[Excerpt from Orefici 5, performed by Terry B. Ewell]
There are verses out of the second letter from Saint Peter, first chapter, that talk about the need for perseverance and self control. In this fourteenth study by Orefici that is exactly what is going on here. This is a study in the self-control of wind, vibrato, and fingers. This is difficult for that reason.
In many places there are crescendos that lead to a sudden piano. There are also these little hairpins—little crescendos—that increase and decrease. Doing all of these dynamic inflections while keeping the notes together and having a fast vibrato is difficult. I think that having a fast vibrato in the A section, the first section is best. Putting the A section together is difficult.
Let me show you…let me take the first two measures. When I was practicing and preparing this study I was thinking about self-control and how to do that. The piano occurs on the second measure on the sixteenth. Sometimes this is not correctly marked in the part. Be sure to do that. Also, the crescendo in the first measure is left out. One way to practice the dynamics is to do four counts of a G and then go to A and then suddenly piano.
[Examples: G4-A4-G4; G4-A4; ] and then come back in dynamic.
[Example: measure 1 to the start of measure 2]
So, I am practicing the breath separate from the fingers and the vibrato.
That little awkward--sounding seasick—section in line 3 is a good place to practice this self-control. Let me just practice the first notes of beats.
[Example: line 3, dynamics]
First, I am just trying the crescendos and diminuendos. And now I am adding a fast vibrato at the same time.
[Example: line 3, dynamics and vibrato] It doesn’t sound great by itself. I will try it again.
[Example: line 3, dynamics and vibrato]
I am trying to separate the components: the vibrato from the crescendo and diminuendo and then the finger work.
[Example: line 3, dynamics, vibrato, fingers]
Trying to keep all of that fluid at the same time makes this extremely difficult! I have spent a lot of time practicing this. It has been an interesting challenge. I have enjoyed that challenge. I don’t feel that I have totally mastered it yet. This is what I was after when I made the performance just a bit ago here.
Be sure that those sixteenths are not triplets.
[Example: tonguing triplets] Really they should be sixteenths.
[Example: tonguing 16ths] If anything, you can err on the side of making the sixteenths a little quicker.
[Example: line 3] See, I even rhythmized them a little bit. I made the rhythmically a little bit quicker.
A lot of that was practice with control, taking each component, and persevering through all of that.
Now, in the middle section I like to try something totally different. This is the B section of the composition. This is just the last two lines, which is rhythmically slower. I want to communicate calm and I decided to use next to no vibrato for some of it and then just highlight certain portions. So, for instance, here is the first two measures.
[Example, line 12, mm. 1-2] There is no vibrato at all and then I can add the vibrato in.
[Example, line 12, mm. 3-4]
So, bring in the vibrato and then take it out. In the next measures do the same. And then we have these hairpins on the last line.
[Example, line 13, mm. 1-2] Try adding vibrato with the crescendo.
Well, this is a challenging study. It is difficult to make melody out of it with your perseverance and control of your air, fingers, and vibrato. I hope that you enjoy studying this one. Bye.
[Performance Orefici 14, performed by Terry B. Ewell]
[Excerpt from ending of Orefici 5, performed by Terry B. Ewell]