I'm both the baritone and the "sound engineer," so I thank you for the kind words. Yes, as I recall, I did the piece in the transposition you mentioned (I wrote an edition of the entire cycle in that transposition, so as to preserve the tonal structure). I would argue that range has little to do with "proper interpretation," though the argument can be made that Schumann did not want his works transposed. (to be continued...)
Thanks so much for your response. Youtube has a way of taking perfect mike set=ups and compressing the signal so it does become distored especially in lower Hz and Db. Makes it sound as if the mike were just over the Bass sEction of the Piano. Great iterp. Thanks for adhering to Schumann's tempo markings "Nicht so Schnell."
Oh, wow, interesting comment! I have to say, in all of the of the thought that went into interpretation of this cycle (I've posted two excerpts from a complete performance), I never thought much about the tempo of this song -- I've been singing it for over 20 years! It's just the tempo I take. But you're right, I do tend to hear it done faster. Perhaps it's just my penchant for slower tempi. But too fast a tempo, and the song seems overtly angry, where the anger should be internalized.
This is a fine perfoance on the part of both the Baritone (sounds like it was taken down to Bb - tho i don't have perfect pitch) and the Accompanist.
Any Baritone that can take the High A (C Maj or High G (Bb maj.) has earned praise for proper interpretation. My concern is the sound engineer - a bit overmodulated , move the mike to the (Treble) soprano end of the Keyboard at the "Bend" of the Piano.
...This song I can do in the original key. The problem is with some of the lighter songs in the cycle which, though they don't go as high in the range, ride consistently higher in the tessitura, and end up being uncomfortable.
As for the "engineering," this was a live, direct-to-stereo digital recording is a small room on a laptop-based mobile set-up. If I had put the microphones were you suggest, the stand would have been where I was standing! (...continued again...)
The mics were set out in the room, at 135 degrees inward for point-source stereo, to try to capture what was actually heard in the room, rather than for optimum studio-quality recording. I'd suggest, though, that with the compression applied by YouTube, it would be pretty tough to really judge the soud quality very well. Geez, I wish I could find a better site to store these files!
The pianist holds a doctorate in music (U of Arizona, I think), has performed extensively all over the country, and is a published composer and fantastic teacher. She is also a joy to work with, and I miss her dearly since she moved to the other coast. If you have problems with her playing, I would offer that everyone, even someone as well qualified as Dr. Viemeister, makes mistakes. There is no such thing as a perfect performance.
I am undermining her education, I envy anyone with a doctorate in music. I am currently working at a BA in music Ed and I wanna die some days. Maybe she had a bad day, and I apologize for being so rude
Exactly!! For a real laugh, listen to the Wunderlich "interp" (Where's the fire Bud?) I'll see if I can forward it to you.
78timothy 2 years ago
I'm both the baritone and the "sound engineer," so I thank you for the kind words. Yes, as I recall, I did the piece in the transposition you mentioned (I wrote an edition of the entire cycle in that transposition, so as to preserve the tonal structure). I would argue that range has little to do with "proper interpretation," though the argument can be made that Schumann did not want his works transposed. (to be continued...)
EdMuse1122 2 years ago
Thanks so much for your response. Youtube has a way of taking perfect mike set=ups and compressing the signal so it does become distored especially in lower Hz and Db. Makes it sound as if the mike were just over the Bass sEction of the Piano. Great iterp. Thanks for adhering to Schumann's tempo markings "Nicht so Schnell."
TD :-)
78timothy 2 years ago
Oh, wow, interesting comment! I have to say, in all of the of the thought that went into interpretation of this cycle (I've posted two excerpts from a complete performance), I never thought much about the tempo of this song -- I've been singing it for over 20 years! It's just the tempo I take. But you're right, I do tend to hear it done faster. Perhaps it's just my penchant for slower tempi. But too fast a tempo, and the song seems overtly angry, where the anger should be internalized.
EdMuse1122 2 years ago
This is a fine perfoance on the part of both the Baritone (sounds like it was taken down to Bb - tho i don't have perfect pitch) and the Accompanist.
Any Baritone that can take the High A (C Maj or High G (Bb maj.) has earned praise for proper interpretation. My concern is the sound engineer - a bit overmodulated , move the mike to the (Treble) soprano end of the Keyboard at the "Bend" of the Piano.
78timothy 2 years ago
...This song I can do in the original key. The problem is with some of the lighter songs in the cycle which, though they don't go as high in the range, ride consistently higher in the tessitura, and end up being uncomfortable.
As for the "engineering," this was a live, direct-to-stereo digital recording is a small room on a laptop-based mobile set-up. If I had put the microphones were you suggest, the stand would have been where I was standing! (...continued again...)
EdMuse1122 2 years ago
(last continuation *rolleyes*...)
The mics were set out in the room, at 135 degrees inward for point-source stereo, to try to capture what was actually heard in the room, rather than for optimum studio-quality recording. I'd suggest, though, that with the compression applied by YouTube, it would be pretty tough to really judge the soud quality very well. Geez, I wish I could find a better site to store these files!
EdMuse1122 2 years ago
get a new pianist,lol, in general well done, not hard to play pianist, jeeze, I dont play piano at all, but i can play this,
vans1744 2 years ago
The pianist holds a doctorate in music (U of Arizona, I think), has performed extensively all over the country, and is a published composer and fantastic teacher. She is also a joy to work with, and I miss her dearly since she moved to the other coast. If you have problems with her playing, I would offer that everyone, even someone as well qualified as Dr. Viemeister, makes mistakes. There is no such thing as a perfect performance.
EdMuse1122 2 years ago
I am undermining her education, I envy anyone with a doctorate in music. I am currently working at a BA in music Ed and I wanna die some days. Maybe she had a bad day, and I apologize for being so rude
vans1744 2 years ago
I am NOT undermining (sorry really bad typo)
vans1744 2 years ago