Posted by Rick Denney on May 15, 2001 at 15:17:07:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bydlo: Musicianship vs. Masculinity ? posted by Matt on May 15, 2001 at 14:02:08:
What the composer wrote, and the instrument he wrote it for. I'm not opposed to changing this when it is appropriate to do so, and I'm certainly not against playing old music on new instruments that will necessarily sound different, but I'm opposed to doing either out of ignorance. A musician, amateur or professional, world-class or duffer, can know what the music says and respect it, even when they choose to do something different.
If find it a bit amusing that the argument in favor of using a contrabass tuba to play a French C tuba part is because the ink says "tuba" in the upper corner, and that argument is supported by the same or others (can't tell with all these anonymous posts) who insist that they should do so just because they can. The opposition of those two points of view glow in the dark.
I have no problem with a player who decides to use an unconventional instrument because of a special quality that he can musically exploit. If that means playing Bydlo on a BBb sousaphone, then that's fine with me and I'll be as awestruck as the next guy. But there has to be a reason to do so, it seems to me.
When I read the section in Song and Wind where Mr. Jacobs tells of playing Bydlo on the BBb side of a double tuba, I wonder if even he can't resist the temptation to show off a bit. But he would not have mentioned it if playing Bydlo on a BBb were within the scope of most players--the story would have had no point in being told. I still wonder if one of those world-class CSO trombone players, with a euphonium in hand, could have done it better. On the other hand, instrumentation was often modified to similate a realistic sound on a very imperfect recording technology, and I seem to recall that such was the case for Mr. Jacobs.
I sometimes wonder, without any certain knowledge (again, because of anonymity), if we don't have a few practice-room Paganinis who have yet to prove their Bydlo contrabass superiority repeatedly over a period of years on real stages with real paying audiences. I'm sure I'm wrong--I continue to be amazed by the technical prowess of young players these days. But are they better than the solid, world-class pros I've heard who missed that piano high G# entrance in the closing phrase?
Rick "speaking as an experienced music-lover" Denney