“The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the Glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.” J.S. Bach.
So you’ve learned the notes and rhythms of your audition piece (in the case of this year’s Vermont All State Festival Audition that’s Bach’s E flat Sonata, movements 1 & 2), you’re taking care to keep the pitch up at the ends of phrases, and you’re beginning to hate the piece – this bunch of notes that you’ve played so many times it makes your brain numb. Now what? Well, it’s time to fall in love. No, not with the guy/girl that sits next to you in band – with your music. Yes, that bunch of notes that’s beginning to feel like a torture device invented by some unknown sadistic authority type, is actually one of the most amazingly inspiring creations in the history of humanity.
The Siciliano in particular, from Bach’s E flat Sonata is, in the opinion of many including myself, one of the most beautiful selections found anywhere in classical music. It’s the envy of other instrumentalists who play arrangements of it. But we flutists are the lucky ones – it was composed for us, with our instrument in mind. It is one of the sweetest, most sensual, delicate, subtle, and most gently expressive pieces that exist, and we flutist have the great good fortune to be allowed the honor of playing it in its original and intended form!
First of all – hopefully by now you own, and have been listening regularly to, at least one, or ideally three, four, maybe five or six recordings of the piece. You say you have seven? Awesome! (If not now’s the time! You may wish to choose based on the thoughts below, or your teacher’s recommendation, or your own browsing, but get something! At the very least, click here to listen to this one of Emmanuel Pahud on YouTube – with good headphones!).
So start listening with a new ear – shake off the tedium you’ve experienced in learning the notes for a little while – and listen as if you’ve never heard the piece before. Hopefully it will be self-evident that there’s plenty to fall in love with. Then start reveling in the finer points. Notice the differences between one recording and another. Think about what details you love about one recording, and which you don’t like as much about another. Think about how YOU would ideally like to play it. Obviously, we all need to play the correct notes and rhythms, but beyond that, notice how wide the differences are between professionals in the way they treat particular notes or phrases. It’s by reveling in those differences and developing a deeper understanding of what you want from your own playing that truly brings your performance beyond playing a bunch of notes and on to a clearly evident expression of the love that this music was intended to be.
I’ll outline here a variety of thoughts that may be useful to you in getting the ball rolling toward making your own choices. I’ve selected for comparison four of the recordings I own of the Bach E flat Sonata. Among the reasons I’ve chosen these four in particular are 1) they’re all by performers I have immense respect and admiration for; 2) they’re all REALLY different from one another; 3) they’re all readily and inexpensively available for purchase either from iTunes OR as new or inexpensive used CDs. The recordings I’ve selected are from the following performers: Stephen Preston, Emmanuel Pahud, James Galway and Paula Robison.
Stephen Preston plays on a wooden baroque flute, similar to what would have been played during Bach’s life – so his recording is the most different from the others. The tone quality is obviously quite different, the pitch is somewhat lower – in keeping with the practice of the day, and there are many stylistic qualities that are very much in keeping with the style of the day. Notice how Preston shapes the notes in general, sometimes leaning, swelling, lifting. Note that he tongues almost every note throughout – very light, delicate tonguing – but not slurred except in those rare places where Bach’s original manuscript has slurs written in (the edition you’re playing for the audition is NOT Bach’s original – so unless you AND your teacher are very confident in your ability to pull off alternate articulation choices in the audition with full professional flair, you probably want to stick with what’s written in YOUR part for this audition, but keep it in mind for the future!). Note that the fact that almost every note is tongued allows for a greater variety of delicate nuances in the shapes of the notes as well as the phrases. Also of note overall – very little vibrato – it’s only used as a decoration – an occasional ornament to bring out the subtle shape of a note or phrase.
Paula Robison’s recording is the other extreme from Preston’s in many respects. Note the difference in tone quality – from Preston’s wooden sound to Robison’s intensity. She plays with vibrato throughout – certainly variations of tone color and vibrato to some extent (particularly in the Siciliano) – but largely a consistently intense, almost edgy sound by comparison. She chooses to add numerous slurs, and significant additions of rather flashy ornamentation.
Note how smooth Galway’s playing is by comparison with the others, particularly in the Allegro Moderato – very little variation in note shaping, almost all slurred, very few lifts at the ends of notes, mostly a gliding, dreamy sort of feeling. He uses vibrato throughout, but a lighter vibrato than Robison’s. Certainly there is a good deal of detailed nuance in the shaping of the Siciliano, though that’s still virtually all slurred. It’s a beautiful sound, very easy to listen to, very comforting.
Emmanuel Pahud’s recording is in many ways more similar to Preston’s than are the other two. Note that he’s tonguing almost throughout – notice how he shapes the notes – similar but obviously with a modern flute and clearly with his own very personal touch. Another similarity with Preston is his use of vibrato – not consistently throughout the piece but more for ornamental purpose – variety and occasional flavor rather than a constant backdrop. There’s a subtlety to Pahud’s overall sound when playing Bach – somewhat subdued relative to Robison or Galway but with a certain roundedness in the shaping. Yet there’s also an exquisite combination of both energy and detail in both note shapes and phrasing. (It’s also interesting to note that both Pahud and Preston are collaborating with the legendary harpsichord player, Trevor Pinnock).
These are very much over-generalizations. The main idea here is that all four of these recordings are amazing, unique, and awe-inspiring. Listen to them as much as you can. I will follow up on this post with additional thoughts on detailed nuances, but for now revel in the beauty of this music and the variety of ways it can be interpreted. What style do you prefer? Galway’s comforting smoothness? Robison’s intensity? Preston’s wooden sound and shaping? Pahud’s subtle detail and energy? You may love them all – great! Over time you may appreciate aspects of one or more interpretations in particular. It’s when you take this music into your soul and fall in love with it in all its glorious detail that you take the step beyond preparing for an audition and into playing like a pro.
Next week: Entry #5: Keep on breathing!
