillion times for weddings). It is only made boring/vapid by boring/vapid musicians of shallow education who have no clue about historically informed performance practice (i.e. all the expected ornamentation and points of style baroque composers didn’t write down because working musicians already knew all that), have no clue how different the instruments were that baroque music was actually written for, no idea they are playing a glugged-up “improved” score with gratuitous viola pizz parts added that would have horrified the composer, and even less clue they are playing it at half-pace or less. And they never even bother with the gigue that is meant to follow. Aaaaaagh.
(As you can tell, I’m an early music fan!)
Totally. From one musician to another, we all know that one of the biggest challenges in music is to play a piece as if it is new and fresh - no matter how many times you’ve performed it. And as you pointed out, it is important to have the knowledge of how music of certain periods were played stylistically, whether you are a singer or an instrumentalist. The technique is the same, but the styles are different.Greenburg is the music historian for the San Francisco Symphony, so I dare say that he’s heard a rather good ensemble have a stab at it. I know what you mean about pace–I have heard a version that made me think, “Please, something with a pulse”–but that wasn’t what he meant. There is no piece of music so bad that it cannot be made worse.First point: total agreement. I am today working out string parts for a choir director for a 19th c. choral Gloria that I am sure is well-thought of as a Serious Piece of Great Church Music … certain I’ve heard it before but the score he supplied has no composer on it … and it’s all I can do to keep a straight face, it’s plurry awful IMNSHO. It sounds like a caricature, except it’s for real.
Second point: please please please listen to Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert play it before you let anyone tell you that about the Canon in D (says she who has played it 50 zillion times for weddings). It is only made boring/vapid by boring/vapid musicians of shallow education who have no clue about historically informed performance practice (i.e. all the expected ornamentation and points of style baroque composers didn’t write down because working musicians already knew all that), have no clue how different the instruments were that baroque music was actually written for, no idea they are playing a glugged-up “improved” score with gratuitous viola pizz parts added that would have horrified the composer, and even less clue they are playing it at half-pace or less. And they never even bother with the gigue that is meant to follow. Aaaaaagh.
Nor was it meant to, so I don’t know why Greenburg would criticise it on that basis. It is simply intended to be a pleasing piece of chamber music built on a ground bass. “Good ensemble” and “good, historically-informed performance practice specialist ensemble” are not the same thing, but there are plenty of early music specialists out that way so you may well be right. When you choose a ground bass, though, your progressions are set for you - Mr Greenburg could say the same about any number of chaconnes or variations over ground basses that comprise a whole compositional genre, so I can’t see the point in the comparison. But that’s just me.
And Sarabande’s right, there is so much beautiful music by Pachelbel that isn’t known outside organ circles and it’s a shame. His Chaconne in F minor (over another “standard” chord progression) is one of the loveliest organ pieces around IMO. (Sarabande - Emma Kirkby, whilst one can overdose on her, was a revelation to me, being the first early music specialist singer I ever heard. I spent my childhood wondering why these allegedly-clever composers wrote so much music for the human voice that the human voice clearly could not manage - you know the Wagnerian soprano heaving and dragging herself through all those semi-quaver runs, type thing? And then I heard Kirkby sing Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate one day and the lights came on!) . When done well by people such as Pinnock (who actually play like they understand the strong relationship between baroque music and dance music) I think the variations rise and fall and flow nicely and to remove any of them would destroy that structure. But you are absolutely right there is no piece of music so bad it cannot be made worse!
LOL!!! I’ve told my mother that she was the best mom in the world, except for the Blessed Mother…and since Her Son was God, He was bound to have been a lot less trouble that I was!
You are easily bored, Jimmy.
Agree with Guitar. That was hardly highbrow. As she said, it’s just the basics of being a musician. If you think that’s highbrow, you haven’t been around many musicians.
And basically, if your mind is not turned on by talk about music, then don’t participate in it. Nothing wrong with you not liking it. I can’t think of anything duller than talk about sports, so I don’t participate. When I practised law for over twenty years I kept clear of lawyers too. They’re worse.I worked in a law firm for four years while in college. I would agree, rather boring, but some of those lawyers were totally turned on by it.You’re right I’ve not been around many musicians, in fact I’ve made rather a point of it. You’re probalby right. It may not be high brow, I wouldn’t know. But boy is it boring
As old GK Chesterton said "Angels can fly 'cause they take themselves lightly!
JTG’S
AND when they perform and are totally in the moment and open, they do soar like the angels and take the listener for a trip as well. So, I would agree with Chesterton. Take care.