[Dennis Bathory-Kitsz:]
>I did not suggest notation provides everything. But the information it
>*does* provide (such as 8va, which is the genesis of this discussion) needs
>to be used.
In theory I would agree with this position - but I'm going to sound a
little inconsistent now with my previously-stated argument, and raise a possible
problem here. I will use a particular example - but, even if you don't know it,
I think the general point will be clear enough, and valid for performance of
music generally.
There is a particular Scriabin Prelude for piano in Db major, which is a
bit like a Chopin Nocturne in style: an expressive, decorative right-hand melody
above a wide-spread left-hand arpeggiated accompaniment which gives a rich
harmonic background. Pedalling is not for the most part notated, and presumably
is obvious: that is, change the pedal at the start of each new harmony or each
new bass-note in the left-hand figuration (these two mostly occurring together).
However, an anomaly exists in the score for this piece, at least in my
edition: there are just *two* bars in the middle of the piece which are marked
"senza Ped.". The two bars are very similar to all the surrounding bars, and
there is nothing about them, judging by the overall context they're in, to
suggest they have a special expressive function, and need to be performed in a
different style from the surrounding ones. The "senza Ped." indication is so
anomalous that it looks like a misprint to me; and I cannot follow it literally
without the music suddenly sounding utterly thin and ridiculous, completely
spoiling the mood of the whole piece. I cannot follow this instruction and make
musical sense out of the passage. I am very familiar with almost all of
Scriabin's complete output, and feel I can make certain judgements about how his
music should sound - and there is no other piece by him which has a similar
anomaly notated in it.
Now, in good conscience, what should I do here? Follow the instruction
because the score tells me to, and produce a performance that sounds ridiculous
and uncomfortable to me, out of keeping with the spirit (as I perceive it) of
Scriabin's music? - or ignore it and produce a performance that sounds just
right and where the two bars in question fit in well with the rest of the piece.
I am strongly tempted to do the latter - but I do so with a guilty twinge,
because I know it violates the principle I believe in, at least 99 percent of
the time, of following the composer's intentions.
Perhaps some may not know the Scriabin Prelude I mentioned - but it is just
an example of the kind of anomaly that occasionally occurs in various pieces.
I'd be interested in any thoughts on this.
Are there times when something a composer has written is so out of style
that a musician who tries honestly to realize the composer's wishes can validly
conclude it is a slip of the pen or a misjudgement, and override it? (This
being a solo piano piece, there are no considerations here of having to balance
weight or texture with other performers - issues which, if present, might
clarify the matter.)
Regards,
Michael Edwards.
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