Thursday 11 November 2010

And still it rains...

Bleurh.  More rain.  (And more Parisiens saying to me "you're from England - you should be used to it").  Today I'm feeling a little blue - not because of the weather but because I'm moving on to a new apartment.  I've been renting off a couple of colleagues who've been on holiday the last three weeks.  I feel utterly spoilt as it's a beautiful place in a great district (the 19th - around Belleville).  It's been particularly nice to get to know a new part of Paris, especially one of the "further out" districts.  It's still amazing though to be living in a large city that's so walkable - hence continuing grumpiness about the rain.

Today was also interesting in a "let's see how another country does things" kind of way with it being the 11th of November.  As it's a jour férié (bank holiday) so the language school was closed and I was thinking that it'd be like Monday mornings with everything shut however I was surprised that so many shops and restaurants were open.  Except a couple of places I wanted to go which were, naturally, shut.  Drat.

This afternoon was the recording session with Concert d'Astree - Emanuelle Haim's group.  Funnily enough I hadn't realised that I was missing working with other musicians so much.  It's been tremendous to have the time to focus in so much on one piece (or set of pieces) and very unusual as normally life is more hectic.  Also, it is unusual for me to be working on music that involves no one else.  So today it really struck me what I've been missing.  The other horn players for this session Jeroen Billiet on 1st, Yanick Maillet on 2nd and Cyrille Grenot on 4th, a particularly friendly group.  Jeroen was sounding stunning on a rather nasty tricky horn part - it was the Act III Sinfonia from Handel's Guilio Cesare which is fiddly and high for the first horn player.  It was also great (and at times frustrating) chatting afterwards.  Jeroen I've known for a long time and know to be extremely knowledgable about various bits and pieces of musicological history, however Cyrille I had heard about but only met (briefly) the other day at the rehearsal.  A number of people had told me that Cyrille would be worth speaking to as he's quite an expert on the history of the horn in France (I always have to put it that way to avoid saying "the French horn" and then having to clarify things).  I felt pleased to be able to follow more of the conversation but frustrated as every so often I would struggle with the french a little more - and I'm certain I missed a lot that they were talking about.  But Cyrille was incredibly helpful and has offered to go to some of the Archives with me if time permits, also he knows were a few things are that I didn't know about such as letters.  I'm finding that you really do have to know the right people often to be able to dig these things out - catalogues are often incomplete (or inaccessible unless you're actually at the library/archive).  Funnily enough there is a part of me that is rather glad about this - it'd be a shame if research became the sort of activity that could easily be done just by sitting at a computer with internet connections visiting the various online catalogues and ordering copies of the music/letters/whatever by email and living in a little self contained box.

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Ohhhhhh! Lots of goodies!!!!!

What a wonderful day!  The last few days have been a little miserable.  Nothing horrific!  Just horrible weather which is a frustrating my plans to walk most of Paris.  I'm always a fan of the maxim "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad choice of clothes" or something like that...  However my trusty wellies are back in London and therefore, despite my generally good decisions in packing (balancing the various requirements - departing in early October, returning late November, covering Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France and yet wanting to be a little minimalist!) I've been struggling the past few days.

Click to see full size: Frazz 12-01-07
I had wanted to go on a long trek on Sunday and had hoped to walk down to the Sorbonne and maybe even make the Catacombes.  But the constant downpour put pay to that.  Instead I wondered down to the  Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise which seemed particularly apt on a grotty day.  A fascinating place - some really tremendous statues.  Though I was rather surprised that I couldn't find a decent list of who's "there".  The "celebrity" lists are easy to find but is there a fuller "directory"?   I had some vague memory of passing through there once before and seeing a "Raoux" which, of course, I couldn't find again.  I did make a pilgrimage to see where Rossini was briefly (before being returned to Italy) and found the plastic flowers and dead candles particularly apt - I think he would have had a giggle at them.  I also thought I had found Gabriel Fauré (FAURE inscription plus a lyre on the "door") but I think he's at Passy.  



Then today I had an extremely productive afternoon at the Bibliotheque.  I got a couple of hints from helpful colleagues (where to head and how it all works) which was useful.  These type of places always seem to have their own ways of doing things.  Everyone at the Bibliotheque was terribly helpful and I managed to get my mits on some of the things I was looking for and there were a couple of things that were pleasant surprises!  I was dancing with glee when I discovered one thing that really makes me sure of the choices I've made for the crooks for the Caprices.  However I'm convinced I'm not going to use up my 15 days I've purchased but it opens up the possibility of just popping in - especially in April when I'm over at the Opera Comique.  A few hunches I'd like to follow up....








Sunday 7 November 2010

Manière de faire le trille.


A bit of a wash out of a day (quite literarily - it rained and rained and rained - thus messing up my original plan of a long walk).  So took the opportunity to get a bit more work done on learning French.  Also a bit of time to get back to reading Gallay's Methode.  The below is the first draft on his chapter on the trill.  PLEASE NOTE THIS IS WORK IN PROGRESS.  If anyone wishes to use this do let me know first as it may well have been revised!

THE TRILL

[1] The Trill that many people have demanded and demand at the wrong moment of the cadence [2], is a very difficult ornament to execute perfection on the horn; it results from a successive beating, flowing between two notes which are a tone or semi-tone apart.   This beating must accelerate more or less inkeeping  with the character of the piece in which It is in.

The method in which trills are taught by the methods published in recent years appears to me to be incorrect in that [by these methods] the tongue must remain completely foreign to the execution [of the trill] whilst effectively it is only the lips that act to move from the lower note to the higher note.  Without wanting to concern us with the root of this controversial question and passing to review all the inconveniences, there emerges a parallel principle that I will nonetheless not be prevented in delivering to the appreciation of my readers.

First, the trill that is made with the lips will always have something weak, timid which contrast, often in a shocking manner, with the style of the piece in which it is used.  Next it is often quivering, because, in my opinion, the lips are powerless to act with the extreme vivacity that is demanded.  Finally the movement (one could almost say convulsion) of the lips, a sort of nervous contraction, makes the face grimace and tests the chin with a disagreeable trembling which can react [badly?] on the left hand.

It is on the contrary the tongue, and the tongue alone that is able to do the work to produce the trill; it’s movements are still more rapid staying concentratingly  in the mouth with no exterior evidence: the trill, made thus, has the advantage of being at the same time flowing with more balance between the beats with more speed,  above all between the sharp notes.

THE MANNER IN WHICH TO PERFORM TRILLS

The trill is not easily made with the same facility on all notes of the scale, it will be necessary at first to work on the open notes which are more favourable to this ornament than the stopped notes.

The tongue will emit with softness the first note, as in an ordinary tongued note; then to more easily alternate between the lower note to the upper note, the tongue will lightly beat the internal edge of the lips, whilst strongly supporting the breath; these beats must be, so to speak, undulating, [the tongue] must in a way never strike a blow.

It is easy to make an exact idea of the mechanical play of the tongue in the trills: after hitting each note, the tongue carries itself forward, and comes, as I said, more high, it brushes the internal edge of the lips, then withdraws onto itself in a retroactive movement, and so on until the breath expires.  This goes and comes continually (if I am able to thus express myself),  the two notes flow closely together, and produce the trill.

It is necessary above all to give the same value to each of the two notes, to flow between them equally without jerking, and to accelerate the beating progressively until one succeeds in making quickly moving trills.  It is only by constant work and stubbornness that one will succeed in obtaining the speed and equality in the beating of the notes, and consequently return to master the trill.

Before beginning the following examples, the student must take care to breathe as much air as possible, in order to play them in a single breath; and he will not loose sight of making also the slurs which must be held onto as much as possible and their separation which has been marked with some effort.


[1] I give his only part of the trill and the manner in which it is made.  An explanation of the preparation and the termination are to be found with the musical ornaments that you can see on page 76.
[2] The term Cadence is used in music to show the end of a phrases or a momentary pause.

Saturday 6 November 2010

Back and forth

Just back from a quick trip back to the UK.  I can't really afford to be away for too long with my teaching.  Luckily the half term covered one or two weeks of this jaunt but I needed to pop back on Friday and returned this afternoon.  I'll sort of do a similar thing next week.

I would have preferred in many ways not to have done this however it was fine if a little exhausting.  Partially it had to be done for boring financial reasons but also it needed to be done just to make sure that the students don't go too long without a lesson from me.  I have excellent deputy teachers but really need to show my face if it's at all possible.  It was lovely to see many of the students - nice bunch.

Also nice to be briefly home.  I had a bit of that feeling one gets on returning of - "oh yeah, London is really a great place" and also similar views on my home (I'm really spoilt where I'm living here in Paris and feared I would have apartment envy!).  Ate more than I should have (also a rare bottle of wine) which makes me feel very heavy today.

Popping back to London in many ways also is prompting more thoughts on how I live my life and the various pros and cons.  I've so much enjoyed the freedom I have in undertaking this project.  It has led to a different rhythm to my days.  I also realised how much the first week here revolved around me struggling with various things and trying to get into a rhythm (eg struggling with the french course - I now have settled into that and understand more of what's required of me, also I know that, though I might struggle with something, it's all "work in progress".  Similarly the first week I was juggling all sorts of options with the Gallay, which instrument/which crooks and then now that's all sorted so I can settle down and get some work done.  The first week I had various financial concerns which were sorted out at the end of the week so the second week that was clearer).  The first week seemed full of things that seemed unclear and by the second week they all seemed to have worked themselves out.

It's raining like crazy here in Paris.  I've come back and tried to get to grips with "Prenoms Relatifs".  I'm unsurprised but you can really spend hours on the language learning - just trying to get your head round something and then put the time in to make it more fluent.  I need to make sure that this week I have a look at the Gallay Methode again as the last week there were a few things I thought I should go back to the source for - his thoughts on ornaments for example.  In a funny way the more I start to understand about french the more difficult I find reading the Methode.  Probably perhaps because you stop "gist-ing" the translation and start getting all tied up with details?

Thursday 4 November 2010

Social whirl!

Having had a rather hermit like first week the last few days have been much more social.  On Sunday I met up with the fantastic Claude Maury briefly at the CNSMD Paris.  Claude was my teacher when I studied at the Abbaye Aux Dames in Saintes and has always been a great inspiration and a great support.  His knowledge and expertise is legendary and it was very helpful to run a few things past him.  I'd been procrastinating about various things and it was great to have a chat with him.  I've settled on which instrument to use for the Gallay Caprices plus now have an order!  As the Caprices don't specify what crook to use I've been trying out various ideas (see posting on Sunday 31st of October for the variables).  I had wanted to try and get back to the original order of the Caprices, also I had wanted to use a variety of crooks as I enjoy the different colours.  But I also needed to come up with some sort of harmonic structure within in the whole thing which now I have!  So since then things have been easier as I can focus now on what I am going to do rather than experimenting with a million different versions.  I popped into the harmonia mundi boutique at the cite de la musique opposite the CNSMD whilst I was there and bought some nice postcards.  Hopefully they'll help my french somehow!
DO - RE - ME - FA - SOL - LA -SI - DO


CLAUDE MAURY

After I'd met up with Claude I wandered down to Gare du Nord to meet Jeroen Billiet.  Jeroen kindly gave me a copy of his recently released a disc of Belgian music for horn - really fascinating repertoire and masterfully played. 
JEROEN BILLIET

"DE HERFST BLAAST OP DEN HOREN"
MENGAL ENSEMBLE
  
Monday was similarly busy with lunch at the home of the sound engineer Hannelore Guittet and dinner at Nicola Boud's.  People are being so friendly and generous.  I said I would bring desert for my lunch at Hannelore's which gave me a great excuse to visit the patisserie opposite.  One of the things that I hadn't expected to experience as part of this adventure was seeing a different side to Paris - a bit of the world that exists behind the door codes!  I'm trying to keep my eyes open for doors left ajar as so often there is something curious lurking there.
CAKES FOR LUNCH!!!

Monday also saw us reassessed at school for the new month.  I'm still very impressed with langue onze and their teachers.  I'm now in a new group and it seems to suit me quite well.  Last week I seemed to be with a group many of whom had started at the beginning of October (from scratch?).  I was very much in awe of how well disciplined they were - I mean in terms of their use of the french language rather than behaviour (well they were all very well behaved people as well but that's by the by).  I still feel quite out of my depth in the new group - everyone seems more fluent than me but the new group seems to be mainly of people who have an ok grasp of French already, have some things they need to revise or clarify but who aren't total beginners.  And also the group is full of interesting people.  I met a Canadian pianist called Laura Loewen in this group who is fascinating but sadly leaving this Friday but I got to have a good chat with her at lunch on wednesday.  Also a young danish DJ called Ask Paul Lomholt whose mixes I had the chance to listen to yesterday on soundcloud.

Today I had a (very brief) rehearsal with Concert d'Astree.  My colleague Jeroen knew I was going to be here this month and they needed a third horn for a recording next week.  It was much fun especially as there were a fair few people there I hadn't seen in a long time.

I'm off home (briefly) tomorrow mainly to see my pupils at Blackheath and Trinity.  I've been away for a fair while that I'm curious to see how it feels.  I'm bringing home cheese from the "Maitre Fromager" Pascal Beillevaire opposite where I'm staying plus desert from Patisserie de l'Eglise, oh and a bottle of wine so maybe it won't feel that different?