Shortest Concert of all Time!

Normally, as a violinist... I tend to spend most of the concert playing... more notes and more time than most of the musicians on the stage... not entirely sure why, but that is the way that Classical Music has evolved over the centuries... and I get paid the same as everyone else! That said, I prefer it this way around... I prefer to be playing rather than sitting around on stage! If I have to be there, I want to be doing stuff!

Today, I had a pretty weird concert with @musicapoetica... it was part of our ongoing series at the Koninklijke Schouwburg (Royal Theatre) in Den Haag, where we present themed concerts of gems from the Baroque and Classical eras on historical instruments.

As you can see, the violin (viool) is only required for a small excerpt of a Trio by Franz Richter... which means that I will be required for about a grand total of about 3-5 minutes on stage! It's a pretty weird feeling... other instrumentalists are pretty used to this sort of thing, but string players are really not! It does mean that I will be sitting around in the Green Room for ages, before just stepping out and trying to nail it cold!

The concert features music that would have been played in a Salon from the 18th century Netherlands.... and as such, it uses two keyboard instruments that are now incredibly uncommon. Keep in mind that many of the "classical" instruments that we are now familiar with are the product of hundreds of years of evolution... and some of the most obvious examples of this evolution can be seen in the keyboard instruments...

The modern grand piano is a monster that has been designed for the gigantic concert halls that came into fashion in the 20th century, and are completely unsuited for the types of music that existed before then. However, in the spirit of the modern age, we tend to ignore this and pretend that everything is better and the past can be completely ignored... (/rant...).

This particular instrument is a clavichord (not to be confused with a harpsichord)... it has it's strings strung horizontally... and they are struck in the centre of the string with a metal hammer. Interestingly enough, the hammer is NOT independent to the key, so if the key is depressed then the hammer stays in contact with the string. This means that it quite difficult to play as it is quite easy to choke the sound... plus, it is really really really really quiet!

The continuous contact with the string means that the player has the ability to change the sound whilst it is sounding (something that isn't possible on other keyboard instruments... despite how "expressive" you look!).

The other featured instrument is a table piano... similar orientation for the strings, but they are hit with felt hammers and the action is similar to the fortepianos (not to be confused with the current day pianos...) of the day. Although they were most common in England, this particular one is an original from Amsterdam... giving it's first concert after being recently restored!

Again, due to the fact that it has a much smaller and lighter soundboard than even a fortepiano and harpsichord, it is also really quiet... but slightly louder than the clavichord! Thankfully, I'm playing in ensemble with this instrument and not the really quiet one!

For the keyboard duos... there is nothing funnier than seeing two grown men (who are pretty tall...) trying to fit on such a small playing area!

During our rehearsing... it became quickly apparent that my beloved new violin was just crushing the keyboard in terms of sound... so, I've had to apply this mute to the bridge, which sort of makes it quieter... but more to point, it removes much of the high frequencies by damping their access to the soundboard... which actually just changes the tone to a darker sound...

This is the first time that I've used a mute on this particular violin (it is only been in my hands for a few months!)... and this one (a rubber mute) is really not fitting around the bridge very snugly... the bridge is thicker than a modern bridge, to give a warmer darker sound. In my other case, I have leather mutes and also wooden ones.. but that was at home... this will have to do!

So, whilst I'm killing time backstage... I have noticed that I should have really changed the e string on my violin... the dryness of the winter air (and the house warming...) means that it is starting dry out and fray... it will be fine for this concert, it won't break (I hope...), but it does start to affect the sound.

Yep... I'm so bored that I've noticed that the pegs on three of the four strings have lined up in parallel! It's just luck... but it is a real pity that the e string peg isn't also facing the same direction... yep, I'm that bored... I wish I was playing!

Anyway, these pegs will soon be replaced... they are beautiful, but the luthier has order some really nice ebony and mammoth ivory ones to replace them! I can't wait... although, that means that the instrument passport will need to be updated to state that the ivory is not from a forbidden source.