Job

Met Arm today, he is one of our best jazz saxophonist, just graduated. He was telling me that there isn't much job out there, except some minor teaching here and there. Then I met this vocalist, ploy, just now while I'm heading home. She said the same thing.

Now I'm wondering... the tuition for our college goes up this year. I mean, I can't imagine that I have to pay that price to go for school. Saw the price for the petrol today, went up a few more satang (100 satang = 1 Baht), which nearly reach 41baht per liter. Gosh... how can those people still driving out there.

Milk was telling me that day that he will has his car install the natural gas tank to cut down the cost of driving the car. He is consider doing pretty well, part time teaching at two school, play gigs 5 nights a week. But still...

So when is our turn to have salary raise? hmm...

New semester

After 3 months of long and hot summer, finally the school is going to start again. Not so much of holiday though, since we were still busy handling some projects like the Piano Competition, Dennis Fisher's Conducting camp, and also the preparation for the 1st Asia Music Director Conference, July and the SAYOWE 08.

We had this long orientation days last week... Quite a nice idea, but I expect to get more info and details for some aspect, and perhaps to have someone to talk about the whole calendar on the academic or activity or SPECIAL projects. The College is expanding so much, and we are having tons of activities all the year, which some is well plan, some is just last minute works. Well, amazing Thailand.

Was little fed up for this performance engagement that was decided few months ago. Why can't people think about it before they made a promise. Phil and somebody was telling me about this phrase "Is not what you know, is WHO you know". I'm here to put the add on for it "Is not what you plan, is WHO you plan with" hahaha!

Anyway, looking for some exciting and busy months!

Hang out

Was out with Brando, Mr. Wang and Sukit yesterday. Were talking about the APBDA festival stuff, and finally we had a dinner with the VC from Yamaha Siam.

It was a nice hang out. Mr. Wang (from Taiwan) was really a joker. Brando and me were trying to translate everything he said in to English, but still we missed a lot of the 'classic' idiom joke in the mandarin talking.

And of course, the VC from Yamaha was a cool guy as well. As like what Mr. Wang said, we seldom meet japanese at that ranking that can be so much fun and joking around.

Proton

Just found out that there is a new car show room nearby my place, and you guess what, is PROTON! Not to mention I saw a Gen2 at Tainan last year too.


Proud? Don't know yet. Exciting? Nah... I seen enough Proton at Malaysia...

J.S. Bach Suite No.1

First question, is the suite composed merely for the use of Cello? This is an ongoing battle…

There are many different kinds of edition appeared in the market for the Bach Suite, but basically it can be categories in to 2 categories: Scholarly and performance editions.

What’s the different? For me, the performance edition tends to place a higher emphasis upon their inspiration and emotions, and the poetry of the music. Scholarly edition tends to put a certain weight on the historical and theoretical accuracy.

Performance editions should be used with caution. Studying a performance edition is like having a lesson with a master who edited it and can be very interesting and useful. But it might lead the performer to fall in to a trap of having to interpret the music in the favor of a great master, rather than to what the composer intend to.

Quote from the master class with Jean-Marie Londeix, Bach’s Suite No.1 (Henry Lemoine Edition, transcribed and arranged by Jean-Marie Londeix)

Prelude
A piece of music which precedes something else; forming 1^st movement of a suite. The foundation notes should be emphasized all of the time, in a sense of the volume, but not the length. If the performer chooses to vary on the length, it should be in a more moderate way, and to do it with the consideration of the phrasing. Take the first eight notes; if we decide to play the first note longer, then the second note should not be too much different from the first, and so on until the fourth note, then the length of the note should be lengthen and back to the origin tempo.

Allemande
Dance, usually in 4/4 or 2/2, but sometimes in duple time, much used by 17^th and earlier 18^th century composers as the first movement of the suite, or the first after a prelude. It is serious in character but not heavy, and of moderate speed.

Courante
French dance, at height of popularity in 17^th century, which spread to Italy. With a mixture of simple triple and compound duple rhythms, the latter pertaining especially to the end of each of the 2 sections. In this Suite No.1, we can also interpret the courante as in running, and to count it in 6, rather than in 3/4.

Sarabande
Originated in Latin America, appearing in Spain in early 16^th century. Introduced to France and England in early 17^th century, where a stately version, in slow triple time, was preferred to the lively Spanish original. The 2^nd beat should be emphasized throughout the movement.

Menuet (Fr.), Minuet (Eng.), Menuett (Ger.), Minuetto (It.)
Dance in triple time, origin as French rustic dance and adapted by the court in the 17^th century. The performer should have an imagination of how the dance moving in small, dainty (delicate) step, which is the characteristic. It should have a clear 3 beat rather than the normal 3/4, with emphasize on the first beat.

Gigue
A lively rustic English, Scottish, and Irish dance type. Pieces in gigue style were absorbed into the suite as the customary closing movements.

Excerpt from the master classes of Jean-Marie LONDEIX, 2^nd Thailand International Soloist Saxophone Summer Camp 2008

For your personal reference, you can check on http://www.wimmercello.com/bachs1ms.html for a facsimile copy of the Bach's Suite No.1 in G Major, BWV 1007, believed to have been made by Bach's second wife Anna Magdalena.