Interesting. I would never have thought that Canon or Vivaldi's music would be described using the words "hell" or "sleepy time." But I aint a musician, and I don't have to produce or perform the material. ☺
Of course, even these great pieces of music can be played wrongly or dully or slowly. And on modern instruments that may be different from those used by orchestras back when these pieces were written. So, when we hear a great piece such as the version in @musicapoetica's comment, we can appreciate it more and fall in love with the piece again.
You've probably heard of the Vienna Baroque Orchestra, which plays on "period instruments" – and plays most pieces just a little bit quicker than we are used to today. Apparently, that's the way they were intended to be played. Below is just one great performance.
Also, speaking of "eternally repetitive, sleep-inducing music," have you ever had a chance to play Terry Riley's minimalist masterpiece "In C"? Apparently if you want to fall asleep during your performance of "In C," you have the composer's blessing.
Any and all musicians can start playing the music at any time, stop at any time, start again, repeat ... ad infinitum. Plenty of opportunity for a tired musician to take a much-needed nap.
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Ahhh〜(￣▽￣〜) I was exaggerating when I called it 'hell'. It's more, boring then actual hell, but it could be torture if you had to repeat it the entire thing several times ;) And Vivaldi, his pieces are brilliant, really. I just love his violin concertos! But the cello parts for his slow movements are...sleepy XD
And, yep. I think there are a lot of pieces nowadays being played not in the style that the composer actually wanted. After all, there are times that it's hard to know one's intentions just from writing...
So musicians who manage to stick to the originals are actually very admirable, it means they really studied the composer, the style, the era when the piece was composed, etc. In a way, they're not just playing music, they're also researching it. You can think it as them trying to keep a musical legacy alive :)
And I haven't seen the minimalist piece you mentioned, but it sounds interesting. If they're doing what they want, does it mean they're improvising? Or are they following a score?
Have you seen John Cage's 4:33? My brother actually had the guts to play it for an end-of-semester recital XD I respect the composer's intention with the music, but the opening and closing of the piano was kind of funny. When we watched a video of it for a music history class, it was the first time I saw the head of our department laugh so much that tears came out...
Good points. Musicians who diverge from the originals should have a good reason for doing so, or else should not diverge at all. If they do, it's basically a re-interpretation, and it should be presented as a re-interpretation.
Of course, any musician is free to present any piece as they wish, but for most classical and baroque pieces, they are such magnificent works of art that there's typically no reason to get creative. Leave 'em as they are, and play them as they are.
Then again, if they can make something more beautiful than the original, I'll listen to it!! Gladly
For "In C," apparently there's a short score comprising a number of short melodic fragments, which are meant to be played in order. But any musician can start at any time, play each fragment one or twice or a dozen or a hundred times, before moving on to the next fragment. Or s/he can take a break, but then restart where s/he left off.
The performance continues until the final musician plays the final fragment for the last time.
It creates some very beautiful and hypnotic music. The first time I heard it was when I found a version done by a Chinese orchestra in a used CD shop. It looked very interesting, so I bought it. Only later did I learn about it and hear different versions.
I'd say your bro had some guts. Did his performance go over well with the prof?
Yup, in baroque and classical it's better to play them in they way they were supposed to. Unlike in romantic music where expression is highly encouraged, when it comes to the earlier ones, the composer usually has something specific to convey. Sometimes deviating from the original turns the piece into something different than what was intended in the first place.
But if the performer's intention was to interpret it in the manner they want to, as long they don't completely turn it into something else...
I watched the 'In C' on Youtube after you mentioned it. It's fascinating how the composer managed to create it in a way that musicians stopping and starting anywhere isn't affecting the flow of music. Unlike in works during the baroque, classical, and romantic period, doing so in those works would end up completely destroying a performance. Contemporary composers come up with innovative ideas!
Our teachers were amused. They didn't scold him either, after all, it's a certified piece of music (music being an organization of sound and silence, though more on the silence part than anything else).
That distinction between romantic on the one hand and baroque and classical on the other is interesting. I'd never heard nor realized that.
Yes, "In C" is a fascinating concept. There are many different performances of it, and each one is interesting. Some are truly sublime.
Classical and baroque music relied a lot on following existing music theories of the time, and while expression was encouraged, it was only to a degree. Excessive expression and deviation from theory was frowned upon, which was why Beethoven was also heavily critiqued though also lauded.
The 'In C' that I watched was performed using mostly African instruments, this one
I realized that because of how it was arranged, each is really different from the next, each unique.
Lou Reed once said that writing rock songs was difficult, and that he spent a lot of time on it. He added, as you imply above, that classical composers had it easy, cuz they just had to sit down and follow the rules. Then, everyone would listen to their music.
https://steemit.com/nowplaying/@majes.tytyty/lou-reed-lyrics-22-anyone-who-ever-had-a-heart-from-sweet-jane-now-playing-week-7
I don't know anything about rock, my preferences don't really lean towards it. But I do believe that both genres have their own difficulty in composition :)
Same ensemble, same music, different time and place.
They actually got an authentic African ensemble for it. I thought they just got people from around US for the performance. :)