Two of the lute players I was referring to were Julian Bream and Hopkinson
Smith. Both playing to audiences of over 250 people and neither could be
heard past the seventh row no matter how much focus one brought to the
event. Fortunately in the Julian Bream concert I was able to sneak down to
an empty seat in the first row. Not so in the Hoppy concert, the first eight
rows were reserved for season ticket holders. However, I was able to hear
Hoppy play in a library concert later where the conditions were ideal for
the lute. The audience was limited to eighty people and the stage was an
elevated platform affording everyone in the room the opportunity to both
hear and see Hoppy play.
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Wilke" <chriswi...@yahoo.com>
To: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>; "Gary Digman" <magg...@sonic.net>
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2010 7:51 AM
Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: Lute volume
Gary,
--- On Sun, 10/17/10, Gary Digman <magg...@sonic.net> wrote:
That being said, I have to admit that I have attended lute
concerts given by some of the leading lights of the lute
world for audiences numbering in the hundreds where the lute
literally could not be heard at all past the seventh or
eighth row. Very frustating to pay $35-$80 for a ticket only
to find out you will not be able to hear the lute no matter
how focused you are. I think if we're going to play for
audiences this large, some sound reinforcement may become
necessary even though it is a compromise. Other instruments
have had to deal with this problem. Jazz bassists amplify
the double bass, even though the best and purest sound of
the double bass is thereby compromised, in order to be
heard.
Back when I got my Master's in classical guitar, projection was a major
focus of our training. While the ability to produce a dynamically nuanced
performance was assumed and formed a major part of our grades, we were
also expected to understand the practicalities of performing in less than
ideal circumstances. We were told repeatedly: get to the hall early; have
someone listen to you as you test the dynamic threshold; be prepared to
let go of some of the precious dynamic or phrasing ideas you worked out
alone in the practice room; you might want to consider moving your right
hand position a little closer to the bridge as a general position for this
concert; descend to really low volume as a special effect only were
dramatically appropriate - maybe once or twice in a program; above all,
HAVE REGARD FOR YOUR LISTENERS.
I've never encountered this in my lute training, where the emphasis has
been decidedly on working out even more subtle gradations. This is all
well and good - professionals should have total control over the
instrument - but what about the people on the other side of the lute?
There's no reason a lute can't feature in the same size halls as classical
guitar. Although the overall volume is slightly less, it carries far
better than the comparatively bass-heavy, mellow modern guitar.
The real problem comes down to two culprits: the myth of the lute as
"mystical window to another era," and the strong-weak articulation. I'm
prepared dismiss the former, a view which embraces the idea of the lute as
some sort of delicate magical device whose spell will be broken if its
voice rises above a hush, because this is a fairly tale modernism. The
latter is more difficult. We all know that good-bad, strong-weak
alternation was part of early music. In practical terms, however, if
you're playing in a large hall and no one can hear your weak notes, the
audience is literally missing half of what you're playing. A player might
have to settle for strong-less strong or REALLY STRONG-strong or even
strong-strong in some cases. Sorry, you might just have to eschew showing
off what an erudite, HIP musician you are in lieu of showing off the
music.
I once took a large group of my classical guitar students to hear a big
name lutenist who was performing in a not-especially-large venue. My
students all said that the concert was boring because the performer only
played simple little pieces. When I actually showed them the sheet music
to some of the pieces played, they couldn't believe the degree of musical
sophistication involved. They left with the impression that the lute had
some great music written for you, but its really a weak little instrument.
I had to sympathize with their position because I too felt that many of
the subtleties of the music never got to the audience due to the
incredibly intimate, sensitive touch of the performer. As a lute fan, I
could appreciate the performer's awesome control, but I could not actually
experience it. Ultimately, despite great artistry, this person was really
a poor ambassador for the instrument.
Chris
Gary
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Andrico" <praelu...@hotmail.com>
To: <nedma...@aol.com>;
<lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 11:29 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Lute volume
> To All:
> We have a new post on our blog that
may be of general lute interest,
> concerning volume in performance.
> http://mignarda.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/sound-check-is-it-loud-enough/
> Best wishes,
> Ron & Donna
> www.mignarda.com
> --
>
>
> To get on or off this list see list information at
> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
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