In honor of his Master class that I will be performing in, I am giving the "Prince of Ornamentation" a listen. This Belgian baroque flautist plays on a period instrument, notoriously difficult to play in tune.
Being a baroque piece there is no hiding phrases, cadences, or harmonic motion. With all the ornamentation, it is pretty obvious what in important melodically and what isn't. Phrases come in usual lengths and end in pretty typical ways. No big surprises. Rather, this piece shows off a performer’s virtuosity and style.
The coolest part of this piece is that it was written in 1775. You might ask, why is this so cool? I'll tell you....because this version of Vivaldi's "Spring" was written minimilistically. There is no accompaniment to this piece, instead the listener is supposed to imagine the orchestra playing behind the soloist. Playing the violin 1 part, it is an extremely familiar melody today. Back in the 18th century there were no LPs, CDs, 8 tracks, or cassette players. (Obviously). Music wasn't as widely distributed. So why would any composer arrange a piece where the audience has to imagine the orchestral accompaniment when they might not have ever heard it? It is like playing your concerto for the concerto competition with the orchestra....weird? but unique and sweet sounding!...in this case at least.
I really like this piece, it's very descriptive music. It always paints my imagination with pictures of nature, streams, and flowers. The essence of springtime. It has a very natural quality to it, and the solo instrument in this unique arrangement gives it an air-like quality.
PS this guy is really good. I'm scared to play Monday. Like real scared.
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