25 Jan
2008
25 Jan
'08
5:56 a.m.
Dave Phillips wrote:
david wrote:
That's what I've heard about Beethoven's own performances. And he began
composing the Appasionata in 1803, the year "he came to grips with his
complete deafness" (I don't know if he personally performed it). Also,
pianos back then weren't as well-built as modern ones are.
Actually, he did. He just couldn't hear it
through his hearing loss, but
he could feel the vibrations. That's one reason he liked thunderous bass
and playing pianos so hard he broke them. ;-)
I never heard that about Beethoven.
Franz Liszt, maybe, but not Ludwig
Van. ;) Btw, it may interest some to know that the Amish
consider instruments a
worldly vanity.
Other churches have held that in the past. I'm Christian, but don't
happen to consider instruments a "worldly vanity" any more than I would
consider some the excellent tools and furniture that the Amish invented.
No instruments are used in their music, which is
virtually all church music. A friend here who visits Amish country
regularly tells me that everyone in an Amish family sings, and as far as
he could tell they all sing quite nicely. He said that their
entertainments often took the form of after-meal family singing.
Best singers I know in my collection of friends are an Episcopal priest
and his family. He has formal voice training and sings extremely well.
His wife sings well but doesn't have that same level of voice training.
His daughter sings extremely well, and has sung in professional-level
choirs from an early age. Even their son sings well, although he lacks
training due to learning disabilities.
--
David
gnome(a)hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community