Re: Tangentially GG... alto lines

[Tim Conway <tpconway@ozemail.com.au>]

Hello Arin,

>...melody is fresher and more interesting to the ear. The only way I can
>stand to listen to Mozart's Nachtmusik is if I shut out the
>top/soprano/main violin line and listen for the alto line. I guess it has...

I go for the bass line. I, too, once played the cello, when I was at 
school, and only for some Scottish dancing classes held in the parish 
hall where the main noise was made by a Lebanese of West African origin 
playing the accordion. Other guys played the fiddle, drums and other less 
exotic instruments. We had a great time. We could actually see girls 
dancing, possibly even talk to them while Fr Holything wasn't watching, 
and of course on the way back to school we could sneak a smoke (this was 
an English boarding school in the 1950s). We used no written music but as 
I sawed and plucked away at the dear old cello I learned how to 
anticipate the right notes to play...some of the time.

>...recognition when there's terrific stuff happening underneath it. Maybe
>that's one of the reasons I really like Bach; four musical lines, all with
>equally important roles... I dare you to try to stick with the top line
>when you hum something from the Goldbergs. I don't think it's possible; I
>think you end up flipping from line to line, depending on what's being
>woven to the forefront at the time. (Gould's great at bringing different
>bits of different lines out like that.) 

I'm glad you said that. I swap from line to line like crazy with most of 
Bach's stuff. GG brings out the bass lines very well. Other pianists seem 
to be afraid of them.

BTW, apropos your signature, I played Archibald Grosvenor in 'Patience' 
in a production by the Hong Kong Singers in the late 1970s. What a great 
show that is. What a pity I was in it (for the audience). The latest 
Australian production featured a Lady Angela (or is it another name? I 
can't remember) who could actually play her instrument, in her case a 
double bass rather than a cello. She was almost the star of the show

Best regards to all,

Tim Conway
<tpconway@ozemail.com.au>