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Non-stop vibrato is a basic no-no

at least for flute players, although there is and probably always will be plenty of controversy on the general topic of vibrato, and not just for 17th and 18th century music. The most insightful and funniest treatise on vibrato (including when not to use it) I have ever read is in Comment J'ai Pu Maintenir Ma Forme, or How I Maintained My Form (or, How I Stayed In Shape) by the great French flutist Marcel Moyse.

Moyse, perhaps the most famous and influential flutist of all time, lived from 1889 to 1984, worked with and personally knew Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky, and was in the orchestra for the 1913 world premiere performance of Le Sacre du Printemps, among other things. He was old enough to remember a time when vibrato was much less prevalent (though apparently not entirely absent), and considered by many to be in very poor taste.

However, Moyse himself, though he did a great deal to bring a lot of baroque music back into the standard repetoire, had no interest in the "historical performance practice" movement he lived long enough to see, and would dismiss playing without vibrato, or even playing on original baroque instruments, as ridiculous.


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  • Non-stop vibrato is a basic no-no - rbolaw 13:47:15 03/19/07 (3)


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