Thank you, George. I do like the Improvisation No. 15, but to me the Novelette is deeper and just so delicious and romantic and seductive and I wish I could rub it onto my whole body and
wear it!

I'm very glad you think my sound is okay. No, I have not changed anything - I decided to stop fooling around with the settings and placement all the time and just stick to what I had developed. Maybe my piano tone is changing too; I never thought of that before, but I guess that would happen over time.

No, I did not know about that movie. But since you and Eddy both say it's good, I will definitely put it on my 'to watch' list. Thank you for the recommendation!

Edit: btw - I'm watching the game too, but really only the commercials and the half-time show. Madonna was pretty good!

Hi Monica,

Thanks for sharing and posting the Poulenc Improvisation No. 15.

I do not know the piece, but it sounded as though you played the melody line with a lot of conviction
and in a nice continuous line and flow.

-Kaila

Nobody could stare like Piaf

Thank you, Kaila. And Happy New Year to you!

Why don't we have the emoticon with the tongue sticking out?

You mean like this?



Or this?


Or this?


Or this?

I cannot see your mysmiley imports and can only imagine. But I'm looking for the one that kids do to eachother when they don't like somebody.

I don't understand, Eddy. Why can you not see the smilies? I can see them. Is it like that on all posts here in the forum, or just this one?

Just this one, and just the linked ones, not the ones we have and use all the time.

Now, why would you want to use that one Eddy ? Is there somebody here you don't like ?

Not at all, I just feel childish! Na, na, ni, na, na.

Should I have the Novelette score monogrammed on a silk bathrobe for you by Valentines Day? Monica, I had to listen again, and there's no doubt that you have two sensational winners here!
Perhaps this can be stated of any music that inspires one at the deepest level: If you feel that the music just vividly transported you to another place, then you have not only captured the soul of the music, but have indeed shown the listener a clear picture of how this place looks through the power of one's performance. On most days, we are faced peering down a blank keyboard for answers, but on those rare and special moments when the portal is open for a short time, seize the unique opportunity to be transported to that special place... You must have pressed the "Record" button during one of these moments here... This is also my view toward improvisation.

And the sound is not "okay." It's excellent for living room acoustics! Don't change a thing as you've found the sweet spot.

George

Yes, please...



Thank you, George. It's great when we can lose ourselves in music, isn't it? I'm practicing Granados' Goyescas No. 2 again, which I still love dearly, except I love it so much that I get 'lost' in the music all the time. I get to the end but can hardly remember what I played. That's probably not a good thing; I need to stay more focused and work on my technique.


What's wrong, Eddy?

Actually, it seems I'm not the only one who has these kinds of thoughts. In part of a book I'm reading now....

One of the best sources of income for professional musicians was teaching, especially of aristocracy’s daughters. These were fertile grounds—in more ways than one. Private music lessons were not only lucrative; they also offered certain opportunities against which the only defense was parental vigilance. In a satriric report that reveals the pervasiveness of concerns about this danger, a 1754 article in the Connoisseur announced the invention of a “female thermometer” for measuring “the exact temperature of a lady’s passions.” The device, created by Mr. Ayscough of Ludgate Hill, consisted of a glass tube filled with a mixture of distilled extracts of lady’s love, maidenhair, and “wax of virgin bees.” It could supposedly detect the full range of feminine response, from “inviolable modesty” to “abandoned impudence,” and was remarkable accurate, claimed the author, when used at the theater and the opera.

yes i too find the novelette beautiful and seductive a lot of french music is i also love melancolie by poulenc