Trumpet Update
QH insists that we should update everyday, or maybe even a few times a day, so here I am again.
I'll be playing 3 items for the concert:
Telemann. Selections from 3 Heroic Marches
I. La Majeste
II. La Grace
III. La Vaillance
Edvard Grieg. Last Spring
Oskar Lindberg. Gammal fäbodpsalm från Dalarna
The interesting thing here is that none of this music was written originally for trumpet. Telemann was written for oboe or violin, Last Spring was for voice and piano (yes, the famous string orchestra version came later), and the Lindberg is an organ piece.
As someone once said in jest, "Brass players are like thieves, stealing tunes from here and there", which is of course quite true, due to the lack of quality music written for brass instruments, especially for trumpet, trombone and tuba in the 18th and 19th centuries. This was because brass instruments during this period faced musical limitations as a result of their inability to play outside of the natural harmonic series.
In the present day, we of course have the miracle of the valve system which allows us to play all 12 notes of the western chromatic scale. Thus, we are now able to dig into the past for the treasures which were denied brass musicians and "reappropriate" them for our own and the audience's enjoyment.
After all, which violinist is going to perform the gems of the Telemann, which a string player might dismiss as "elementary" musical exercises, but like a Mozart, demand pristine execution and certainty of style. And wouldn't you rather hear an original vocal melody in a medium closer to the original, than floating in a sea of meshed string tones. And indeed, how often would you hear a classic organ tune played on an organ anyway?
I'm just joking, right?
I'll be playing 3 items for the concert:
Telemann. Selections from 3 Heroic Marches
I. La Majeste
II. La Grace
III. La Vaillance
Edvard Grieg. Last Spring
Oskar Lindberg. Gammal fäbodpsalm från Dalarna
The interesting thing here is that none of this music was written originally for trumpet. Telemann was written for oboe or violin, Last Spring was for voice and piano (yes, the famous string orchestra version came later), and the Lindberg is an organ piece.
As someone once said in jest, "Brass players are like thieves, stealing tunes from here and there", which is of course quite true, due to the lack of quality music written for brass instruments, especially for trumpet, trombone and tuba in the 18th and 19th centuries. This was because brass instruments during this period faced musical limitations as a result of their inability to play outside of the natural harmonic series.
In the present day, we of course have the miracle of the valve system which allows us to play all 12 notes of the western chromatic scale. Thus, we are now able to dig into the past for the treasures which were denied brass musicians and "reappropriate" them for our own and the audience's enjoyment.
After all, which violinist is going to perform the gems of the Telemann, which a string player might dismiss as "elementary" musical exercises, but like a Mozart, demand pristine execution and certainty of style. And wouldn't you rather hear an original vocal melody in a medium closer to the original, than floating in a sea of meshed string tones. And indeed, how often would you hear a classic organ tune played on an organ anyway?
I'm just joking, right?
posted by Jia Hua | 9:55 PM
12 Comments:
eh...then u must as well SING it! isn't the human voice (not exactly my voice lar) the standard by which music-making by instruments are judged, the benchmark by which comparisons about the beauty of tone among instruments are evaluated? =p
eh...one more thing...ain't Mr Lindberg the 2nd (i.e. Oskar) younger than Vaughan Williams? Doesn't do, yah?
"then you [might] as well SING it!"
Well, the point was not that of "original is best", but that some off-shoots may work better than others, subject to certain qualifications. I'm certainly not saying that I'll put in a flawless performance, but that it's a experiment which could be pulled off.
As to aesthetic judgements about beauty of tone being benchmarked to the human [singing] voice, you merely ask a rhetorical question, without justifying the implied answer in any way. I'm not disagreeing with you, but questioning your argument.
What if I venture to say that there is not good nor bad tone, but merely what is more appropriate? Should all the instruments playing in a Brazilian samba band sound like a chorus of singers in an opera production?
Oskar Lindberg (1887-1955)
Ralph Vaughan-Williams (1872-1958)
Not much of a difference, but your point was...?
This is too serious... Hahahaha
i do not know enough on this to be able to carry on a lengthy discussion with you, but i do know how the human voice is an ideal that instrumental teachers ask their students to strive for...and how different instruments debate and contest to see which best approximates the human voice...of course, that the debate does not prove that the human voice is indeeed THE ideal that should be strived towards...but at least it shows the possiblity...
Here's a concession on my part -
It's more important to have a voice, than to have the voice.
;=p
recall our theme...from old to young...that's the theme...just verifying the consistency...=p
we are on the same side. good. we are a happy L-family. all five of us.
ew...this is silly. 2 people creating traffic by posting between themselves...hah!
As you said, the L-Alliance...but where are the other three??!
i like FAMILY. i dun like ALLIANCE. FAMILY is at once political and social etc. But ALLIANCE sounds merely political. FAMILY! L-FAMILY!
Looks nice! Awesome content. Good job guys.
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