Week 2: Sleeps a Song in all things! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of "The Romantic Era" challenge!
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- Watch the kickoff livestream! (<- click)
Who is your favorite romantic lyricist?
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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J.K. Mertz - Minka & Romanze Adagio
Hi everyone, I was practicing these 2 little pieces last week (thank you, Eric, for your suggestions) and would like to share the result with you guys.
I didn't print the music out, so I have to keep looking at the monitor when recording. If my unblinking eyes and the "angry guitarist face" scared you, please forgive me and just focus on the pineapple behind me instead. I swear I was peaceful and happy inside when recording. (we need another Martin's home recording course to learn how to avoid "angry guitarist face")
1. Minka
This one is a Ukrainian folk song, so strictly speaking, this was not from the Romantic period. However, this version was arranged by Mertz, so it's still counted as romantic period music, I think? Please forgive my ignorance about classical music if I was wrong. (The music was busier than I think, that's why I could hardly blink when recording it)
2. Romanze - Adagio
I found this beautiful little piece in the Tonebase lessons archive. Simple but still beautiful.
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Moyses Lopes Thanks Moyses. Yes, the chords of Minka were a little bit loud, but when I heard the singing version of this tune, it was like a "holding beers and singing together" type of song, so I just played it like a drunk.
And Don't worry, Mr. Pineapple's sister, Ms. Pineapple, will appear in the next video. -
Wai I like your Mertz so much, I never could make music out of it, this was beautiful
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Coste – Les Soirées D’Auteuil, Sérénade (May 10 update)
Well, I've been practicing this piece like crazy, and I feel like I'm making some good progress. I'm actually pretty happy with this take, and, as God is my witness, it truly was a first take (typically I do 30-60 takes, filled with lots of yelling and swearing in between). My dog, of course, had to get into the video midway.
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Eric Phillips That was great, Eric. I think you have this down. And on first take! I didn't think those existed - certainly not for me. However, I am humbled by your 30 - 60 takes. It always takes me many takes but I give up long before 30 (much less 60!). I should become more persistent.
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Jack Stewart Well, persistent is one word. Some others would be stubborn, obstinate, bull-headed. and mulish.
I still want to work on it some more. Toward the end (around 2:25 and forward), it feels like it was losing some energy when it needed to be gaining energy. Or am I just being stubborn?
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Eric Phillips that was so good, Eric. Very lyrical and with the charming quality this music needs. Your phrasing, articulation, color and contrasts, it’s al there. Hard to believe it’s just 1 take, after only a few days of practice…. You’re amazing….
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joosje Thank you so much, Joosje. The one take was just lucky!
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Eric Phillips Another excellent performance. And thanks for sharing so many of Coste's pieces. A composer that deserves the attention.
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Dale Needles Thanks, Dale. I think I might be moving on to some Mertz next. Wai inspired me.
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Eric Phillips 1 take...wow...WOW..... I couldn't even record Old MacDonald Had a Farm (melody only) in only 1 take, and you got all the phrasing & dynamic in 1 take, that was beyond amazing!
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Eric Phillips Bravo!
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Eric Phillips yes, thats it, and this is real romantic with your dog looking out of the sunny window
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Mendelsohnn Op. 19.6 Venetian Gondola Song
This has proved to be much more difficult for me than I had anticipated. I started on this at the very beginning of the challenge. I almost gave up, but it seemed to go better this morning so I tried another recording attempt.
I have found the harmonics to be very difficult. My strings need to be changed which would certainly make a big difference. There are several passages that were difficult to navigate and some were hard to interpret.
This is a pretty rough performance but the best I have done so far. I will probably take a break before returning to it.
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Jack Stewart Very nice. I really like this piece and it sounds great on the guitar. Such a beautiful melody and great dynamic variety. I thought you played it very well and I hope you keep working on it.
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Dale Needles Thanks, Dale. It is a beautiful piece and I agree, it works very well on guitar - maybe even better than on piano. This recording is much better than what I could play yesterday. My frustration was really great. I had decided to give it up but decided to try it again this morning to much better effect. I have signed up for the next masterclass to get some more help on it.
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Jack Stewart That is a very difficult piece, Jack, and you’re playing it admirably well. I remember looking at it for about a minute and a half during the Tarrega challenge before deciding it was just too difficult. You’re real close to having it under the fingers.
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Eric Phillips Real close? I'm not so sure. But I recently made enough progress to be more encouraged. I'll continue to work on it and hopefully have it by the end of the challenge. Right now I'm going to focus on a couple of other pieces that hopefully will proceed more smoothly.
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Jack Stewart Well played, Jack. I always envy you guys for having the courage to tackle difficult pieces, they were both physically and mentally demanding (and time consuming). You could already play the whole piece from memory, I am looking forward to listening to your 2nd take.
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Wai Thanks, Wai. "'Courage to tackle difficult pieces"? Perhaps, don't have enough sense to know what my limits are. I do hope to make a revision later I. the challenge. I am still working on it but I am focusing on another piece as a break.
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Jack Stewart Great job, Jack! This is a hard piece to play, if I had chosen her to play I'm sure will need much more time to get some result. Good that you didn't give up, things are in the way, you just need more time, no doubt. Bravo, ragazzo!
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Jack Stewart such a beautiful peace
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Mertz - Op. 13 Abendlied (May 11)
Listening to Wai play some Mertz so beautifully yesterday inspired me to start poking around some of his pieces. Once I started playing them, however, I just did not want to stop.
So, I'm starting with this piece from his famous Bardenklänge, Op. 13.
The first take was not quite as successful today. There were a number of mistakes, but my biggest issue was executing the little arpeggiated texture in the accompaniment during measures 19-33. It needs to be quiet, but quick and consistent.
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Eric Phillips Another wonderful performance, Eric. You have very good control of dynamics between melody and accompaniment and expressive interpretation. Great job.
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Eric Phillips That was beautiful! Mertz's music sounded very lyrical to my ears, and those sextuplets (I didn't even know how to call them until I looked them up in the dictionary) were intriguing. Thanks for introducing his music to me, being able to share our love of music with people from all around the world is amazing.
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Eric Phillips Another impressive performance after just a few days practice. Looking forward to your next video!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
