Andres Segovia Plays Bach Chaconne (Part 1)

Well, sorry for another audio clip (bastards took down some of my video clips), but this one is especially worth listening to. The great master himself playing on the guitar.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Classical
• violin
• music
• Andres
• Segovia
• Bach
• Chaconne

[haloscorp4444]

That part at 2:23 scared the SHIT out of me! xD

[CK724001]

I spy 54 jealous violinists, and 1,142 appreciative musicians.

[dreambrew]

Beautiful!!! One of my faves for classical guitar. Love Segovia's arrangement best.

[cppnak10]

Man's greatest accomplishment. I still can't grasp it. 8 years of study into this and it's still amazes me.

[heycolslaw]

@haloscorp4444 / lol ! You must have had your volume turned up all the way!

[aimson]

@toogoodbw I may be wrong but I still suspect that you are highly influenced by the perceived "inauthenticity" of vibrato for the era. While this may be true from a historical perspective, it should not be used as an argument for judging the quality of the listening experience. If you had said you thought Segovia did not highlight the counterpoint well enough, I would have accepted that readily. However, by critiquing vibrato as a category, your argument becomes tainted with preconceived bias.

[aimson]

@aimson I can also argue that the point of vibrato is not simply for emotional expression, at least not on violin. It also provides a more aesthetically pleasing tone, which is absolutely central for classical guitar. Segovia gains incredible beauty from his vibrato here. In addition, there are different types of vibrato that add color or expression depending on how it is used. In this light, vibrato can actually enhance the articulation of the voices by allowing additional "tools" for shaping.

[aimson]

@toogoodbw I can see potential validity in your argument so therefore feel compelled to opine. I do think that the polyphony makes Bach unique but disagree that vibrato "takes away" from the counterpoint. If anything, it takes away from the purity of intonation, which I suppose you could argue as being important for highlighting counterpoint. However, the counterpoint comes out just as nicely with vibrato and there is no reason to believe it is not enhanced in the same way as the voice itself.

[toogoodbw]

@aimson The reason I do not like the vibrato here is indirectly related to the period. Vibrato is a great way to express emotion within a single melody. Most solo violin pieces are very monophonic and lend themselves to vibrato. What makes this piece unique is its polyphonic elements. On a single staff bach was able to inject incredibly complex counterpoint. When you implement vibrato on the high voice (the cantus firmus in most cases) it takes away from the counterpoint.

[aimson]

@toogoodbw If you are not opposed to vibrato because it doesn't fit the "baroque style," why else are you opposed to it? I can think of no other reason to make that comment other than because of adherence to the rigid ideal of "authenticity," which is a complete farce in my opinion. If you can come up with a real reason for not using vibrato that does not involve "authenticity" or "baroque style" then I might be able to acknowledge the validity of your opinion.