Posted by Matt G on August 12, 2002 at 10:40:20:
In Reply to: Re: Bydlo...auditions posted by Frederick J. Young on August 11, 2002 at 20:38:22:
I didn't know simple peasant singers were contrabasses who sang in their falsetto. Petrouschka make a little more sense on BBb as it is a dancing bear. A dancing bear is ironic and the solo makes sense. Bydlo is the story of an expressive lyric that depicts the nature of an oxcart. Simple, slow, a little laborious, but definitely not ironic. Historians will tell us that Ravel's interpretation of a Russian piano piece would have involved the French C tuba. The confusing part is stuff like the Great Gate of Kiev and Catacombs and the other low stuff. However, the parts are usually doubled with the Bass Viol and the French instrument had six valves which allowed it to go that low. For that reason, I feel that not only should the solo be played on euph, but the rest of the piece is probably best played on a big F or 3/4 or 4/4 CC. That would fit the character of the "French" interpretation of this "Russian" piano music best, in my opinion.
Matt G