Going Baroque?

[Robin T]

Anybody playing Baroque music on your BD? Where would a beginner wanting to go Baroque go for guidance? I love the viola da gamba site and would like to know if any of you know of other sites that have been helpful to you-- sites with basic Baroque music and information.

Thanks!

Robin T

[Ken Bloom]

Hi Robin,

I've been using the bowed dulcimer to play Baroque music for almost as long as I've been playing it. There is a huge amount of material available but i think a good place to start is a series of books of the music of Jan Jakob van Eyck. These are written for solo recorder or flute and are basically a collection of popular melodies of the time (1646) with variations. The melodies are fairly straightforward and simple and the variations become more and more challenging.
A good source for the books is The Early Music Shop in Boulder, Colorado. I'm sure there are others reading this that will have more suggestions.
For some of the very best performances of Baroque music I highly recommend the recordings of Frans Brueggen. He Is a fine conductor now, but in his younger years he was the premiere performer of Baroque recorder and flute. When it comes to style, tone, ornamentation and improvisation ( a big part of Baroque music) he is the best. He plays with such life and fire. The simplest pieces come to life in his capable hands.

Ken Bloom
http://www.boweddulcimer.com

[southernmiss]

Lots of interesting links about baroque music here, Robin: http://www.baroquemusic.org/index.html. Lee

[Robin T]

Thanks, Ken & Lee-- I've bookmarked the Boulder shop & the online site!

Should anyone feel an overwhelming desire to play something Baroque and put it on YouTube, I wouldn't object.

a' best,
Robin T

[Ken Bloom]

There is a video of Janet and I doing the first two movements of Hotteterre's First Suite of Pieces, taken at a concert two years ago.

Ken Bloom
http://www.boweddulcimer.com

[Robin T]

Ken, is the video of you & Janet posted online? (Got my fingers crossed that it is. )

Robin T

[southernmiss]

Robin, Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUGJNnd5DYs. Lee

[Robin T]

Thanks for the link, Lee! I might be able to work my way up to a piece like that once I join the angel band.

Robin T

[Ken Bloom]

Hi Robin,

Take heart. A lot of Baroque music was written to played as home music for families. A well-to-do family would buy a chest of viols, meaning enough so that there was one for every body. They came in several sizes. For an evening's entertainment the family would sit around the table and play arrangements of tunes. Many of these tunes were popular ditties of the day that had been elaborated on by composers.
What we hear today performed is more of the court music done by professionals with a high degree of expertise. in many ways, the music that was played in the home was much more like what we think of as Old Time music. If you look through the several volumes of van Eyck you will see some nice simple melodies that are rather easy to play followed by ever more elaborate variations. This means that you can continue to go back to a favorite tune as your skill increases. Sometimes the real challenge is to play a few well placed notes artfully and with heart. It's not all about chops. I find playing music like this very rewarding and I use a lot of the same musical devices when I arrange for groups of bowed dulcimers or for dulcimer orchestra. Don't be discouraged by musicians that have more chops than you. Just beat them out with a more compelling and heart felt approach of playing a few notes but playing them very well. It makes for a more harmonious outcome.

Ken Bloom
http://www.boweddulcimer.com