We played Parsifal last night, the 5 1/2 hours opera by Wagner. He called it "Buehnenweihefestspiel" = difficult to translate, but I try: "Theatralic passion play", where passion means the Christian way of passion, as the Holy Friday ceremony is part of the play.
Well, this piece is full, very full of emotions, very strong emotions, not because of the story, no, because of the music, which is high grade passionate but also forgiving & asking for forgiveness and very peaceful. Now the point: How to express such most intimate feelings ? The more words you know, the more ways of interpretation you will find. How many precious & semi precious stones do you know & how many typical colours do they have ? How many flowers do you know , and their smell ? Did you ever notice what different kind of activity you can command your hand ? How many different spices do you recognize in one single dish ? Ooops, you rely on Ketchup, salt, onion & pepper only. Yes, thatīs modern society. Do you know the different types & taste of the several vinegars ? How many sorts of cheese do you know. You might ask, what has that to do with music ? Yes, it has to do with music. The wider your horizon (more knowledge) the better the interpretation of just two-dimensional black signs on white paper, what we call music commonly. If you have developed your taste regarding nature & food & everything (broaden knowledge), the better you will be as three dimensional interpreter of the phenomenon we call music. This applies to all kind of music without exemption. The two dimensional way is just loud & soft, slow & fast. The three dimensional music has expression as the third dimension. Expression translates as colours, emphasis, phrase, style, feeling & feeling again, but all on an elevated level but still human but sometimes celestial, heavenly or supernatural, - and the EGO should be placed just in the farthest corner, which means not to produce oneself into the foreground, rather serving to the composer, the group or the partner. Happy Easter to all, who celebrated Easter. To the others: just Peace, Shalom, Salam Prof.Hans Pizka, Pf.1136 D-85541 Kirchheim - Germany Fax: 49 89 903-9414 Phone: 903-9548 home: www.pizka.de email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
