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Dear F moll
Background saga: Oh frabjuous day, calloo callay
etc. A call to say my set had FINALLY arrived in Cape Town on
Fri...the first in So Africa? After about 20 more calls, e-mails
& radio messages my long suffering brother (who loathes organs, is
unhappy re harpsichords and deeply suspicious of Bach) collected, brought
along to a conference in Bloemfontein (12 hours) and I collected (6 hours
drive).
So traveling through a completely deserted landscape I made my
first acquaintance with
(i) the Gould voice. Fascinating to hear him speak, with
such insights and humour and so immensely lucid. Unlike most (prob) I
found him remarkably easy to listen to - with virtually no accent! I loved
the quodlibet, and just the sense of friendship with interviewer,
and (palpably) of knowing what he wanted to communicate and his skill and
control in doing so. Now I need to get a video to see the
mannerisms: any suggestions?
(ii) A great number of you have indicated that the early
Goldberg was the one to make life worth living. As one who has been
immersed in the 81 recording for over a year: Yes, it was an absolute
eye-opener, and I can now comprehend more of the ur-reasons for
the legend. Matthew put it well: the building blocks.
The different tempi, phrasing and subtle quirkiness are a delight...the passion
of a young genius and his love for the music: and yet. Perhaps one's reaction is related to where one is in terms of personal
development: the 2 recordings move me differently at diff times: that's
nothing new. However, over a lifespan of moving (horribly early) more into
the intellect and less into the feeling domain my
abiding delight is in the coolness and control of the 81 (the sense of
passion within the music), my amazed pleasure in the 55: (the sense of
passion in the person). So to have at last these 2 recordings is a great
gift. Interestingly I found myself driving more quickly with less
attention to a massive thunderstorm during the 81; and the Meerkat is more vocal
with the earlier version. With the later he tends to get affectionate
and gaze out at MMBA (miles and miles of bloody Africa).
Rgrds
Danielle
Primary address: Omdraaisvlei P O Box 494 Prieska 8940 Tel & Fax: +27 +53 35 3333 4 danielle@prieska.co.za Rhodes University: Department of Education P O Box 94 Grahamstown 6140 Cellular: 082 923 8828 D.Law-Jackson@ru.ac.za |