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テキサスでオルガン 〜 信州でオルガン 信州でタロー

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2008年 12月 07日

ある日曜日の後奏



タロー家ではショスタコービッチの音楽がブームで
11月のある日曜、とうとう、こんなことして遊んでしまいました。
これは交響曲5番からのアレンジの一部です。
礼拝の後で、「さあ昼食だ〜」と人々がにぎやかな時だし、
音質も画像も今ひとつです、あしからず!

打楽器を演奏してくれてるのが、アンドリュー13才。
タローの次に可愛い息子であります。
オルガンを弾いてるのが、オット。



*****
最近、きよが書いたエッセーがアメリカのオルガニストの雑誌に掲載されたので
記録のために、ここにも載せておきます。
ちなみに私は楽譜を使って演奏してますので。

Reasons Organists Should Perform from Memory
[This essay appeared on The American Organist magazine, December 2008 (page 104)]

By Kiyo Watanabe

I. Introduction

Performing music from memory is a religious activity for me. It’s important, of course, for a performer to know the quality of the music being played; but it’s also important to know how the audience is likely receiving the music. There are number of things that affect that, including the performer’s appearance. I obviously have in mind live performances because listening is not the only important part of the art. If it were, it would be sufficient to listen to recordings in private.

To help guide our perceptions I need to stress the importance of recognizing differences between practicing, playing, and performing. It is because I have seen so many students (and even teachers) who seem like they just play all the time, not knowing how to practice. When it is time to practice, we should not play but practice. I always compare this concept with sports. What if a baseball team only plays games all the time? They break into several methods of practicing during the spring training so that they will be ready for the upcoming season. Performing is similar to playing but takes different approach particularly in mind setting. I compare these to “regular-season” opposed to “pre-season” games.

Pianists have performed music from memory since the time of Franz Liszt. It makes me more wonder why organists don’t exercise such an important practice. In this essay, I would like to discuss why we should perform the music from memory.

II. Audience’s Point of View

Lack of Communication

The organist often has a disadvantage in communicating with an audience. Singers and most other solo instrumental players face the audience. In an organ concert, however, what we see is usually the back of the organist. Sometimes, we don’t even see the performer at all. In organ concerts, we can feel as though there is a wall between the organist and the audience. The music score in front of the organist makes this wall even thicker. It does not make him look as if he is truly playing for the audience. One of the ways to break this barrier, however, is to perform music from memory. Seeing the organist but having no score to distract them, the audience can feel a sense of communication with the organist. It is similar to a great speaker who delivers his speech without having notes. He exercises this practice because the appearance of himself reading the notes breaks the appearance of direct connection with his listeners.

Have You Learned the Music?

When an organist plays music with a score before him, we might well wonder if he has really learned the music well enough for the concert. Also, with the score in front of him, he looks like he is reading. His performance can easily start to seem as if he is just reading in public. If an organist plays from memory, he looks as if knows the music well; he seems to have a profoundly organic relationship with it. In the case of competitions or recording sessions, where note-perfect playing is essential, one might use a score. However, the concert performance is different; it’s a public event. There is no doubt that the music needs to be played well, but it is also important for the performers to demonstrate how well they know the music by playing from memory. In addition, we need to be reminded that the audience sacrifices their time (and in some cases their money) to come to the program, so most of them expect an exciting performance, one they can only experience in a live setting.

I Thought This Was a SOLO Concert

The word “solo” means one. When an organist uses the printed music, one might need a page tuner, which makes “two” performers instead of “one.” Even though the organ console is highly equipped with many pistons and multiple memories, some organists demand two assistants: one to turn to page and another to push the pistons. This is the worst case scenario for organ concerts (unless one needs to play on a primitive instrument). This is a little out of the subject, but having someone to push pistons to change registration is like an orchestra conductor being unable to give cues to bring certain instruments in during the performance. Having to have an assistant nearby would make the conductor seem inept.

Rock Musicians

Think of rock or jazz musicians. They almost never use music when they perform. They understand the importance of the visual aspect of communication in performance. As far as the musical notes are concerned, their music may be a lot simpler than organ music. However, those musicians spend a great deal of time and effort to prepare their concerts so that they can provide their best performance to the paid audience. They always look well-prepared, and the music sounds well-learned. No wonder they have huge crowds at their concerts.

III. The Organist’s Point of View

Organists’ Typical Excuses

An organist visits a church that has a good pipe organ. He is asked to play the organ, but his reply is “No, thank you.” Why? The two most typical excuses for the organist to refuse such an offer in situations like this are: 1) “I don't have my organ shoes,” or 2) “I don’t have my music.” What a shame! If one had some repertoire memorized, he could have played something. More importantly, if the organist is capable of performing his repertoire anytime, even without music, he can create increase the possibilities of being asked to give concerts or to apply for jobs.

Shall I Work or Cheat?

One organist mentioned to me that he decides whether to memorize or not depending on how much his hosts pay him. When the fee is high enough, he says he works harder and plays from memory. He seemed to be making an honest confession. However, as a performing artist, he should work as hard as possible in any circumstance. I’m reminded of another organist who said he always plays from memory, that he’d feel he was cheating if had to have a score before him.

Too Dangerous

The pipe organ is a complicated instrument. Some of the large organ consoles almost look like the cockpit of airplanes. So, playing such a machine with printed music in front of one is almost like driving a car while reading a map, which could easily cause a terrible accident. It also makes it more difficult to operate the complicated machine in full dimension if one has to read music while performing. One might argue that playing from memory is even dangerous. Yes, of course, it can be dangerous if one does not know the road he’s trying to drive on. However, if one studies and knows the road well, the journey should be safe and enjoyable.

For the Future

When the music is memorized, it is most likely learned thoroughly. Therefore, when one decides to play it again several years later, the music comes back a lot more easily because the process of relearning won’t take much time. This is especially true if one has performed the music from memory several times.

IV. Conclusion

We struggle to bring large numbers of people to organ concerts. Some non-musicians, however, do not like organ music and concerts because the sounds don’t appeal to them. I’m inclined to blame this on the long-time tradition of performers reading scores at the concerts and thereby putting an uncomfortable distance between themselves and their audiences. Most people sense what is around them with their eyes far better than their ears. The audience does not go to the concert to point out mistakes they might hear. Instead, they come to enjoy the experience of an exciting live performance; they expect the performer’s best effort.

In fairness, it may appear to us that some people have more talent in the art of performing from memory than others. Performing from memory takes special skills, but those skills can be trained. I am not going to discuss how to memorize, but I would like to point out two important keys for memorization: an optimistic attitude and habit. I find it is a lot easier to memorize music I like. If one can memorize one measure of music, one should be able to do the same for a 100 measures of music. Finally, performing from memory needs to become a habit for an organist. If one does it all the time, it starts seeming like the natural thing to do.

[October 10, 2007]

by organistnikki | 2008-12-07 02:52 | 教会 | Trackback | Comments(12)
Commented by nyf1403 at 2008-12-07 05:10
ふぃー、英語は読めましぇーん。辞書引くのにゃんていやだもん。
オットさん、すごいですなぁ。弾いて書いて。。いや、ヨメの支えだよね、そして、ムスコの励ましだよね!!

新しい牧師、オルガンをとっても重用視する人なんです。とっても嬉しいし励みになるし、ここ数年、けっ、オルガン奏楽なんてって思うこともあったので、本当にいいんだ、いいんですけど、それだけ要求されることも大きくなるわけで。。。根が怠け者のオカアタンだからねー、って虎に言われています。
夫さんの爪のあかをください。
Commented by Marty 紅緒 at 2008-12-07 11:32 x
わ~楽しいですねえ♪アンドリュー君もじょい~ 私の教会にピアノあるんですが弾く方がいなくて今までPCからのCDに合わせて賛美歌歌ってました。でも最近、退職した小学校教師の方が教会に来るようになりピアノ伴奏です。きよさんのエッセーをプリントアウトしました。今から読みます。バックが黒なのでどんなふうに印刷されるのかな?と思ったのですが印刷は読みやすく印刷されるんですね。
Commented by Marty 紅緒 at 2008-12-07 11:50 x
↑誤解を招くかもの表現だったので再びコメです。バックが黒なので同じように真っ黒のバックで印刷されるのかなあ。黒インクすごく使うな~と思ったのです。PC画面で黒のバックは写真や文字が引き立つし読みやすいですよ。それにBlack is beautiful... まーちゃんの色の黒大好きです。
Commented by sakurako at 2008-12-07 22:14 x
まあ可愛いアンドリュー君。待っている姿がなんとも愛おしい。
Marty 紅緒さん すみませんが何と書いてありますか?↑
Commented by 紅太郎母 at 2008-12-08 08:13 x
きゃあ~、こちらでもアップされてる~。ユーチューブの方で見て、最後きよさんがこちらを向いて微笑まれる時思わず「きよさま~~!」って叫んでしまいました。(大滝の汗) アンドリュー君も真剣なお顔が可愛いいい。もちろん音楽も荘厳で素晴らしかったです。
きよさんのエッセイも読ませて頂きました。プロとしての真摯な、ひたむきな姿勢に心打たれました。 野球やコックピットの例えなどもとても分かりやすかったです。ますます再来年のライブが楽しみです。私も(全然レベルが違うので、ここで触れるのお恥ずかしいですが)舞台で歌を歌う機会があるのでしっかり心に刻みたいと思います。練習・・もっと毎日何かできることをしなくては。仲間との週に一度の練習も心込めて。本番は聴衆の心へもっと届くように。私たちの場合はほぼ全て暗譜なので、覚えざるを得ませんが、ただ覚えるのと本当にその歌の全てを理解するのとは全然届き方が違いますものね。 たとえ素人のたった4,5分の演奏でも聴いてくれる方々がいらっしゃる以上、自分にできる精一杯の努力をしたいと思います。きよさん、Chiemiさん、気持ち引き締める機会を下さってありがとうございます。(*^_^*)
Commented by みいはあ at 2008-12-08 13:49 x
動画の感想を書きたかったのですが、あのね、全然音が出ていないんです。私のやり方が何か変なのでしょうね。

英語。。。くすん。さっぱり読めません。きよさんってすごい!「Dr」なんですね。そこだけ読めた(・・;)

今日は寂しくここから引き上げる”みいはあ”でありました。。
Commented by みいはあ at 2008-12-12 10:40 x
度々失礼いたします。動画の音声が出ました!何にもしていなくてもですよ!
真剣な顔つきの息子さん、可愛いです(^_^)v
音声は聞き取れるようになりましたが、英語はわからんのはどうしてでしょうね(笑)
Commented by organistnikki at 2008-12-13 08:46
虎ママさま
そうです、オットくんがこんなふうに遊べるのもムスコとヨメのおかげなんです。
さすが虎ママさん、よくわかってくださる!
新しい牧師さんがオルガンを重要視してくださる人でホント、良かったです。
それって、とっても励みになりますよねえ。
牧師さんによってはオルガン音楽なんてぜんぜん気にしない人もいますからねえ。
虎弟と猪父さんがしっかりとママを支えていてくれることを祈ってますよん!
Commented by organistnikki at 2008-12-13 08:52
紅緒ママさま
ね〜アンドリューくん、もじょいでしょ。
彼は日本ひいきなんです。
ああ、壁紙を気に入ってくださって良かったです。
そうそう、マーちゃんと同じ黒。目に優しいんです。
あ、きよのエッセーをプリントしてまで、読んでいただいてありがとうございます。
実は肝心の私が、まだちゃんと読んでなかったりして、がはは。
紅緒ママの教会にピアノを弾ける方が来てくださって良かったです。
生の演奏の方がやっぱり血が通った感じしますもんね。
Commented by organistnikki at 2008-12-13 08:54
sakurako さま
ねえ、アンドリューくん、かわいいですよね。
彼が小さい時から成長を見てるので、ホント息子みたいです。
そのうちにガールフレンドを連れてきたりするんでしょうねえ、とほほ
Commented by organistnikki at 2008-12-13 09:02
紅母さま
ね、アンドリューくん、もじょもじょでしょ。親バカですが、てへっ。
きよのエッセーは当たり前のことですが、結構、自分には厳しいです。
でも音楽を暗譜して、その上完全に自分のものになった時の演奏はやっぱり素晴らしいです。
紅母さま、また舞台があるのですね。
今度はいつでしょうか。素晴らしいものになりますように!!!
Commented by organistnikki at 2008-12-13 09:11
みいはあさま
動画を見てくださってありがとうごじゃます。
ね、アンドリューくん、真剣な眼差しでかわいいでしょう。
見てる私がドキドキします。
一生懸命、練習してくれたらしいです。
私も自分の教会で同じ曲をやりたいのですが、アンドリュー君には頼めないんです。
一応、自分の教会のメンバーの打楽器奏者に頼むというのが筋。
こわおもての高校のバンドの指揮者のおじさまに頼むしかないのです。(;´д`)
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