I guess my musical journey was always going to be predominantly MELODY in nature, you know, stepwise changes in pitch or jumps and longer held expressive notes. It reads as clinical as musical analysis when I put it like that: Melody, tune theme, motif, riff, lick.... ugh lick? Really?
One unforgettable lecture at my college in Reading expounded 'romantic' melody in the 19th century. The lecturer was David Stannard FRCO (etc. etc.) An extremely nice man, and extremely reliable organist, pianist, oh... I get flashbacks of total admiration for him as he accompanied me in several recitals at University. So, in the lecture he explained the expansion of 'the melodic line' in romantic music, demonstrating by playing the solo violin part of Mendelssohn's e-minor concerto for violin, (II) on the piano. The melody literally goes on for bar after bar, rising and rising, dropping down again and rising yet again. I cant listen to it these days without being right back there in the lecture with DS at the piano, playing and talking us all throught the melodic design, plus adding Mendelssohn's harmonic underpining. It was a revelation to me and I now understood that melody and harmony and never resting bed-fellows until the very last cadence has faded.
As a flute player, we learn to sustain the line of a melody, support the projection and lean into the harmonic changes with delight. What life always treasures is a beautiful melody and this week I have launched a new Book of Beautiful Christmas Carol melodies for flute and harp. More about this later! Interested? Do check the samples and audio clips on the website: www.musicstave.com
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