Monday, 15 December 2008

The joker's voice

Here's some Haydn (which I used to be able to play better than I can now!). Haydn is a juxtaposer - that's where Beethoven got it from. But the frequent and unexpected changes in texture and mood are there to create a sense of fun.. humour in places (if it's done well). What's the voice? Like Bach, there are places where there are many voices. But I think really it's the voice of the skilled comedian, playing with our expectations. This is the voice that knows how voices work, and how we expect voices to work, and knows how to surprise us... it is a 'knowing' voice (Shakespeare is like this too)

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