Day 35: In the Dark

HaydnCD35I began this blog entry in the dark of morning. I’m finishing it in the dark of night.

Frankly, I prefer the morning.

By nightfall, I’m tired and I just wanna put on my jammies and watch an episode of Doctor Who.

Thankfully, the music is terrific.

L’Arte dell’Arco, according to the CD sleeve for the Brilliant Classics Haydn Edition, is playing period instruments. In the past, that has meant a headache for me.

Which is so ironic. You see, I’m a purist. I want to hear Classical music the way people in the 17th century heard it.

Problem is they heard, among other things, French horns without valves, which means the players had to swap the crooks to attain a greater range of notes (or they had to develop superhuman lips to reach the notes modern players achieve with valves), and they heard harpsichords instead of pianos. The former isn’t hard on the ears. The latter wears thin quickly. A harpsichord is fine for setting a mood, transporting the listener back to the 17th century quicker than the TARDIS. But, after awhile, that Continue reading