Short Paper No.2 for MMS 331-02 by Greg Henry Waters

Well, this piece is very interesting in that it is played in two different keys according to my piano.

I must say I do not like the D'Anglebert's arrangement it has too many trills and embellishments and changes the melody to such an extent that it is difficult to hear this piece clearly. He plays this piece in Dbm rather than Dm which is a stronger key in my opinion. The Lute had tone, sound and body, being a woodwind player sound is so important it is all about sound. I am studying piano and what I like about it one has not to worry too much about sound the piano produces it not the player so much. The D'Anglebert's arrangement is at a faster tempo too. All I heard were a lot of trills.in the first three measures he has four trills all very long, and they seem to go out of thythm. He seems more concerned with being fancy than playing music. Was Gaultier, allows his instrument its true character and allows the notes to come out and doesn't let the embellishments get in the way of the music.

The first four bars D'Anglebert plays trills that are not written he seems to like to answer them with trills in the left hand sometimes. When one changes the key of the piece it really becomes a different piece of music not the same in the original key. The harpsichord arrangement really can be called a Baroque piece because it has so many twists and turns in it that the tempo is not clear or beat.

Yes the arrangement for both instrument of course are idiomatic. He, (harpsichord) uses three and four part harmony and adds a lot of notes to the piece he starts our measure one in two part harmony, then three part, in bar five it is four part harmonythan back to three, then four part harmony in bars seven and eight.

For me writing too many parts of a sound does not allow one to hear the piece as it should be heard.

I really do not like the harpsichord arrangement. I ask myself why am I listeing to this piece of music.

I so much prefer the Gaultier arrangement of it.

The Lute is used to produce tone and his trills are very short, just one turn not two or three like in the harpsichord. His tempo is a lot clearer and precise easier to listen too. I use to play in show bands where we would back of pop singers like Mel Torme and others in this class. They could take a broadway show tune and turn it into a piece of art or caress the song to mold it into a gem of a piece.

I think these singers went overboard with this idea just like the harpsichord piece did with his embellishments. I will hear trills in my sleep tonight that is for sure.

Gaultier plays the piece like a musician would and D'Anglebert's piece is more of an entertainment piece for me. It would impress all the musical elite.

I really find it hard to write more about these two pieces. Yes Gaultier plays fewer notes because his instrument does not allow him to play so many notes. The harpsichord player can play a lot of notes and he does. But I will take a good tone any day over a trill.

Well A'Anglebert uses a lot of counterpoint in his arrangement and trills, but for me the piece is covered up with all this extra stuff, trills and extra harmonic lines. (Measures 4,5 and 6.)

Not much more to say about this subject other than I think we could find better examples of this than these two. Just an opinion of course.

Greg Henry Waters