CHAPTER 4. VIDEO RECORDINGS OF MY EXPERIMENTATION
In this section, we will discuss the main focus of this research. These are my practice sessions, comparing at first hand the different excerpts by both violists in order to find out what details or alternatives I can recover to inspire my own interpretation. So, I prioritized the ideas and differences previously presented, and I chose the most important passages for me. Which passages show these differences really well, from my point of view. To carry it out, I have recorded myself both alternatives for some excerpts, using small video clips from my practice room. Then, I formed conclusions about the various alternatives. Which do I prefer and why?
We will start discussing the opening of the first movement, which is one of the most important themes in our repertoire. It is worth mentioning the difficulty of this excerpt, not only technically (because of the great shifts of position and the high register), but also musically. There are many possible options of bowings in this passage. The purpose of this melody is to play it as one big connected phrase, without emphasizing or accentuating any one note. It is a big line. In this case, the bowings used by Riddle would be the most appropriate to achieve this result. I really liked these bowings, although I felt I needed to separate some high notes to gain space in sound and movement.
After trying the bowings used by Primrose, I felt a sense of freedom in my body movements. Although in my opinion, there are too many separate bowings and I could easily accentuate the last note that remains separate, I found that I could sing the melodic contour in this way. Another important thing I experienced playing these bowings is regarding the dynamics. It is easier to play louder with the separate bowings because we use more amount of bow to play. There can also be a tendency to sound very vertical and to lose a bit of the big line phrasing character that we want to achieve.
So after practicing it, for my own interpretation, I have made a sort of mixture of both versions according to the composer’s original idea and my artistic taste. I try to keep the slurs as much as possible and I only play a few high notes separated. For the ideal interpretation of this theme, it is of vital importance to connect all the notes with a continuous vibrato; having a clear idea of which are the most important notes in order to achieve an overall direction of the phrase. This, combined with a great command of the bow with the right hand, different sonorities and colors can be achieved. This creates an atmosphere of suspense and uncertainty, linked to the melancholic character of the theme.
Examples 30. William Walton, Concerto for viola and orchestra, edited by Oxford University Press, 1st movement, bars 1-23. My final bowings1.
In relation to the tempo from bar 46 onwards, Primrose starts directly with a rather fast tempo, unlike Riddle. In my humble opinion, I prefer to start these semiquavers at a slower tempo so that the stringendo and accelerando by steps are more noticeable.
Example 31: William Walton, Concerto for viola and orchestra, 1st movement, bars 46-52
The next example is with respect to bowings again. Both viola players agree on the bowings in bars 57-69. They play two slurred notes in this passage of sixteenth notes. This proposal of slurs can provide the extract with a more lightness of character. Nevertheless, I feel that these bowings do not work in my articulation. According to my interpretation, I play all the sixteenth notes separately; although I try to play with a softer and more cantabile articulation from the bar of these slurs, as opposed to at the beginning of the passage. I think these bowings may be more effective for me when playing the Concerto with orchestra, which needs special articulation and extra clarity.
Example 32: William Walton, Concerto for viola and orchestra, 1st movement, bars 57-69.
