I see by the comments on my Forgiveness post that I haven’t been relating as many fascinating details of life here in Switzerland of late. That’s partly because I’ve been living in a music and English bubble of practice and church activities. Hopefully that will be justified by my return to Basel for more adventures, but in any case, I have a few gems to share with you that have happened of late.
Monday, June 4th after doing some harp practice and other work I went over to MB’s house and we had a lovely afternoon. I’d brought stuff to do, but we ended up talking most of the time. MB is American, and she’s been living in Switzerland for 20 plus years with her Swiss husband. Her house felt like home. It wasn’t like my home, but had all those homey touches that someone good at arts and crafts adds. She is an artist, and anyway we started out with milk and cookies so that’s enough to make any American feel at home. It was interesting to hear her take on the Swiss and the adventures and growth during her long time here. I don’t envy her first trip to Switzerland. She was brought on a tour of Switzerland to meet all his family and was made to wait outside while ‘discussion’ happened. It makes my audition this Friday seem tame. Anyway, it was warming to my soul to have some girl-talk with someone more experienced in life than I. I do miss face-to-face spontaneous chats with my mother. Soon, my dear mother, soon we shall have more again!
We baked ginger shortbread together (the excuse for coming over since she discovered I have a sweet tooth) and though I didn’t get any German homework done, I did practice some fiddle while MB drew sketches of my hands. I need to look in the mirror more often – my bow arm wrist is terribly cocked! It was fun to see the sketches, though.
When NB came home we had crepes for dinner and everything all together was very lovely. Can you tell it was good for heart and soul?
I led Bible study Tuesday and it went well. I suggested we start with prayer and it took most of the time so I only had to lead for a few minutes. I’ll remember that trick for next time, even though I did prepare ahead of time.
Wednesday was fairly normal (if there is such a thing), but I played oboe for Ken in my meeting with him since he wants me to play on his Modal Tapestry piece for a festival in Schaffhausen the last week I’m here. It’s an hour long piece with orchestral and Indian instruments with some parts composed and others improvised. I’ll mostly be sitting and listening, but I get to play some cool modal melodies. It’s good to know he still wanted me to play after hearing me. Sometimes the Eastman label carries too much expectation.
As I left the school I saw a group of young people dressed in black and doing their young person thing. I guessed they had a concert but as I walked passed them I saw a casket and an incense burner (does it have a name?) with incense billowing forth. I was a little taken aback and immediately thought about how hard it was for my school in Japan when a student died (which happened twice while I was there). Then I looked back at the students with horror as I could see no trace of grief. They were being positively silly! I walked away in horror thinking what glimpse of Swiss culture I’d just witnessed when I saw a large crowd gathered around the entrance to the school. They were of diverse ages and were standing around talking and enjoying light refreshments. They looked no more concerned than if they were out for an evening’s entertainment. I have no idea what it was all about, but I decided to believe that the school is having a play and for dramatic effect has the funeral scene originating from outside the building. I’m hoping so at least.
In German class we took a practice test for Zertifikat Deutsch. It was not very difficult and I did quite well (perfect in reading comprehension). It’s enough for me to loose respect for the exam. ;)
Randomly, here's a preview of my fiddle playing. 2007-06-05 fiddle adieu.mpg
An example of a medieval fiddle. (The one I'm playing here is not so historical)
(click to see full image)
Today we accomplished a lot in my fiddle lesson with Baptiste, as is usually the case. There’s always so much more one can do! Today’s lesson was at his apartment and I felt right at home amidst the piles of books, music, CDs, and instruments. Have you guessed what new instrument has at long last made its way into my life? In high school I tried to make one for a physics project. I didn’t use the internet then, so I didn’t bother to look up instructions. I made it up from my head with a wine box, read thread, and broken CDs . . .
I might have mentioned that failed project before, but in any case, Baptiste’s girlfriend showed me her hurdy-gurdy. What a tremendously cool instrument! It’s rather more complicated than I’d imagined and though easier to get a good sound, it’s harder to finger since you don’t really use the thumb so have to cross over smoothly between the other four fingers. To keep the melodic line you can’t let go and jump because the open string will sound. It’s hard to go up (to the right) from the index to the pinky (let hand). Can you picture it? Anyway, I was bold enough to take a video of her playing so you can get a taste of the magnificent thing yourself. I thought too late to get a picture of myself playing. That’s okay, I’m thinking of buying her old one anyway . . .
2007-06-07 hurdy-gurdy fast.mpg
Ask and ye shall receive. And then some! Thank you.
Thurible, I think.
You sound like Groucho Marx: "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member."
I never thought all those Suzuki years were wasted when you switched to oboe; the only thing I regretted was not buying the lion-head violin. (Or was it a wolf? I can't remember. If only it had sounded as cool as it looked!) Nonetheless, I have to admit it was thrilling to hear and see you playing the fiddle. By the way, I've been calling it the vielle here, because otherwise people think you're playing bluegrass. :)
Okay, I'll admit it. The hurdy-gurdy has an awesome sound.
What is the difference between the fiddle and the violin?
Love,
Billy
Okay, I guess I want a hurdy-gurdy too. (They are, after all, essentially nyckelharpas with the wheely dealie.) I'd really like to hear the wine-box-broken-CD model. The close-up on the vielle as you stop the recorder gives a good chance to see the body; I had been under the impression you were using a modern violin! (Although I expected it to sound significantly different; instead I'm struck by just how much it sounds like a Baroque violin.)
"Sometimes the Eastman label carries too much expectation." You kidding? I milk it for all it's worth! Resume: "I went to Eastman."
"Well, I don't know if you're really qualified for this job..."
"I went to Eastman."
"Oh, why didn't you say so?"
"...and the gig will pay $100."
"Hm—did I mention I went to Eastman?"
"Did I say $100? Slip of the tongue; I meant $300!"
"I'm sorry, sir, all tables are reserved. The wait right now would be about four hours."
"[coughs]Eastman."
"Right this way, sir."
Of course I jest. The way it actually goes down is more like this:
"Well, it's a music school... have you heard of Eastman?"
"Don't they make backpacks?"
"That's Eastsport. What about the University of Rochester?"
"Is that in Minnesota?"
" ... Never mind."
Dear Billy,
Thank you for writing! The medieval fiddle, or vielle in French, is a generic name for any bowed instrument held under the chin or between the legs. Instruments were not standardized so fiddles came in all shapes and sizes. The fiddle played between the legs developed into the gamba family of instruments used in the Baroque period and later into the cello used in the classical period. The modern cello we use today is a further development. Generally, the changes made to the instruments shifted the sound from soft and flexible to loud and consistent. Similarly, the fiddle played under the chin developed into the viola and violin that we have today.
Medieval fiddles often have more strings (five to seven) and the bridge is flatter so that it is possible to play more strings at once. The sound is softer and the instrument lighter. The bow is curved the opposite way from a modern bow. In a modern bow the mid-point has the smallest distance between the hair and the wood, but in a medieval bow it is the largest. This means that the sound at the bottom of the bow is quite heavy and the sound at the top is quite light. This allows the player to change the tone color and create a lot of variety.
Most people today do not play ancient instruments, but play instruments that people living today make based on what they know about medieval instruments. They learn from pictures in old books (called iconography), written descriptions, and any surviving instruments.
The fiddle I play here is more based on the modern violin concept, so with the old bow it sounds more like a baroque violin (as Andy pointed out). I’ve added a picture of one kind of fiddle to the post so you can see an example. I hope that wasn’t too much information!
Love,
Janet
Thanks for the laughs, Andy. I tend to get one reaction or the other. There's no middle ground.
You're welcome, mommy! It was a lion, and I'm sad we didn't get it either, but my life seems to be going along just fine anyway. Do you want to buy me a medieval fiddle to make up for it? ;)
Looking at the medieval fiddle for some reason made me think of the Heatherin. :)
I'm frustrated that I can't find a picture of the hurdy-gurdy you made, Janet. Is it possible we didn't take a picture of it???
I don't know why I never knew it was a hurdy-gurdy, but it's not just that I forgot—even in my diary I only refer to it as "the musical instrument she’s making for the Physics Olympics." For your amusement, here are three of my entries:
February 20: She immediately went to work on her Physics Olympics project—making an instrument—and I “helped” her with it. That is, I was there, fiddling around with things, bringing her various pieces of equipment, trying to spark ideas, listening to her—much as I do when she’s stuck on a math problem.
February 23: Janet became quite dejected this afternoon, upon discovering that her idea for the wheel mechanism for moving the bowing string on her instrument, which was really very clever, was not clever enough to work. The instrument, as simple as it is, is so much more complicated than it seemed at first, and the wheel mechanism is the one thing she thought she had taken care of.
February 24: Janet’s progress on her instrument went much better today; finally, things started working, after a few design modifications.
I think in the end it failed spectacularly. I'm not sure I would have permitted you to take a picture of it. I can't remember what I tried to do for the wheel. The keys were k'nex (do you realize how hard it is to search for the product if you don't know how it's spelled??!!) with quarters of CD's taped on and anchored with rubber bands. Yeah. No picture necessary I think . . .
And at first I thought "thurible" was just a thurible pun.
When Janet first told me she'd studied at Eastman I only knew Kodak. So, one notch better than the backpack boys.
As to the funeral, or whatever it was, it'd be odd to have a funeral in a school. They're almost always either in churches or in a gravesite chapel. Now, it is a custom to gather together after the funeral for what's called the "Lyychemöhli," the "corpse dinner," which is usually a relaxed affair because (a) it's usually a family gathering and (b) the sad part's over, and it's time for either reminiscing over the good times or catching up. I find this a reasonable custom especially among Christians when we do have a hope that reaches beyond death, but Christian or not, everyone seems to do it and do it in a similarly relaxed manner, though generally with the casket in the ground and not sitting barely attended outside a school with the youth goofing off with a censer.Well, there are certainly plenty of cultures that combine merry-making with memorial. I don't know if you remember, Janet, from the Todd Titon world music text, the Mexican ceremonies for the death of an infant, involving wrapping the dead child in a bundle, suspending it from the ceiling, and pushing it with poles. And then there's always the Irish wake... Requisite Irish Joke follows, partially abridged (for best result, read all dialog in the broadest possible Irish accent):
So there was a wake for a man, and a few of his friends, fellow farmers, showed up. It was a small farmhouse, and the guests sat and talked in the parlor, while the coffin was in the only other room, the kitchen, resting on two chairs at the head and one at the foot. Well, the men got to drinking, and talking, and proposing toasts to their departed friend, and before long were in high spirits. A few more friends showed up—but there were no more chairs for them to sit on. The farmers went into the kitchen and "borrowed" those under the coffin, leaning their friend up against the wall, assuring him that they'd bring them right back. About four hours later the priest stopped by, and was scandalized when he entered the kitchen and saw the neglected coffin. Rushing into the parlor, he cried, "Quick, somebody give me three chairs for the corpse!" "Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip..."
And as long as I'm hijacking posts with unrelated comments, I was doing quite a bit of thinking about death and memorial the other day because of an exhibit—ultimately a German export—that's at my local mall: http://bonnerviolin.googlepages.com/bodies
