#24: Metaphor of ‘rolling’
Section 2: Antonin Dvořák – String Quartet Op.51, ii: Dumka
In refining our work on b.14-25 we felt we needed to ‘roll’ more through gestures, and even whole phrases. Creating momentum or ‘spin’ from the very first moment became increasingly important, because this would generate and then carry the Czech’s notable sense of continuity — in other words, the ability to ‘follow through’ with musical logic.
This metaphor was especially helpful in overcoming the fragmentation discussed in previous posts (#4, #13, #17, #20). Over time, this seemed increasingly distinct from an approach that would impose imaginative ideas ‘on’ otherwise lifeless notes; our agency here had a more sophisticated, de-emphasised quality. The difference seems very slight when verbalised in these terms, but as a motivating principle for performance, we experienced it as much larger.
