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Adieu mon frère

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Author Topic: Adieu mon frère  (Read 3036 times)
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autoharp
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« Reply #15 on: July 30, 2014, 12:29:26 pm »

It's all too easy to fall into such a trap in order to try to ensure that things don't go other than according to plan but it can sometimes either intimidate or even annoy the player...

Or - "to be played in the character of the horn solo in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan (1965 recording)".
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ahinton
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« Reply #16 on: July 30, 2014, 03:37:03 pm »

It's all too easy to fall into such a trap in order to try to ensure that things don't go other than according to plan but it can sometimes either intimidate or even annoy the player...

Or - "to be played in the character of the horn solo in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan (1965 recording)".
Is that a real performance direction?(!) - if so, what is its source?
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Ian Moore
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« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2014, 03:13:30 pm »

I have just heard back from the pianist and he has given me permission to put the whole performance on Youtube. Hopefully, I can get a full recording up in the next few days.
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-Boulez
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« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2014, 11:02:16 pm »

It's all too easy to fall into such a trap in order to try to ensure that things don't go other than according to plan but it can sometimes either intimidate or even annoy the player...

Or - "to be played in the character of the horn solo in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan (1965 recording)".
Is that a real performance direction?(!) - if so, what is its source?

Er - no it's not!
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ahinton
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« Reply #19 on: August 08, 2014, 02:48:16 pm »

It's all too easy to fall into such a trap in order to try to ensure that things don't go other than according to plan but it can sometimes either intimidate or even annoy the player...

Or - "to be played in the character of the horn solo in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan (1965 recording)".
Is that a real performance direction?(!) - if so, what is its source?

Er - no it's not!
Somehow I didn't think that it was, but you never know, I suppose! Perhaps that's a pity anyway, since it has an amusing ring to it...
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Ian Moore
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« Reply #20 on: August 13, 2014, 09:47:43 am »

At last...Here is a whole performance of Adieu, rather than snippets.  This video has all of the music and most of the score.  It is a live recording.  I hope it shows you what I was trying to achieve. Please enjoy:

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Neil McGowan
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« Reply #21 on: August 13, 2014, 12:48:58 pm »

The pianist appears to have ignored the dynamic markings, throughout :(
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« Reply #22 on: August 13, 2014, 02:31:31 pm »

Unfortunately, the recording emphasises the piano part. I was at the recording and the balance was great. It was recorded on one track therefore it is difficult to re-adjust the balance. Sorry.
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« Reply #23 on: August 13, 2014, 05:01:50 pm »

We still await answers to the questions posed last month. It does seem that certain aspects (such as the dynamics) are overwritten and no excuses regarding the recording cover that up. Neither player obeys the dynamic markings: does that matter? The players on the recording are unquestionably committed and yet the complexities of the notation guarantee only an approximation of what you have written: does that matter? This raises other questions such as - is there a more efficient way to notate your intentions? Why is this notation so complex-looking anyway - is it down to a collision of systems? etc.
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« Reply #24 on: August 13, 2014, 08:11:45 pm »

I didn't put my music here to defend my notation.  I put it on this forum to share and ask for feedback. I like people to be honest. I thank you for your comments.
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« Reply #25 on: August 13, 2014, 08:18:31 pm »

Unfortunately, the recording emphasises the piano part. I was at the recording and the balance was great. It was recorded on one track therefore it is difficult to re-adjust the balance. Sorry.

But it's not the balance. It's the relative dynamics within the piano part. pp is supposed to be quieter than p. f  should be louder than mf. But none of these carefully-notated markings are observed in the performance, which is played at a continuous mf.  It all conspires to denude the music of its characteristics and effect :(

This kind of happy-go-lucky approach to dynamic markings comes out of the "Tune-A-Day" approach - that dynamics are the icing on the cake, that "we might get round to once we've actually sorted out notes, and their durations". Yet a dynamic marking is just as much a part of the composition as the pitch-notations, and ignoring the dynamics is just as much as a mistake as playing F# instead of Ab.

I hope you don't perceive this as being negative. Ignoring the dynamic markings has reduced the effect your piece could make. It's a bit like showing a colour film in black-and-white.
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Ian Moore
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« Reply #26 on: August 13, 2014, 08:32:53 pm »

I understand what you are saying. But on the whole, taking into account that it is a live performance, they do a great job.  This is one of my favourite pieces that I have written.
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« Reply #27 on: August 13, 2014, 09:20:06 pm »

Unfortunately, the recording emphasises the piano part. I was at the recording and the balance was great. It was recorded on one track therefore it is difficult to re-adjust the balance. Sorry.

But it's not the balance. It's the relative dynamics within the piano part. pp is supposed to be quieter than p. f  should be louder than mf. But none of these carefully-notated markings are observed in the performance, which is played at a continuous mf.  It all conspires to denude the music of its characteristics and effect :(

This kind of happy-go-lucky approach to dynamic markings comes out of the "Tune-A-Day" approach - that dynamics are the icing on the cake, that "we might get round to once we've actually sorted out notes, and their durations". Yet a dynamic marking is just as much a part of the composition as the pitch-notations, and ignoring the dynamics is just as much as a mistake as playing F# instead of Ab.

I hope you don't perceive this as being negative. Ignoring the dynamic markings has reduced the effect your piece could make. It's a bit like showing a colour film in black-and-white.
I think that you make excellent sense here over all of these issues.
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