On 20 Jun 2011, at 09:34, <christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu> wrote:
>> However, I think we differ over the harpsichord's ability to
>> play 'long-sustained'.
>
> I was having this discussion with my wife the other day (she plays keyboards
> rather better than I can), so I went to the harpsichord and tried it to
> check. Just like on a piano, if you hold a key down, the damper remains out
> of contact with the string, which sustains longer than it would if you
> released the key immediately. Not as long as on the piano of course, but
> there's a difference between staccatissimo and simple separation. Maybe the
> term should be "short-sustained".
>
> As regards "detached" fingering, it's interesting that the term "détaché"
> when applied to bowing of a string instrument does not imply a silence
> between the notes. It merely means that you change bow direction for each
> note, making a fresh start, rather than slurring two or more together. The
> on-the-string bowing with a silence between notes is called "martelé".
> "Staccato" means separating notes with a silence while staying on the string
> but not changing the direction of the bow. Then of course there's all the
> off-the-string stuff.
>
> "Staccato" in Italian means "separated". It does not mean "short".
>
> Playing NSP with a fresh start to each note but not necessarily a clearly
> audible silence can sound very pleasant, at least to my ears, and of course
> you need to be able to do the staccatissimo in the first place to do it
> reliably because the timing has to be phenomenally precise. The "look mummy,
> no legato" (or dripping tap) way of playing just sounds like a technical
> exercise. To do a good détaché it helps to have a good martelé to begin with.
> I would argue that the martelé was the "basic stroke" just like the staccato
> is the basic way of playing NSP.
>
> C
>
>
>
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