Making Beautiful Music
Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:43 pm
It hadn't taken Eli too much digging to find the piece Jaycee had expressed interest in. Eli was a bit of a music packrat, and he hadn't played that piece too recently, so it did require a touch of searching. But he was fairly well organized, so soon enough, he'd found the piece: Gabriel Fauré's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, No. 1. After a quick trip to the library, he had a second copy ready to share.
He showed up in the music room that afternoon, as they'd planned, and found Jaycee already playing on the grand piano. Eli listened quietly. She played very well, and she was clearly immersed in her playing. He smiled to himself and quietly started getting his violin out of its case.
Jacquelin's fingers had started out the day stiff, so she worked on Liszt's La Campanella ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQULyGMhhWs)) to loosen them up. The piece had all of the technical challenges in it that she know she would be facing in the Fauré, and if she had to be honest with herself, was just a lot of fun to play. She noticed Eli sneak into the room and figured he'd need some time to get situated. As she brought the piece to a close, Eli seemed to be ready to tune. Without waiting for him to ask for it, she played his A, and the triad beneath it.
"Hi! I was -so- worried that you would have forgotten, or weren't serious, or something. This is going to be so wicked!"
Her face split into her 10,000 Watt smile, and her enthusiasm for the collaboration was easy to get caught up in.
Eli tuned his violin to the piano as she played the notes, adjusting the pegs slightly for each string. He was glad that Jaycee knew which notes to play and hadn't needed prompting, since that implied she'd practiced alongside other violinists before.
"How could I not be serious? I love music." He returned her bright smile with a grin. "And it's always fun to play alongside a talented pianist. Here, I made copies of the piece for you."
He handed Jaycee the sheet music he'd copied. Then he grabbed a nearby music stand and situated his own copy.
She spread it out as best she could, checking where page turns would be needed, and making sure they would be easy and as seamless as possible.
"I've never really played this before, so I hope you don't mind that I'm reading."
She looked through the piece, making mental notes where some challenging spots would be, then settled herself in front of the keyboard. She looked up at Eli, and waited for him to get himself situated.
Jacquelin tried to steady her hands. She didn't usually play for people other than her parents. She played the opening phrase, then devolved into a train wreck. She giggled nervously.
"Sorry. Usually there isn't anyone else around when I play."
Eli had to laugh a little. "It's okay. You started well at least! Do you want to try again? I can move back behind you so that I'm not where you can see if it'd help." He gave her an encouraging smile.
She smiled again, "No, no. You should stand there, in the bend of the piano. That way I can hear you better."
She waited for Eli to settle again, then started playing, this time relaxing in to the music. She let the music as she heard it in her head come through the piano, building energy and tension until she came to the cadence before the violin entered. She backed just enough to delicately hand the melody off for Eli to pick it up.
He listened with a smile as Jaycee played the introduction, happy to see her nervousness fading. When it came time for the violin to enter, Eli smoothly picked up the melody. He let the violin have a stronger presence for its first several measures, then eased some to better work with the piano. He continued to smile as he played.
Jacquelin tried to focus on how Eli was playing the piece, trying to support his ideas, and give him hers through the way she played her melodic passages. Halfway through the first movement, they were in sync with each other. He was so easy to read, and what he wanted next just seemed to make sense for what to do next to her. Forgetting that someone else was in the room, she lost herself in the beauty of the instruments.
Eli thought of spring as he played. At times the warmth of the spring sun, at times the cool of a spring rain. Grass coming to life and breaking through the soil, flowers slowly blossoming, the smell of them on the air. Enjoying it all, an exuberant child frolicking. All of this, he tried to express with his violin.
The specifics of his imagination didn't fully translate into the music, of course. But the feel of it did.
He hardly even had to think about the piano. Their music just flowed together, and responding to the nuances that Jaycee put into her part just came naturally.
As they played the final chords, the world started to swim back into focus. After the sound lingered in the room for a long moment, she started getting dizzy until she remembered to breath.
"That was... You are wicked good, Eli."
Eli relaxed his stance with his violin, smiling. "You're pretty good yourself, especially with that being sight read. You sure you haven't played this before?"
Jacquelin tried to hide behind the music stand of the piano, her blush barely noticeable against her pale face. Even though Eli meant to be complimentary, she focused on the phrase, 'with that being sight read.' Of course it hadn't been very good. She just found the music that morning.
"I'm sorry. I listened to it a bunch. But, I never had a violinist who could play growing up, so I never had the music before. I'll play it better when I've had the chance to practice it."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, you did great." Eli chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Why were so many people around here so apologetic over everything? "And, that was a lot of fun. Once you feel more at ease with the piece, we'll have to play it again sometime."
(( For the curious: It starts at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3u_eJX75Jg ))
He showed up in the music room that afternoon, as they'd planned, and found Jaycee already playing on the grand piano. Eli listened quietly. She played very well, and she was clearly immersed in her playing. He smiled to himself and quietly started getting his violin out of its case.
Jacquelin's fingers had started out the day stiff, so she worked on Liszt's La Campanella ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQULyGMhhWs)) to loosen them up. The piece had all of the technical challenges in it that she know she would be facing in the Fauré, and if she had to be honest with herself, was just a lot of fun to play. She noticed Eli sneak into the room and figured he'd need some time to get situated. As she brought the piece to a close, Eli seemed to be ready to tune. Without waiting for him to ask for it, she played his A, and the triad beneath it.
"Hi! I was -so- worried that you would have forgotten, or weren't serious, or something. This is going to be so wicked!"
Her face split into her 10,000 Watt smile, and her enthusiasm for the collaboration was easy to get caught up in.
Eli tuned his violin to the piano as she played the notes, adjusting the pegs slightly for each string. He was glad that Jaycee knew which notes to play and hadn't needed prompting, since that implied she'd practiced alongside other violinists before.
"How could I not be serious? I love music." He returned her bright smile with a grin. "And it's always fun to play alongside a talented pianist. Here, I made copies of the piece for you."
He handed Jaycee the sheet music he'd copied. Then he grabbed a nearby music stand and situated his own copy.
She spread it out as best she could, checking where page turns would be needed, and making sure they would be easy and as seamless as possible.
"I've never really played this before, so I hope you don't mind that I'm reading."
She looked through the piece, making mental notes where some challenging spots would be, then settled herself in front of the keyboard. She looked up at Eli, and waited for him to get himself situated.
Jacquelin tried to steady her hands. She didn't usually play for people other than her parents. She played the opening phrase, then devolved into a train wreck. She giggled nervously.
"Sorry. Usually there isn't anyone else around when I play."
Eli had to laugh a little. "It's okay. You started well at least! Do you want to try again? I can move back behind you so that I'm not where you can see if it'd help." He gave her an encouraging smile.
She smiled again, "No, no. You should stand there, in the bend of the piano. That way I can hear you better."
She waited for Eli to settle again, then started playing, this time relaxing in to the music. She let the music as she heard it in her head come through the piano, building energy and tension until she came to the cadence before the violin entered. She backed just enough to delicately hand the melody off for Eli to pick it up.
He listened with a smile as Jaycee played the introduction, happy to see her nervousness fading. When it came time for the violin to enter, Eli smoothly picked up the melody. He let the violin have a stronger presence for its first several measures, then eased some to better work with the piano. He continued to smile as he played.
Jacquelin tried to focus on how Eli was playing the piece, trying to support his ideas, and give him hers through the way she played her melodic passages. Halfway through the first movement, they were in sync with each other. He was so easy to read, and what he wanted next just seemed to make sense for what to do next to her. Forgetting that someone else was in the room, she lost herself in the beauty of the instruments.
Eli thought of spring as he played. At times the warmth of the spring sun, at times the cool of a spring rain. Grass coming to life and breaking through the soil, flowers slowly blossoming, the smell of them on the air. Enjoying it all, an exuberant child frolicking. All of this, he tried to express with his violin.
The specifics of his imagination didn't fully translate into the music, of course. But the feel of it did.
He hardly even had to think about the piano. Their music just flowed together, and responding to the nuances that Jaycee put into her part just came naturally.
As they played the final chords, the world started to swim back into focus. After the sound lingered in the room for a long moment, she started getting dizzy until she remembered to breath.
"That was... You are wicked good, Eli."
Eli relaxed his stance with his violin, smiling. "You're pretty good yourself, especially with that being sight read. You sure you haven't played this before?"
Jacquelin tried to hide behind the music stand of the piano, her blush barely noticeable against her pale face. Even though Eli meant to be complimentary, she focused on the phrase, 'with that being sight read.' Of course it hadn't been very good. She just found the music that morning.
"I'm sorry. I listened to it a bunch. But, I never had a violinist who could play growing up, so I never had the music before. I'll play it better when I've had the chance to practice it."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, you did great." Eli chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Why were so many people around here so apologetic over everything? "And, that was a lot of fun. Once you feel more at ease with the piece, we'll have to play it again sometime."
(( For the curious: It starts at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3u_eJX75Jg ))