Machy

I recently changed the setup of bass viol slightly. Instead of having the soundpost almost directly under the bridge (as suggested by Wieland Kuijken), it has gone around an inch away from the bridge. A longer, but thinner soundpost was made and fitted by local luthier, Andrew Tait. The overall string tension has been vastly reduced, especially on the bass side. I'm now using strings of the lightest gauge by Daniel Larson's Gamut Strings. I am using a very, very old, long and light pernambuco baroque violin bow, which has taken the edge off the sound, and made it more resonant (Are there many existing historical snakewood bass viol bows anyway?). My usual snakewood one feels too bright for my taste. The thin ribbon of hair has made my playing a lot more focused and perhaps even slightly louder. The string length has also been reduced, to around 68 cms. I think this has been the best thing I have done for my viol in a long time.

Below is a clip of a prelude by the violist Machy (fl 1685). It's probably my all time favourite prelude and possibly the most dramatic one ever written for the viol. It is an unmeasured prelude, so no bar lines or any sense of a regulated tempo. Because of that, even up to today, after so many years of playing this piece, I am never quite sure how I should play it. Despite all those years of musicological research (I'm probably the world's only Machy scholar), I don't think I'm even close to what Machy would have wanted.

bMuze.com
Title: Prelude Artist: Shaun Ng

Morning Magazine

When publicising my last solo recital at Kulcha, I was invited to do a little interview on RTRfm 92.1FM Morning Magazine. So on the morning of 8th February, I turned up at their Mount Lawley studios. This is what I said.

However, at their website I noticed:

From Singapore, and making his debut solo performance in WA, Shaun performs the works of the viola da gamba masters of the 17th and 18th centuries and tells us about the appeal of this instrument and its era…

At least this time I wasn't born in Singapore!

Review

CLASSICAL, Ensemble Battistin, The Perfection of Music, Masterpieces of the French Baroque, (ABC Classics). Reviewed by Patricia Kelly

RESEARCH into period music performance during the mid to late 20th century produced a wealth of scholarly material that made possible recordings such as this sophisticated disc from University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University. Unlike the geologist or archaeologist whose diggings into the past interpret but do not change what they see, the musicologist can interpret but can only approximate the instrumental and vocal quality produced in centuries before electronic recording could verify the process.

The program of this CD, the first of five exploring early 18th century French chamber music, is the outcome of study by musicologist David Tunley. The shimmering performance by Ensemble Battistin, with soprano Taryn Fiebig and mezzo Fiona Campbell, of two cantatas each by Jean-Baptiste Stuck and Michel Pignolet De Montéclair follows faithfully the French imperative to make the rhythms dance. The playing is clear, light and phrased with class, but oh, why do singers have to whine on to notes instead of going squarely to the sound's core?

Shaun: It's a called a port de voix, darling. :)

Finally!

I finally received my copy of the French Baroque Cantatas CD. I must say, although I am generally amazed with the musical result, I am not very used to the overall sound of the recording. I suspect very much that when this recording reaches the hands of the magazines and gets reviewed, they might have issue with it too. Maybe I've been using a bad CD player and my Grado Labs headphones are too revealing?

The CD booklet is gorgeous, with a lovely picture of the chapel at New Norcia. The liner notes are top notch, as is the rest of the physical product. Looking forward to the next one, which should appear some time in June. Is there a sponsor out there who would like to help finance the next in the series?

N.B. In the liner notes, Shaun Ng again falsely represents Singapore again!

Born in Singapore, Shaun Ng studied bass viol...

Jambe de Fer

A little quote I happened to stumble while doing research for my thesis:

What difference is there between Music & Singing, between musician and singer? There is as much difference between a poet and the reader of poetry: for the poet is inventor and maker of the thing, without which the reader could read nothing. Likewise the Musician is inventor & composer of some Music, without which the singer could not show off (or make heard) his voice.

Philippe Jambe de Fer, Epitome Musical (Lyons, 1556)

So tell me, were singers back then not musicians? Are singers now not musicians?

Pan-Pacific Gamba Gathering

I have just received an invitation to the Pan-Pacific Gamba Gathering that will happen in late July to August in Hawaii. Represented at this event are viola da gamba players from Australia (this includes me), Canada, Japan, Malaysia (this includes me too), New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. I usually falsely represent Singapore, but this time the organisers have got it right! Here is the tentative list of participants:

Ibi Aziz, Bruce Bellingham, John Bryan, Liam Byrne, Tina Chancey, Megan Collins, Brendan Conroy, Alison Crum, Marie Dalby, Wendy Gillespie, Brooke Greene, Peter Hallifax, Kaori Hashizume, Julie Jeffrey, Yukimi Kambe, Mari Kano, Andrew Kerr, Margaret Little, Loren Ludwig, Roy Marks, Sarah Mead, Catharina Meints, Miriam Morris, Susie Napper, Shaun Ng, Maki Noguchi, Eriko Ozawa, Ken Perlow, Fred Reinagel, Daniel Rippe, Alice Robbins, Brett Rutherford, Toshiko Shishido, Polly Sussex, Laura Vaughan, Victoria Watts, Webb Wiggins, Brent Wissick and Barbara Zuchowicz.

At this stage, I am still unsure what I will be performing or presenting. It seems that the organisers are keen on an unconventional programme. Perhaps I will include improvisations and contemporary works, especially music that was written for me. Naturally, I would like to include transciptions of current pop tunes. That seems to go down well with the mainstream audience, but I'm afraid that the viola da gamba crowd may not be familiar with what's current on Mtv. I say this because I too am not very familiar with what's on telly these days. I suppose I'll also include a few staple viola da gamba solos to make us all feel at home.

I hope that I will be succesful in securing funding for my trip. Hopefully the art funding bodies that I will approach will be interested in sending a representative from Western Australia to Hawaii.

French Baroque Cantatas

At long last, the first of the French Baroque Cantatas CDs is out. We recorded it so long ago, I cannot remember what I played in this one. If I'm not wrong, there is an obbligato viola da gamba part in one of the cantatas, but the rest of the contribution is all basso continuo. Obviously I've not heard it yet, but will expect to get some complimentary copies soon. The next CD should include some of the chamber music. I believe this CD project is ongoing and may include more completely unknown French baroque works. More information about the CD can be found here.

Australian Youth Choir

I finally accepted the position with the Australian Youth Choir as their choral conductor. So far, the experience has been an extremely rewarding one. I've been on the job 4 weeks now and I think things have been flowing along quite smoothly. I have convinced myself that if I can teach such young boys and girls to sing, I could probably teach just about anyone anything!

Bmuze

Jeremy's Pick-- I haven't heard or seen a Viol da Gamba since college (music performance major), and I forgot how beautiful they are. Thanks Shaun Ng!

Thanks to Tim Wang, who uploaded our jam session online, I managed to find a great new service to upload tracks for our enjoyment. To my surprise, after uploading a Telemann movement a few days ago, I became "Jeremy's Pick!" (I think Jeremy owns and/or runs bMuze) Thanks very much Jeremy. Here's another for you and the rest of the world.

This piece by Abel is probably a world premiere recording! I have never heard it recorded by any viola da gamba player ever. I am not sure if this piecee has ever been published in a modern edition. A few years ago, when I went to New York with my father for holiday, I stopped by at the New York Public Library and made copies of the manuscript (New York Public Library, Drexel 5871). It's a little bit of a strange piece. Called Vivace, it doesn't feel to have a fast or lively character. There are very many crosses in the music, made probably by someone attempting to spot "mistakes" in the music. I am not sure if I got it right myself, but I quite like the music. How does it sound to you?

bMuze.com
Title: Vivace Artist: Shaun Ng

Kulcha Recital

Thanks to everyone for attending my recital at Kulcha.

I had comfortable crowd of around 50 people, excluding my friends and family, which is a pleasant surprised considering how very new I am to Australia. The venue wasn't one that I was used to, but the relaxed "jazz club" atmosphere made the performance so much more intimate. I joked how similar it felt like being on the set of Dreamgirls.

For those that missed it, here is an old clip of the Telemann sonata that I played during the recital:

bMuze.com
Title: Andante Artist: Shaun Ng

Special thanks to my friends (Jeremy, Brian and Jumius) that turned up for my WA debut! (Sorry Brian, I don't have a picture with your eyes open!)