tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3534568135940084548.post130840012432188870..comments2024-02-26T01:48:07.140+01:00Comments on Flutin' High: Paradies RememberedFlutin' Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05247994800560776502noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3534568135940084548.post-15670945955882334122010-07-29T21:45:22.035+02:002010-07-29T21:45:22.035+02:00There is a structural "rule" concerning ...There is a structural "rule" concerning the placement of the composed insert within the ritornello that is not indicated in the score. The rule is: the insert may be followed directly by the next strophe, but one should avoid doing that twice in a row.<br /><br />The other "rules" are of a stylistic nature. As I mentioned, quiet dynamics are discouraged, unless followed by a crescendo. Notes need to be clear and recognisable in their proper octave. Therefore, no multiphonics or harmonics. I was disappointed about the no harmonics bit because I had a structural vision of the piece as a Hindu temple: initially busy, over-ornamented, worldy striving, like the facades of these temples. Then as you reach the center of the temple, the ornamentation becomes less until you have only the image of the God. I wanted to show this by having the ending quite sparse, using as many high harmonics of the notes as possible, so that the ascention to high partials could reflect the ascent to Paradise. That didn't sit well, and I had to modify this idea in the end.<br /><br />Another general guideline: the first statement of each ritornello within a strophe should be very clear, and not be too ornamented with trills or be too fast to recognise.<br /><br />Articulation is free, but must clearly be legato or staccato, not something fuzzy in between. No Baroque-ey stuff. <br /><br />Tempo is also free but one mustn't be too slow. There are composed fermatas, and these need to be recognised. If you go too slowly or sit on a note too long, it will weaken the impact of the fermatas.<br /><br />That's all I can think of now. More may come up as I need to re-learn the piece for a performance at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in November, so check back.<br />Best, HelenFlutin' Highhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05247994800560776502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3534568135940084548.post-13026787611554161162010-07-22T16:37:07.488+02:002010-07-22T16:37:07.488+02:00Could you give some examples of the "unwritte...Could you give some examples of the "unwritten rules"? Are these specific, note-for-note rules (as in species counterpoint or classical 12-tone technique) or are these more in the way of stylistic preferences?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3534568135940084548.post-18051722725770159372010-06-21T21:36:14.962+02:002010-06-21T21:36:14.962+02:00Tod, you have a good point, and I have been trying...Tod, you have a good point, and I have been trying to think where this aural aspect belongs in my crude categorization. I suppose it lies in the kinesthetic. When I went through the work without the flute in the dark before bedtime, I was indeed hearing it as well as feeling the fingerings and articulations. I always kept the sound in my mind connected to a movement, even when I wasn't performing the movement but only "remembering" it away from the instrument. That's something I've heard the Feldenkreis folks do. I'll have to learn more about that some day.Flutin' Highhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05247994800560776502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3534568135940084548.post-62066391874706029722010-06-16T04:05:21.734+02:002010-06-16T04:05:21.734+02:00Helen, thanks as always for sharing this experienc...Helen, thanks as always for sharing this experience. <br /><br />One small (or for some, maybe not so small) addition to the arsenal of memorization skills is aural. In other words, developing a mental file, in sound, of what the succession of events sounds like, and learning to follow it as you play. For me, when this is achieved, it's the best possible way of remembering confidently. <br /><br />Maybe this is part of what you described as being the analytical part, but for me it's more about knowing it "by heart".Tod Brodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11243236229508341665noreply@blogger.com