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03/09/2006
Everything is relative
Well, I just got back from a rehearsal with Sinfonia Ottawa. Someone kick me before I do silly things like this again! I've spent hours and hours and hours transcribing the cello part for Bartok's Divertimento for String Orchestra (the copy we were given was a photocopy of a photocopy of the score pieced together into a cello part). And as of 1 am (-ish) this morning, it's all finally done. Today was the first rehearsal where all four of us cellists are present, and my goodness, the others are such good players! I can be playing at home and it sounds pretty good (to me), but then when I get to orchestra, my playing sounds like a child sawing away on an instrument! (Our principal cellist, Anne Davison, is a-maz-ing. I don't think she ever gets any notes wrong.) And speaking of relativity and wrong notes, Bartok seems to be a fan of using every possible combination of flats and sharps to make things look as complicated as possible. So, instead of just writing a C, he'll usually write a B#. People like me aren't used to seeing B# (or E#), because they're just C and F (respectively), and normal people will just write C or F when they mean C or F. But nooooooooo, not Bartok. Then, there's things like double-flats and double-sharps, so Bartok will sometimes write a Cx (C double sharp) when he really just wants you to play a D. Sheesh. As a result, the sheet music for the Divertimento looks really nasty because it's crammed with as many flats and sharps as humanly possible. When played (and I should add the caveat, when played *correctly*), it's actually not so bad. Bartok's music can be a bit dissonant at times, but it's not as bad as it looks on paper.
Still, I think Bartok is not my cup of tea. Let's say I won't be rushing out to buy recordings of his stuff! Sunday night with the other orchestra (the OCO), we read through Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. It's sooooo beautiful. One of the ones that gives you goosebumps when you play through certain passages! I just bought a recording of that music, and it's just great. I love it to pieces!
Tomorrow, I practice like crazy, because the next Sinfonia rehearsal is Friday. We'll be rehearsing something by a contemporary composer named Finta, and his music is based on Canadian folk songs. I'm always leery of modern composers because the music can be really really weird, but for now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because I just received the music tonight and haven't actually sat down to look at it. I'll let you know how that goes!
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