{"id":8314,"date":"2016-04-14T21:22:09","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T01:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=8314"},"modified":"2016-04-15T18:45:47","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T22:45:47","slug":"two-takes-on-handels-largo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=8314","title":{"rendered":"Two takes on Handel&#8217;s <em>Largo<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div data-mode=\"normal\" data-oembed=\"1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" id=\"arve-youtube-utiq8i3wul8\" style=\"max-width:600px;\" class=\"arve aligncenter\">\n\t<div class=\"arve-inner\">\n\t\t<div style=\"aspect-ratio:4\/3\" class=\"arve-embed arve-embed--has-aspect-ratio\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"arve-ar\" style=\"padding-top:75.000000%\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<iframe allow=\"accelerometer &apos;none&apos;;autoplay &apos;none&apos;;bluetooth &apos;none&apos;;browsing-topics &apos;none&apos;;camera &apos;none&apos;;clipboard-read &apos;none&apos;;clipboard-write;display-capture &apos;none&apos;;encrypted-media &apos;none&apos;;gamepad &apos;none&apos;;geolocation &apos;none&apos;;gyroscope &apos;none&apos;;hid &apos;none&apos;;identity-credentials-get &apos;none&apos;;idle-detection &apos;none&apos;;keyboard-map &apos;none&apos;;local-fonts;magnetometer &apos;none&apos;;microphone &apos;none&apos;;midi &apos;none&apos;;otp-credentials &apos;none&apos;;payment &apos;none&apos;;picture-in-picture;publickey-credentials-create &apos;none&apos;;publickey-credentials-get &apos;none&apos;;screen-wake-lock &apos;none&apos;;serial &apos;none&apos;;summarizer &apos;none&apos;;sync-xhr;usb &apos;none&apos;;web-share;window-management &apos;none&apos;;xr-spatial-tracking &apos;none&apos;;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"arve-iframe fitvidsignore\" credentialless data-arve=\"arve-youtube-utiq8i3wul8\" data-lenis-prevent=\"\" data-src-no-ap=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/UtIQ8I3wUl8?feature=oembed&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;autoplay=0\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" loading=\"lazy\" name=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/UtIQ8I3wUl8?feature=oembed&#038;iv_load_policy=3&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autoplay=0\" title=\"\" width=\"600\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"http:\\\/\\\/schema.org\\\/\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acornabbey.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=8314#arve-youtube-utiq8i3wul8\",\"@type\":\"VideoObject\",\"embedURL\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\/embed\\\/UtIQ8I3wUl8?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=0&autoplay=0\"}<\/script>\n\t\n<\/div>\n<p>Earlier this evening I had an email from a friend asking if I ever played the <em>Largo<\/em> from Handel&#8217;s opera <em>Xerxes<\/em> on the abbey organ. &#8220;Ha!&#8221; I replied. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t played the <em>Largo<\/em> since I was a first-year organ student.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>My friend caught my offhandedly rude dismissal of the <em>Largo<\/em>. He&#8217;s a trained musician and former music reviewer. The <em>Largo<\/em> is considered a bit of a clich\u00e9. But if you return to the <em>Largo<\/em> with fresh ears, it&#8217;s actually a stunning piece of music that deserves its eternal fame. After my friend mentioned it, I went to YouTube looking for interesting performances on the organ. I ended up &#8212; naturally &#8212; with Diane Bish.<\/p>\n<p>Diane Bish is so flamboyant and Liberace-like an organist that one is prejudiced against her on sight. But after listening to some of her superb playing, one realizes that she is one of the greatest of living organists. I only wish that I could adequately point out some of the details in her playing of this well-known piece. For one, she uses the organ&#8217;s <em>crescendo<\/em> pedal, which is considered a no-no for most sorts of music, as a matter of musical taste. The <em>crescendo<\/em> pedal pours on the stops as you press down on it, all the way up to everything the organ&#8217;s got. When she looks down to her right at 1:09, she&#8217;s looking to make sure that her foot is on the <em>crescendo<\/em> pedal, because she&#8217;s about to let loose with the organ&#8217;s power (she starts pulling back on the pedal at about 1:29). At the dynamic peaks of the piece (around 2:35 and 3:40) she has arrived at <em><strong>ff<\/strong><\/em> approaching full organ courtesy of the crescendo pedal. Pulling back on the pedal, of course, permits the smooth and rapid fading. The <em>crescendo<\/em> pedal is one of the pedals that looks like the accelerator on a Mac truck.<\/p>\n<p>The next thing to notice is her use of <em>rubato<\/em>. <em>Rubato<\/em> playing is a violation of strict, metronomic tempo. At 2:08, notice how she delays the notes and is a tiny fraction of a beat behind the beat on some of the key notes of the melody. <em>Rubato<\/em> playing is quite usual for later romantic-era music, such as Chopin. Or even Brahms. To play rubato for a composer who was born in 1685 is dangerously heretical. But Bish flawlessly pulls it off.<\/p>\n<p>Xerxes is an early opera. The <em>Largo<\/em>, though literally about a tree and its shade, is a love song about displaced and hopeless love. It ought to be sung by a castrato male. Sometimes it is sung today by a female soprano. But probably a more historically accurate sound can be gotten by a countertenor, as in the performance below.<\/p>\n\n<div data-mode=\"normal\" data-oembed=\"1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" id=\"arve-youtube-n7xh-58eb8c\" style=\"max-width:600px;\" class=\"arve aligncenter\">\n\t<div class=\"arve-inner\">\n\t\t<div style=\"aspect-ratio:840\/473\" class=\"arve-embed arve-embed--has-aspect-ratio\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"arve-ar\" style=\"padding-top:56.309524%\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<iframe allow=\"accelerometer &apos;none&apos;;autoplay &apos;none&apos;;bluetooth &apos;none&apos;;browsing-topics &apos;none&apos;;camera &apos;none&apos;;clipboard-read &apos;none&apos;;clipboard-write;display-capture &apos;none&apos;;encrypted-media &apos;none&apos;;gamepad &apos;none&apos;;geolocation &apos;none&apos;;gyroscope &apos;none&apos;;hid &apos;none&apos;;identity-credentials-get &apos;none&apos;;idle-detection &apos;none&apos;;keyboard-map &apos;none&apos;;local-fonts;magnetometer &apos;none&apos;;microphone &apos;none&apos;;midi &apos;none&apos;;otp-credentials &apos;none&apos;;payment &apos;none&apos;;picture-in-picture;publickey-credentials-create &apos;none&apos;;publickey-credentials-get &apos;none&apos;;screen-wake-lock &apos;none&apos;;serial &apos;none&apos;;summarizer &apos;none&apos;;sync-xhr;usb &apos;none&apos;;web-share;window-management &apos;none&apos;;xr-spatial-tracking &apos;none&apos;;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"arve-iframe fitvidsignore\" credentialless data-arve=\"arve-youtube-n7xh-58eb8c\" data-lenis-prevent=\"\" data-src-no-ap=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/N7XH-58eB8c?feature=oembed&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;autoplay=0\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"337.85714285714\" loading=\"lazy\" name=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/N7XH-58eB8c?feature=oembed&#038;iv_load_policy=3&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autoplay=0\" title=\"\" width=\"600\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"http:\\\/\\\/schema.org\\\/\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acornabbey.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=8314#arve-youtube-n7xh-58eb8c\",\"@type\":\"VideoObject\",\"embedURL\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\/embed\\\/N7XH-58eB8c?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=0&autoplay=0\"}<\/script>\n\t\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this evening I had an email from a friend asking if I ever played the Largo from Handel&#8217;s opera Xerxes on the abbey organ. &#8220;Ha!&#8221; I replied. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t played the Largo since I was a first-year organ student.&#8221; My friend caught my offhandedly rude dismissal of the Largo. He&#8217;s a trained musician and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=8314\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Two takes on Handel&#8217;s <em>Largo<\/em>&#8220;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8314"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8329,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314\/revisions\/8329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}