2016-07-06 22:00:44
The challenge for last week was getting a crisp staccato at the tip of the bow on an upbow.
Point of contact, angle and weight distribution needs to be precise as best as one could muster. I've been exerting too much force, being a tad heavy handed with the bow one would say, thinking it needs more weight to create a crisp sound whereas in actuality, its the exact opposite. With the right angle, sufficient force from the main muscles (power from the back approach) will follow through.
Start with a slow slur of 4 notes per bow, then separate bowing and staccato.
Tarantella notes
Slow, meticulous playing of passages on open string to the metronome.
Don't lift the bow at rests!! wasn't aware I was doing this so often :/
For some reason, we ended up talking about Debussy, specifically his piece, La Mer. Unsurprisingly, I was listening to it for the first time the night before when researching this biography.
You get some pretty impressive 'sleeve notes' for these videos, mostly from uploader who care. This one reads:
"La Mer" L.109, (The Sea), is an orchestral composition by Claude Debussy. It was started in 1903 in France and completed in 1905 on the English Channel coast in Eastbourne. The premiere was given by the Lamoureux Orchestra under the direction of Camille Chevillard on 15 October 1905 in Paris. "La Mer" is a composition of huge suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, which combines unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies. The work has proven very influential, and its use of sensuous tonal colours and its orchestration methods have influenced many later film scores. While the structure of the work places it outside of both absolute music and programme music as those terms were understood in the early 20th century, it obviously uses descriptive devices to suggest wind, waves and the ambience of the sea. But structuring a piece around a nature subject without any literary or human element to it - neither people, nor mythology, nor ships are suggested in the piece - also was highly unusual at the time.
Debussy called his work "three symphonic sketches," avoiding the loaded term symphony; yet the work is sometimes called a symphony; it consists of two powerful outer movements framing a lighter, faster piece which acts as a type of scherzo.
"La Mer" is divided inot three movements:
1. "De l'aube à midi sur la mer" (from dawn to midday on the sea);
2. "Jeux de vagues" (Play of the Waves);
3. "Dialogue du vent et de la mer" (Dialogue of the wind and the sea).
Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy & Cleveland Orchestra
info
Learning the cello as an adult started as a dare but has now turned into an ongoing love affair; I hope to one day make her sing to her full potential. In the meantime, all spare time and moments are dedicated to this wonderful instrument as I am unable to think about anything else, much to the dismay of my other half :}
This is an attempt to remember the classes I have taken so that I don't forget.
My wonderful teacher, Deryn ~ http://cellostudio.info/
This is an attempt to remember the classes I have taken so that I don't forget.
My wonderful teacher, Deryn ~ http://cellostudio.info/