Kats-Chernin - Russian Rag (Work in progress)

[perfect_pitch]

Greetings to everyone... I would like to present something different for once. I have a lovely little Russian Rag, and by Russian... I mean Australian.     

This Russian Rag was written by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin, and hopefully this work will help me display that I'm not always rigid and stiff in my playing, and that hopefully this recording is far more free and lyrical than my other works in progress.

Again - please, if you have any comments about texture, pedalling, phrasing etc... I would love to hear it.

[49410enrique]

this is pretty playing!  as i am not familar with the work or score i can only comment on initial impressions, i enjoyed your song like/singing tone in your melodic lines, i would only suggest that perhaps explore how to shape them further, not as in basic phrasing which you do well, just look for those juicy accidentals and places where supporting chords add extra harmonic-ie. emotional tension and try to have a bigger emphasis on those with a perceivable 'release' where appropriate ie resolutions, cadences, etc-, i guess i m tryng to say to shape the line more even within your larger phrase shape if that makes sense. again its good, my ear just sorta wanted more of what you are already doing.

pedaling perhaps in spots gets a little wonky/murky? perhaps look at flutter pedal or half pedal within sections that you are using sustain just to brush the  strings enough to  wipe them a little.  

where you are soft, try to go softer (this may be do to mic placement and acoustics and if the sound was captured with something that processes voice as it tends to water down volume contrasts vs direct result of your playing),

nice. program is shaping up nicely, well thought out choices.

[perfect_pitch]

Greetings enrique...

Again, thanks for the comments. Because this piece does need a melancholic sound - I was trying to see how much pedal I can put in to try and bring out the sort of 'drowning in russian vodka' sort of melancholic sound... maybe a tad too much? I'll experiment.

And yeah - the shaping - seems the all round area I need to work on in all of my pieces. And as for the dynamics, there are some pp sections, however I was reluctant to use the una corde pedal in this piece because I wanted to try and control the dynamics myself without resorting to it.

I don't know how sensitive the microphone is, or if the angle alters the microphones recording register. I should experiment with it - but my house has no real acoustics, which is why it sounds a little dry.

[ted]

Thank you for drawing my attention to this interesting composer. Ragtime of this type lies much closer to what eventually became known as "Terra Verde", as initiated by Roberts, French, Kirby and Isbitz, in the 1990s, than to the classical models of Joplin, Scott, Lamb and company. More or less, they were seeking new and broader forms, having ragtime as a component but also influenced by other musical currents of the past.

https://www.ragtime.nu/terraverde/

In fact, listening to this attractive piece, I am irresistibly reminded, in harmonic mood and phrasing anyway, of Hal Isbitz, particularly his "Chandelier Rag".

Some hard line ragtime devotees object to any bending of tempo, but in a work like this surely some degree of elastic phrasing is essential, and I think you allocate that very well. A bit more lightness and whimsy would be possible in certain phrases but it is all subjective.  

[perfect_pitch]

After working on it all term, I now present what I think is a far better and more competent performance of the Russian Rag.

Any advice for this piece would be greatly appreciated.

[gvans]

Fine playing, perfect_pitch. I'm sitting here sipping a brewski, and the work fits my mood to a T.
The recording is sweet, as is the playing. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, this is great stuff. Russian rag...Australian composer. Whoda thunck it?

[perfect_pitch]

Thank you... Thinking of recording it tomorrow with video.

[ted]

That is really excellent now. You are capturing the light, nostalgic insouciance of this particular piece very well. I cannot make up my mind whether Kats-Chernin did a lot of listening to Hal Isbitz or vice-versa.