Duo-Art Concert Grand at "Ear Witness" Site
By Robin Pratt
[ Editors note:
[
[ Douglas Henderson alerted several people about down-loadable audio
[ music performed on a Duo-Art concert grand, and available at the web
[ site of the radio program, "Ear Witness". What's unique is that the
[ piano is a big concert grand fitted with the Duo-Art system, playing
[ a roll which was edited especially for additional performing power.
[
[ Douglas is very upset with the overall performance quality of the
[ down-loaded audio. In the letters following Robin Pratt and Craig
[ Brougher offer explanations, and point out that the down-loadable
[ audio is only a hint of what the instrument really sounds like.
[
[ Robbie Rhodes
What you are actually hearing is the "Theme Music" for the program which has been digitally processed to accommodate voice-overs. It has been, to some extent, dynamically compressed to be nothing more than an "ear catcher"/theme song for the entire "Ear Witness" series. This informa- tion was given to me by Jeffrey Morgan, who was the on-location piano technician at the recording sessions.
From the genuine recordings from "Ear Witness" that I have been fortunate enough to have heard, I can say without hesitation that the reviews and articles are correct in saying that finally we are hearing what is really recorded on the Duo-Art rolls. The dynamics, accents and the phrasing accurately portray the artist's conception of the music .
Like I have said before, the fact that the recordings were edited is of scant consequence; they still had to please the artist. Most Duo-Art contracts contained clauses requiring the artist's participation in the editing process, as do most recording contracts today. The result is that the recordings are fabulous in terms of their musicality and historic importance.
Robin Pratt, AMICA
[ Will a CD be available someday, Robin? -- Robbie |
(Message sent Sun 30 Mar 1997, 20:07:46 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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