Listening and Performing
Dear friends,
We’ve come so far with all the extra-musical things that go into creating an ensemble, with your friendship, guidance, and support. Now, we’re almost ready to do what we do best and play… except we can’t do that on our own, either.
Thomas and I had the chance to spend some time together last weekend, and I listened to him record a podcast in conversation with two Indigenous musicians for Early Music America. The three of them discussed how classical musicians can approach collaborations and other ways to create space for sounds from Indigenous cultures. One especially eye-opening topic was the relationship between performers and listeners in Indigenous cultures, and the different forms that relationship can take. I realized I’ve never really understood what it means to listen before. This is a topic we want to explore much more, starting by listening.
At Arpeggione, we strive to erase the boundary between performer and listener.
In the 18th c., a performer’s goal was to move the passions of their listeners, and since it was the Enlightenment, authors cooly cataloged methods to achieve this. Some, though, (most notably C.P.E. Bach), went so far as to say that in order to move the passions of the listeners, the PERFORMER must also be moved. This suggests to me that the most moving performances were ones in which the distinction between the performer and listener was blurred on this physical-emotional level of the passions. In the musical salons that were the inspiration for Arpeggione and much of our repertoire, listeners were often performers, and vice versa. The women who led salons, even if they did not perform themselves, had a direct influence on what music was heard and how it was played, as did the guests at the salon. In our intimate chamber music concerts, you, the listener, are just as important to the unique, spontaneous creation of a performance as the players.
I came across a quote recently, courtesy of Volunteer Musicians for the Arts. It articulates something that I have felt nebulously in my musical life for a long time, but as only Fred Rogers can:
“The really important things are never center stage of life’s dramas; they’re always ‘in the wings.’ ”
A few of Arpeggione’s musicians will be playing at the Big Moose Bach Festival in Gorham, NH (north of the White Mountains) next week. It was at Big Moose over 10 years ago, as I was just starting out my career, where I learned that you don’t need to be on the biggest stages to have some of the most important musical experiences. The performance could be under-rehearsed and it could be over 90 degrees in the hall. What matters is what the listeners hear. If a listener is moved to tears or joy, then you as the performer have to respect that– and suddenly the stakes are as high as any recital at Lincoln Center. The North Shore is not exactly remote, but we hope that someone will hear something new at our performances, that one person might be moved.
Join in this journey with us from our very first concerts– change the course of our music-making with your presence, help us create a community that is open to being moved, both listening and performing. We sincerely hope to see you at one of our September concerts, and we hope you will help us spread the word by inviting your friends.
Andrea