Re: [Harp-L] Baroque Music on Chromatic?

["Vern Smith" <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Tony,

If you are looking for baroque content at SPAH05, you are likely to be 
disappointed.

You will be lucky to hear even one classical performance. There has been 
relatively little interest in classical genres and particularly baroque in 
recent years.  I have such an interest, but will not attend SPAH05 because I 
am using my budgets of time and money to attend Bonfiglio's chromatic 
seminar in NY the previous week. I don't know but one of the most likely 
classical/baroque performers, Douglas Tate, is unlikely to be there because 
of health problems. In previous years Cham Ber Huang would attend and 
perform baroque pieces but no one has carried on in that genre. You will 
probably do a little better with bluegrass.

I have two pieces of advice:

1. If  you have positive responses to your email, try to agree to practice 
parts of particular baroque pieces that you can perform on open mic with the 
respondents.  The preparation and open-mic performance will give an 
interesting focus to your attendance.  Open mic audiences are usually small 
and their response to classical presentations is not effusive. If I were 
going to be there, I would have enjoyed such a collaboration.

2. Try to keep a relaxed, open mind and enjoy SPAH for what it is and not 
what you want it to be. There are plenty of things to learn and enjoy even 
if not many of them will be about baroque music.

To give you an idea of my interest, I play my own arrangement of Bach's A 
Minor Invention #13.  It is a keyboard piece where I play the left-hand part 
on my guitar and the right-hand part on my Hands-Free-Chromatic.  I once 
practiced like crazy on some Devienne flute duets to perform with another 
SPAH attendee.  It never happened because she didn't practice her parts and 
could not perform them.  I was greatly disappointed.

If you want something particular and out-of-the-ordinary to happen at SPAH, 
you must make it happen yourself! At SPAH97,  I organized a Materials 
Seminar that included discussion of the effect (non-existent) of materials 
on harmonica tone and included some blind comparisons of otherwise identical 
harps with combs of different materials.  Last year I organized a rack 
playing event.  I sold the idea to the SPAH committee, recruited the 
participants, publicized it, and acted as MC.  It was well received by a 
small audience and the participants all seemed to enjoy it. After you attend 
SPAH05 and get the "feel" and "lay of the land" of the convention, you might 
undertake to organize a baroque event in the future.

I don't think that there is any question that the chromatic is "up to" the 
baroque genre.  The "The Bach Stops Here" recordings by George Fields should 
eliminate any doubt about that question. See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000JZGS/103-6552194-9113448?v=glance.

I hope that I have not discouraged you from attending.  If you don't have 
unrealistic expectations, you will enjoy it.

Vern
Visit my harmonica website: http://www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <teyers@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2005 4:06 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Baroque Music on Chromatic?


> As indicated on the list, I'll be making the long trek from
> Australia to attend the SPAH convention, something I've been
> wanting to do for many years. I'll be involved in various
> bluegrass harmonica events, formal and informal, and hope to
> catch up on a lifetime of missed harmonica opportunities.
>
> In particular, I look forward to hearing and learning from
> the many great masters that I read about on this list. Given
> the array of talent at the convention, a question that I've
> considered for some time may be answered; namely is it
> possible to play baroque music convincingly on the chromatic?
>
> My guess is probably not. However I would gladly welcome the
> chance to be shown otherwise at the SPAH convention.
>
> My interest in baroque music is more than just a passing
> one. For the last decade I've played recorder in a
> professional baroque ensemble (harpsichord, soprano voice,
> two violins, cello, barqoue flute and recorder), with mostly
> conservatorium trained players (unlike myself). Hence I've
> gained a reasonable understanding of the baroque repertoire
> and performance styles.
>
> Hopefully there will be chromatic players at SPAH who can
> show that the instrument is up to the baroque repertoire,
> and hence correct my view on this.
>
> Tony Eyers
> Australia
> http://www.harmonicatunes.com
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