Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: F Tuba: American or German?


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 13, 2000 at 08:16:22:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: F Tuba: American or German? posted by Rick Denney on July 13, 2000 at 07:45:54:

Absolutely true. I only mentioned the Verdi/Berlioz comparison because performing the works of both composers involves the decision of equipment, reconciled against the composer's intentions. Obviously, these two composers had nothing in common when comparing their views about the tuba!

One of the reasons why I try to delve more into the composer's intentions when formulating my interpretation of his music is my experiences with Berlioz. Being an avid Stephen King fan, I was quick to go see the movie adaptation of his book "The Shining". This happened well before my first real opportunity to play Symphony Fantastique. Those of you who saw and remember the film will no doubt recall the eerie opening sequence of a drive through the mountains, accompanied by some superb Moog synthesizer music based on the Dies Irae theme. This music had a haunting and foreboding effect on the listener, being truly scary in and of itself. This interpretation of that theme influenced my interpretation of the Dies Irae section of Fantastique for quite some time. At least until I did the research and found that Berlioz intended the section to be a mockery of an actual death mass. In that light, I felt my interpretation was very much off the mark and I changed my concept of that part of the work. In my current thinking, using the originally intended equipment would very much help to achieve the mockery effect because of the actual sound of an ophicliede. Trying to imagine what the composer heard at the first performance and what the period equipment sounded like might have led me to that same conclusion. So now, I always try this step in establishing my thoughts about a given piece.

Of course, I'd never actually try to play an ophicliede in a performance of the work, those things sound awful! ;-)

My opinion for what its worth...


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