I've been thinking of recording the complete set of 12 Fantasias by Telemann for Solo Violin... which means that I'm going to be browsing through them and just doing a quick read through and recording to see if they are decent pieces that I want to learn and bring up to standard... or not!

Today, I had a quick half hour to pick up my beloved new (well, new for me... the violin is from 1780...) violin and crank out four live takes of the second (fast) movement from the last fantasia in the series of 12. I'm placing all four audio takes (not videos... this is music.. not TV... you listen to music with your ears, not your eyes!) below... starting with the first take, which was essentially a first prima vista (sight reading)... through to the last fourth take which was the fourth reading!

Obviously, the takes get a bit better with each take... as I learn the piece better, and start to figure out what sort of personal touches I want to add to the interpretation. Under each of the takes, I have added my own critical commentary... after all, this is my job... so I need to be critical of my own playing!

The comments are my own first listening of the takes as well... so, probably we will have similar reactions!

The Score

This is the score that I will be referring back to during the commentary... with the bar numbers. As is my wont, I have very few markings on the page... I really hate it when there is lots of markings, I find it gets in the way. However, I know that there are others who prefer many markings... and having an empty page makes them nervous!

First Live Take

Bar 1: Weak up beat.
Bar 9-10: insecure notes... what the am I playing?!?!?!
Bar 20: Bastard Telemann... that wasn't the note that I was expecting....
Bar 25: Ooops, wrong upbeat note... not a disaster, but weird. I do like the slides for the chromatics... I think I will keep them!
Bar 31: Splat bow...
Bar 42: Not sure about that B flat tuning...
Bar 47: Fluffed end of the bar.
Bar 51: Whheeeeeee... a swing and a miss!
Bar 53: Stupid me... common rhetorical miss, repetition... should not be the same!
Bars 57-60: Need a better way of doing these, there is no development and it comes across heavy and clunky.
Bars 62-65: This passage is aimless and without direction.

As a first reading (I literally picked up the piece and started playing...), it is okay... no casualties and no injuries. However, there is a lot of background noise... anyway, I hope that the next take is going to be a bit more sophisticated in musical meaning and direction, now that I have figured out what the notes are!

Second Live Take

Bar 5: Good transition and timing between phrases.
Bars 9-12: This is still clunky and doesn't make great musical sense. The problem is the upbeat going into Bar 11... timing is bad.
Bar 16: Passagework is a little untidy. Nothing terrible, but it isn't quite good enough.
Bar 20: $!#%@$#%@^ Got the wrong note AGAIN... at least it was a different wrong note....
Bar 25: Sigh... again the wrong note for the upbeat... it isn't bad, but it would be nice to have the one that is actually written....
Bar 29: Squeak! Slightly crap contact between bow and string.
Bar 41: Upbeat timing could be more emphatic... it is too early and weak. Laying the wrong groundwork for the notes that follow.
Bars 47-50: Better this time.
Bars 52: It is different this time... but it could be more convincing... still got me off guard.
Bar 61: That B natural... isn't.
Bars 62-65: Well, it has direction now... but it doesn't make sense.

Well... things are getting better. There is more rhetorical timing for the phrases... and there is the semblance of a musical vision starting to appear.... and I haven't got bored of the piece yet! Things are going in the right direction at least!

Third Live Take

Bars 1-8: Okay
Bars 9-12: Still not happy with this bit... it is awkward sounding and doesn't make sense.
Bar 19: Upbeat ornamentation takes too much time on this take.
Bar 20: Woohooo! Got it!
Bar 25: ... but still not this one...
Bar 40: Could use a bit more space at the end of this phrase and starting the next.
Bars 53-55: Tolerable.
Bar 60: Fluffed top E.
Bars 62-65: Okay... better than the last, but not my ideal vision of it.

Different things go better... and different things go worse. But still an incremental improvement of the last one... around here, I'm likely to start getting worse as I get bored of playing it. Music is not really supposed to be repeated ad nauseum for recording takes (and let me tell you, the music that you hear on CDs and streaming are real Frankensteins....).

Fourth Live Take

Bar 9-12: Finally... you would think that a professional wouldn't take so long to figure out this and put it into action.
Bar 20: This is a better vision rhetorically... much more sense in this version.
Bar 25: Okay @bengy, the upbeat is a B... NOT a C.... it sounds fine, but why don't you just play what is there?
Bar 34: Ooops, trill should be upper note beginning... don't tell my boss, it would drive him nuts!
Bar 41: Borderline rushing beyond what is supported rhetorically.
Bar 44: Ditto.
Bar 51: This is the limit of how out of tune is acceptable... really the limit....
Bar 53-54: I like it!
Bar 60: Timing placement of the top E is decent... landing on the note, almost...
Bar 62: Goooood stretching of time!... leading to a more sensical version of the passage following.

Although this take isn't perfect... it is the one that I most happy with as it has the best musical vision and rhetorical timing and placement. Plus, if I recorded a few more takes... it is likely to get worse as I get bored... plus, I'm not a fan of chop shop recordings (most modern recordings are...)... so, live and unedited versions are going to have their own special "charm".

Wrap Up

The piece did evolve from the first sight reading through to the last recording... thankfully mostly in the better direction. By the end, it is a version that I'm mostly happy with. I think I'll be doing this more often... it is a great way for me to just sit down and record something and then be analytical and critical about the performance. Something that is easier to do for someone else rather than yourself!