Re: early tunes, modern instruments

Cindy J (cindy@cs.dartmouth.edu)
Tue, 6 Aug 1996 09:07:19 -0400 (EDT)

>
> >Cindy wrote:
> >>
> >>I would add that Sue Richards commented that the idiom was somewhat un-
> >>familiar to her, as a judge. I've been thinking how that might be
> >>remedied-perhaps we can get Bill Taylor to do a workshop sometime, for
> >>judges and interested parties. Since he won the nationals playing I think
> >>early Scottish music, I wonder who was the judge, how did Bill do it,and
> >>how did this judge compare what he played to other performers.

Mike replies:

>
> How would the average concert audience feel if they went to a concert of
> lute music, billed as authentic, to find it played on a Spanish guitar? Why
> bother to learn to play harpsichord when we have Steinways?
>

I guess the crucial term is *billed as authentic*. Many people enjoy early
music on modern instruments, even if they know better-and some are bliss-
fully ignorant. It is still beautiful music. Who knows what a performer
or the 16th century might have preferred, if it had been available? ( I
know, a feeble argument, and I am generally a purist if I can be, mostly
because I've developed a taste for certain sounds...and live with a lutenist.)
Anyway, I just got my first modern instrument, and love the sound too-who
knows what will happen next! ( have been playing a large copy of a Spanish
renaissance harp-yes it is very different. But I play Scottish music on it-
it's as close as I can get to an early Scottish harp-can't afford one harp
for each country and style, as I suspect is the case for others as well).
(in response to the paragraph below)

Mike writes:

>
> What I stabbing at is that small lever harps are not early instruments and
> whilst a lot of early music will fit on them, it is no more authentic than
> playing it on a stratocaster (which also works and can be great fun with a
> fuzz box;-).
>
> We have a reasonably reliable concept of the sorts of harp used in the past
> and many wonderful makers copying them so if you wasn't to play 17th C
> Scots music and nothing else why not invest in either a clarseach or a
> large gothic.

AND...

> much we actually know and just how truthful our performance is we have no
> hope of getting a wider understanding. It is just as unauthentic to play
> O'Carolan with nails as it is to play it on a pedal harp. Both work but
> at least not cheat ourselves over what we do.
>
>
I'm curious about your comment on O'Carolan's nails. Where did you get this
information?

Best,

Cindy Crawford

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Cindy J                                    ( Cindy & Jasper, Cairn terrier)
cindy@cs.dartmouth.edu
Dragon Tales, Early Scottish Music for harp 
dragon@cs.dartmouth.edu                (http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~cindy)
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