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Wayne and Rossy ... fabulous job in setting this all up.

I've been looking forward to this recital with eager anticipation. The group conscience, encouragement and sharing of progress along the way makes this recital, extra exciting. I'm thrilled to be participating.

What a fabulous opening set. Very fine and enjoyable performances. Really nicely done everyone and terrific start to the week.

As always, a great listening pleasure.

The recital is wonderful so far!! Thank you to all the Op. 19ers for their most enjoyable submissions. I've listened a couple of times already and will be listening more!

Well done everyone! Mendelssohn has long been one of my favorites and I think he would be absolutely thrilled to know that people from around the world got together to play his Songs Without Words.

Participting here has been a great experience, and Wayne and Rossy have done a great job, always being helpful to assist and answering questions. It isn't easy to be both artist and sound technichian, but it is great to have to opportunity of sharing music in this way.

I would like to give individual comments to those contriburing with Op.19 Songs.

Op.19.1 played by Beric. I think this could be considered a prototype of a Song Without Words. Songs or "Lieder" from the Romantic era are usually performed by a wocal and a pianist, but in these "Songs" the pianist has to do everything. What is very important and often difficult is to bring out the melody and mimic the vocalist at the same time as the "piano part" has to be done well. I think Beric mamaged this very well.

Op.19.2 played by Ragnhild. I had the pleasure of offering my own instrument for the recording of this piece, and was impressed that she was able to make such a good recording in just 2 or 3 attempts. This piece has some subtle middle voices. Not easy at all to bring out, Ragnhild managed beautifully.

Op.19.3 played by EvelynS. You don't need to worry about the tempo. You definitely play fast enough. I liked particularly the place in the beginning where the piano mimics the horns in the left hand. This really brings out the particular mood of this piece.

Op.19.4 played by Beric. Many of the comments to 19.1 also applied to this piece. I liked the performance very well.

Op.19.5 played by myself. I didn't give any comments along with my pieces when I submitted them, so I use the opportunity to add something now. This piece is formally almost a sonata with a first and second theme, a development part etc. The melody of the second theme first comes in the left hand (tenor level), and isn't easy to bring out. Technically this is a very hard piece. It is almost polyphonic and phrasing is important. Parts of the piece presents challenges similar to Bach music, while the development part could be a pre-study of Chopin's first Scherzo. I have spent much time studying this piece and am aware that I'm very close to my incompetence level here.

Op.19.6 played by Recaredo. This first of the "Barcarolles" in the series was beautifully played. I second Ragnhild's comment to this piece. Nice paintings too.

What an wonderful arrangement Rossy has done for this heavyweight recital, with an excellent introduction appropriate for this theme! I think arranging themed recitals is one of the best ways to pay tribute to the Masters and their works. A big hands to the parents of this wonderful concept (Wayne and Dipsy I think ) I'm feeling very nostalgic So, please let me share some quotes from our parents from which this idea originated (Man, I had turn a lot of RST pages to find this lol)
It starts with Wayne, of course, our official Recruiter (ohh, the context is Wayne, Dipsy and Rossy were struggling with the Metamorphosis series by Philip Glass...)

...Dipsy caught the idea at once :

...and what else, Wayne started chasing :

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I think nothing will be sufficient to appreciate the efforts, hard works and dedications Rossy and Wayne have put into this recitals!!! I dedicate all of my best wishes and prayers to you two!

And surely, hats off to all of the participants for their precious contributions which involve enormous efforts and intense loves and passions for music! Bravo, everyone, Bravo

Op 19 no 1, Beric: this is one of the two Lieder Ohne Worte I am familiar with, having heard Wibi Soerjadi's rendition before. Beautiful piece. I'm amazed that you can study the score briefly and just play it so well.

Op 19 no 2, RagnhildK:
Op 19 no 3, EvelynS:
Op 19 no 4, Beric:
Op 19 no 5, Ganddalf:
Op 19 no 6, Recaredo:
All pleasant to listen to. I haven't heard these pieces before. This first batch is really promising for the rest of the Mendelssohn recital.

Rostosky, maybe you can make a Youtube playlist with all these videos? It would get everything nicely together (and then I can put it on repeat for the rest of the work day).

Mendelssohn related emergency:

I received a Pm this morning from Carey, and the news is bad: Carey has to go into hospital tommorrow and the recovery time afterwards will be long.

I wished carey the best as I feel sure all will do.

This leaves Opus 67 no.4 as being the only piece out of the 48 not done.

If anyone wishes to "step into the breach" and I know its a big ask, but if Anyone feels they can manage it then they have until friday night to do it, record it and send me the link, as it is due to be posted this coming saturday.

I need to know as soon as is humanly possible from any brave soul who thinks they can manage it please.

In the interests of fairness, this will have to be first come first served.....

Thank you.

- you could probably expect one of the world's shortest queues for that!

I'm sure I've seen musicusblau (sp?) on youtube doing 67-4...since he's already involved in SWWs perhaps he would add that? (or is there more than one musicusblau?)...


(best of luck to Carey..)

Thank you Wayne. And thank you Rossy for the effort you've put into making this such a special recital. The videos laid out this way are such a pleasure to listen to. Opus 19 was a great treat first thing on a snowy morning (yes snowy in Colorado again). Truly, I hardly know how to complement these excellent musicians. All of them were excellent.

Beric: your talent is so evident. On 19#1 the balance you achieved between the hands made this one sing beautiful harmony. On 19#4 you created a different mood...one that was light and playful. Awesome

RagnhildK: whatever you do to make this sound so effortless I wish we could capture in a bottle. Your music engaged my whole listening self.

Evelyn S: I felt like I should dress for riding. The tempo you chose felt perfect for hunting and I could imagine jumping fences and cantering across country with your energetic interpretation of this one. Nice.

Ganddalf: That was wonderful. The complexity of the piece at the exciting tempo you chose was so impressive. Loved it.

Recaredo: This piece is one of my favorites and you brought out the mood of the gentle movement of the gondola. Well done.

Thank you guys for your kind comments! They all are extremely appreciated.


Carey, sorry you hear that, I wish you a speedy recovery.

Mendelssohn was first taught piano by his mother. He then made very rapid progress under subsequent tutors, including Zelter.

He developed a wide repertoire, agility, sight reading and powers of improvisation. Aged 12 Zelter took him to stay with Goethe at Weimer, there, Mendelssohn said ; " I play here much more than I do at home;rarely less than four hours sometimes six or maybe eight.

Goethe sits down beside me and when I have finished, I ask for a kiss or take one. You cannot imagine how good or how kind he is to me"





After a performance of a one act opera written and conducted by Mendelssohn, Zelter addressed the audience saying "My dear boy from this day you are no longer an apprentice, but a full member of the brotherhood of musicians"

Mendelssohn was then fourteen years old.

With family he travelled to switzerland. His awareness of the music of others shows in this quote concerning Yodelling

"This kind of singing sounds harsh and unpleasent when it is heard nearby... in the valleys mountains and woods, when you hear it mingling with the answering echoes it sounds beautiful."

Mendelssohn was also quite a good artist as this scene he painted whilst in Switzerland shows......




The first mention of songs without words occurs in one of Fanny's ( his sister) letters in 1829 the year the first book of SWW was published.

In opus 30 number 3 is a simple hymn like piece with an intro and epilogue.

No.6 is a barcarole ( a song sung by venetian gondolas with an accompaniment suggesting the rocking of a boat)

Sources: The great composers issue 11, the great musicians number 34.

We now move onto the second opus which is number 30.

Opus 30 no.1 is played here by Valencia who had this to say about it,

"First, apologies for the very poor quality of this recording. I tried recording this straight to my computer, but the sound is distorted and does not sound the way it sounds through the headphones. I am looking into getting a cheap usb audio interface which I hope might help.

Second, the lovely video for this piece was put together by fellow PWer LimeFriday. I love the images. Thank you ((((LimeFriday!)))) This Song without Words --Op. 30 No. 1- is sometimes nicknamed "Contemplation", and while watching the beautiful and haunting images I think about the lives of these poor old abandoned pianos, and all the glorious pieces that were played on them.

This piece was a challenge to learn. The hardest part for me was/is playing the melody smoothly, and making it sing out over the accompaniment. This is because the right hand has to play both the melody and part of the accompaniment. I didn’t quite succeed in keeping the accompaniment quiet, so that will be part of my future practice.

Overall my playing of this piece desperately needs a metronome. My pace is still a bit slow, and there are hesitations and mistakes. However, this is the best I could do at this time.

Thank you to Richard (zrtf90) for listening to my pre-recital recordings and for encouragement and advice about what to focus on in practice. I would have given up trying to improve these pieces long ago if not for his encouragement.

I am really happy that I participated in this recital. Hopefully we will do more themed recitals like this so that others on ABF can have a chance to participate as well.

It’s been great fun joining with everyone to put on this recital"

Next up with opus 30 no.2 is Numerian.

I think Mendelssohn would have loved this piano room!!

Opus 30 no.3 is played by Pianostudent88 who had this to say about the chosen piece;

"
Op. 30 No. 3 is in my opinion the easiest of Felix Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words (which is not to say it is easy!), thus barely within my reach after much more intense work than I normally put into a piece. What I think makes it easier is the slow tempo and the hymn-style arrangement.

It is Song Without Words #9, sometimes called "Consolation." I didn't think about Consolation when I was playing it though. I was thinking about getting all the notes, and balancing the accompaniment and the melody, and observing the dynamics, and pedaling sensitively. It's perhaps an overly cautious rendition. Maybe for the next themed recital, I'll see what happens if, after all my practicing, I just cut loose with a piece. I recorded it in one take, which pleases me.

For the recording, I played it somewhat freely: not trying to be free or rubato, but not counting it rigidly. I did do my share of rigid counting while practicing it. Although I don't think I was mashing the pedal there is, annoyingly, still pedal noise on the recording, although I was completely unaware of it when I was playing.

There are a few places where the notes are marked portato, and I played those notes without pedal in order to preserve the slight detachment in sound. I'm not entirely sure I like the effect; see if you can tell where they occur and what you think.

I wanted to borrow a tripod for the recording, but ran out of time. Oh well. I feel like my left hand is doing so much work it would be nice for it to get some camera time. Maybe next time.

I am pleased with the runs at the beginning and the end because I figured out how to do the "thumb over" technique on them (which as far as I can tell has nothing to do with the thumb going over, but just means that it's not the "thumb under" technique.). This is where you just move your hand quickly to the side to reach the next hand position and set of notes, instead of tucking the thumb under the hand to reach the next note. I had been reading about the "thumb over" technique for a long time and it didn't make any sense to me until I started working on this piece. I don't know if technically the beginning and ending runs sound very good, but I'm still personally pleased with them."

And DanS plays opus 30 number 4:

Moving onto opus30 no 5 played by Beric who had this to say concerning all three pieces he has played.

"Your'Pick'n Mix'Songs without Words has given tremendous stimulus and encouragement to a world of pianists. At a stroke you have injected fun into music making. The idea that a pianist,however modest his aspirations,can bid for a piece in this collection; prepare it,record and replay it on the Internet ..what a brilliant idea ! As a bonus you appear with nearly thirty other musicians world-wide.

I am looking forward to the complete recital. It will be full of variety and freshness;and will reflect such a diversity of talent and interpretation.
I trust that you have plans for a similar venture in the future."

And to conclude todays opus, we have opus 30 no. 6 played by Dire tonic, who had this to say after gallantly stepping into the breach for Limefriday:

"I've taken it a fair bit slower than indicated on my score but listening after taking a break I think it could be slower still. I could have made more of some of the rubatos. Bars 22 and 44 should have been at pp not mf . And a more pronounced rall at the end. I don't know how I missed that. But, then again, I was recording....'nuff said. I’ve finally given up on the Knight upright. It’s too loud for the room and horribly regulated so here using my humble Privia running galaxy vintage D and – hiding a multitude of sins - lashings of convolution reverb.

Coming back to the music - what a charming song this is. I can just imagine being ferried down the Grand Canal passing under the Rialto bridge on a grey autumn day.

Sadly, LimeFriday, who originally signed up for this piece, had to let it go due to a hand injury. So, if I may, LimeFriday, I dedicate this performance to you, hoping your injury will heal quickly and that you will take up the Venetian Gondola song where you left off. I think it's a little gem. "


[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NyGrKYLl5LY[/video]

I have a soft spot in my heart for opus 19, as I have played (or attempted to play) 5 of the 6. I think we're off to a great start, with an international cast of performers and some really heartfelt performances.

Opus 19 no.1 played by Beric: Really made the melody stand out, and at such short notice too. Wow - I'm impressed.

opus 19 no.2 played by RagnhildK: Very smooth - wonderful control of dynamics.

opus 19 no.3 Played by EvelynS: I think you captured the spirit of it - I can hear the horns blowing and the hunters charging.

Opus 19 no.4. Played by Beric: Great buildup to the climax and then back down for the quiet ending. Loved it.

opus 19 no.5 played by ganddalf: This is the only one of opus 19 I haven't played - I always thought it was too hard for me - you make it sound so easy! And from memory too - excellent job!

opus 19 no.6 played by Recaredo: Very nice playing and video work. I can feel the gondola gently rocking.

Sam

Is this what we're doing? I may be able to make a go at it, and perhaps if that doesn't work we can use this already made video. "Presto" is a relative term, isn't it?