Categories: music
Date: 13 January 2008 22:56:29
You may have noticed a distinct lack of pronouncements concerning my New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I don't make them exactly, it's just that sometimes the year for a new project does not start on January 1st. An embryonic project began whilst Christmas shopping on December 15. I was in a slightly different part of town to my usual haunts and passed a piano shop. I went in to enquire about the cost of hiring a piano. I came out half an hour later having just put down a deposit on a purchase on a second-hand instrument.
My early concert-playing career came to an abrupt halt when I was eight years old. My Ma-rent, who was exasperated at my lack of discipline to practice, refused to pay for more lessons. My teacher, about whom I recall next to nothing, said I had a natural talent. This “natural talent”, which was probably more beginner's luck than any inherent skill, was lost to the world until about 5 years ago when I hired a piano and tentatively restarted lessons. I plinked and plonked my way through some rather basic pieces for about a year until, no doubt to the neighbours' eternal relief, I sold my house in London and moved to the Ancient Roman City in which I now reside.
The well-tempered clavier was delivered on Thursday 10th January. Outside, it was wuthering wildly and the rain was lashing down. The well-tempered removers shifted the instrument through the storm, shoe-horned it in through the front door and down the hallway which afforded a nail-biting one centimetre clearance on each side. Once the old Joanna had reached its destination, against the only internal wall available in the house, we all wiped our brows and breathed a sigh of relief. (There were moments when I had visions of the guys having to take it away again and then getting stuck...but that little anxiety can plague my dreams should I ever decide to move house.)
Das wohltemperierte Clavier is the name of a collection of solo keyboard music composed by that musical genius, Johann Sebastian Bach. He gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues "for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study". “Desirous of learning” I certainly am, whether I can be described at this stage of my life as “musical youth” (I might just about be allowed to be included in the designation of those persons “musical” if the definition is broad - but “youth” is probably a historical term by now when referring to me). As for being “skilled in this study”... I think this is going to be a lifetime's work in progress. Any youthful skill once attributed to yours truly has been blown away by the winds of time....
I celebrated the arrival of my new toy by staggering through a piece by Beethoven - his Ode to Joy. For the purposes of introducing this piece to the player who can barely tell apart the treble and bass clefs, this mighty work has been reduced to about 5 notes for the right hand and three chords for the left. I have forgotten almost everything I learned in London but the neighbours need not worry: I have just made a bulk order for earplugs.