Baroque Flute Boot Camp XIV: Message from the Director

Dear Baroque Flute Enthusiasts,

For the 2012 Baroque Flute Boot Camp I will be on hiatus. Many of you know that since September 2008 I have been pursuing a PhD in Musicology at the University of Oregon. It has been intellectually stimulating and very enjoyable. One requirement for the PhD is writing a dissertation. Another aspect of the PhD program in music history/musicology is the opportunity to teach undergraduate lecture classes. The dissertation and teaching not one but two summer sessions this year will keep me from participating in the Fourteenth Annual Baroque Flute Boot Camp (14 years? Really? Wow!). 

This is only a one year hiatus. I expect to be back at the helm in 2013. But the boot camp will only miss my personality this year. My collaborator, friend, and colleague, Janet See will be there, as usual, and after a two-year apprenticeship, our friend and colleague Kathie Stewart, Baroque flute teacher at the Oberlin Conservatory, will be the other boot camp instructor. 

The participants will continue to be pushed out of their respective comfort zones to acquire new skills and knowledge of Baroque flute and Baroque performance practices. My patented Forehead Slap of Despair (FSD) may be missed, but other than that, the Boot Camp Experience will be the same. You can expect lots of flute playing, technical exercises, improvisation theory and practice, camaraderie, encouragement, and the feeling that your brain has been filled to capacity each day.

I will, obviously, be sad to not be a physical part of the BFBC XIV, but feel confident that Ms. See and Ms. Stewart will conduct business as usual. If anything, the environment may be more intense, challenging, and stimulating than in years past, because that is how we roll at the BFBC. 

See you physically in 2013. See you virtually all the time. 

kp

PPOTW (Practice Pieces of the Week): November 17, 2011

OK, so I'm a few weeks behind on these, and the cross posting. Let's keep the whining down and the posture up. 

• Telemann, TWV 40.6, and 40.7 (Fantasias 5 & 6)
• Quantz, Capricci 2 (Presto) and 42 (Courante)
• Hotteterre, Preludes in c-minor
• J-D Braun, Sonata (1740; found in the pieces sans basse collection)

Practice Pieces of the Week (PPW) for September and October

Apologies for the delay in posting these. I forget that not everyone is using Facebook.

I'll be more diligent about the cross-posting.


Hotteterre Preludes in A-major (3 & 4); in Bb-Major (1 & 2).
Quantz Capriccen: Number 6 (Fantasia Presto); Number 31 (in Bb).

Hotteterre, g-minor preludes 3 & 4; Braun, Menuetto (p.10; this will get your lips in shape) & Capriccio (p. 12); Couperin, Concerts royaux, Quatrieme concert, Prelude (Gravement), Courante Francoise, and Sarabande tres tendrement (yeah, I like E-major).

Quantz of the Week: Number One (Yeah, believe it or not)

As usual:

• Level I: Good focus of tone on EVERY note
• Level II: Add perfect intervals (tuning)
• Level III: Add clarity of the written articulations, and make sure any articulation symbols are different from the notes that are not marked, and from those with different marks.
• Everyone: Take the first repeat only (AAB form). 

Levels I and II: Do not concern yourself with speed or any thoughts of tempo. Focus on the 2 Ts: Tone and Tuning.

Advanced players: This is NOT a race. It is all about TUNING and clarity (gotta love those slurs!). 

Reading List (Yes, I cracked under pressure)

I've uploaded to the wiki some excerpts from Friedrich Niedt's Musical Guide. It is a thoroughbass guide but because I'm always harping on flute players to learn the bass parts to their sonatas, this could be valuable to some players, IF they decide to take the UberGeek challenge and actually read it.

NB: This is hardcore History of Music Theory/Historical Performance Practice stuff, for the non-music major flute player.

I'll also post a slightly earlier French theorists guide for thoroughbass as well.