In AMPLINEX 021 (Question and Answers) Ian Waugh expressed
some opinions on what was suitable music for the Music 5000 system and this
prompted a reply by John Bartlett in AMPLINEX 022 (Features). Since then we
have received two further contributions to this debate.
Instrumentation - further comments
Jim Brook
I hesitate to enter a discussion between such 'eminences
grises' as John Bartlett and Ian Waugh, but it seems to me that it echoes some
of the views on the current fashion for playing classical music on 'authentic' instruments.
There are quite strong disagreements on the subject. Ian
claims that exact transcriptions with 'inexact sounds' don't seem right. But
what is the 'right' sound? Isn't it simply a matter of personal preference? I'd
rather listen to Hogwood's Academy of Ancient Music playing Gluck's 'Dance of
the Furies' to any version on modern instruments - but the reverse is true in
the case of many other classical 'lollipops'.
I imagine I am in a minority of one when I say that my
interest in Hybrid music is very largely confined to its aid in learning
difficult (to me) passages of vocal music. Consequently, I find most of the
music files on AMPLINEX amazingly clever in computing and Music 5000 terms but
a musical non-event. The only ones to interest me are those which are
transcriptions of pieces written for conventional instruments.
But that's just me. Perhaps if Mozart had been born just a
few years ago, we might now have been listening on the Music 5000 to a piece by
him (aged 5) of supreme musical complexity and employing, inter alia, a
wuzzchime and a crinklehorn. Who knows?
Instrumentation - further comments
D J Barton
Original or existing music for entry into AMPLE? For me the
answer is - it must be both. My own taste in music covers the spectrum from the
popular classics, through the folk music of the Spinners, the pop records of
the past 30 years or so, to the records of today - including Cliff, The Cure,
and James Galway. My current favourites are Jean-Michel Jarre, Andreas Wollenvieder
(I bet that's spelt incorrectly!), and Kitaro. Quite a varied menu I feel and
that's what music is all about.
However, just owning a Music 5000 is not going to transform
anyone into a great composer any more than owning a word processor would make
them an author. Some of us will have to stick to using books of simple keyboard
music!
Incidentally, has anyone out there considered entering any
of the music of Kitaro, especially 'Silver Cloud'? Perhaps a challenge to Michael
Harbour whose 'moon' I really liked.
Published in AMPLINEX 024, January 1992
