Lukas Henning: Rome 1623

A few days ago I had the chance to interview Lukas Henning, whose groundbreaking masterrezital was recently published on YouTube. After months of research, planning, and practicing, the performance was well received by all. Being in the audience myself, it was interesting to imagine the possibilities for such a "scenic production". 

Entering A Minefield

For those of you interested in tuning and temperaments, there is a great two-part series published on YouTube by Early Music Sources. For those of you who were interested in my article on the Well-Tempered Clavier, watching these videos furthers the idea that, no matter how well-articulated the authors of these temperaments were, mathematically-fixed temperaments were not the reality four hundred plus years ago.

"A Transportation"

A few weeks ago, my friend and colleague Lukas Henning had his Masterkonzert at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. For his concert, Lukas went off the beaten path, so to speak, by creating a theatrical work which he hoped would help give a context to the performance and creation of the music at the Barberini court in early 17th century Rome. After months of work planning, arranging, composing, and practicing, the final product was the most unique presentation within Early Music that I have seen yet. Take a look.

My Fear for Cadenzas

Recently, I read a post on David A. Wells's blog. In it, Mr. Wells details the process by which he wrote his own cadenza to the Mozart bassoon concerto. It's an interesting piece, one which had more than a few links to good material. In fact, I was surprised to learn that there is a D.M.A. thesis by a bassoonist named Sarah Anne Wildey, titled Historical Performance Practice in Cadenzas to Mozart's Concerto for Bassoon K. 191 (186e).