Early Music America Winter 2008 39

A virtual concert on yourdesktop as early music surfs into the 21st century

By Grant Colburn

So it’s a Sunday afternoon, a great day for aconcert filled with your favorite early music, butyou find there are no local performances on tap?Or your only option is yet another communityorchestra churning out renditions of Wagner or Brahms? Or, perhaps, a marching band in the park?What is one to do when the craving for early

music and live performance is overwhelming, but there’s nowhere to go and nothing to see?How about taking a trip to your home

computer?

Early Music Broadcasts Itselfon

40 Winter 2008 Early Music America

As early music catches up to 21st-century technology, a growing

number of unique performances areemerging on the Internet in places likeYouTube and similar sites, with new per-formances added on a daily basis. Fromkids plunking on their first harpsichordwhile visiting Colonial Williams burg, tohomemade MTV-inspired videos set to afavorite Vivaldi concerto, to recordingswhere the score moves across the screenas you listen, to harpsichord tuningdemonstrations, a remarkable amountand variety of early music is now on dis-play via the Internet. More and moreperformers and ensembles are makingtheir live appearances available, even asearly music pioneers are taking this newmedium to new and interesting heights,posting videos whose primary purpose isto entice an online audience.

Ernst Stolz, for example, has beenmaking new videos for the past year; atlast count he has created over 102, andhis collection is still growing. Stolz, amusic teacher and multi-instrumentalistfrom the Netherlands, plays the harpsi-chord, clavichord, recorder, and viola dagamba and has even made videos wherehe plays more than one part simultane-ously, often with computer generatedbackgrounds (paintings of Vermeerbeing a favorite) and other unique visual

effects. Along with a wide range ofmusical selections that include manyBaroque favorites, Stolz created a seriesnear and dear to his heart called “Monu-menta Musica Neerlandica,” a showcasefor the relatively unknown Renaissanceand Baroque music of the Netherlands.It features Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinckand selections from the Susanna vanSoldt manuscript, along with laterBaroque composers like Pieter Bustijn,Jacob Wilhelm Lustig, and GerhardusHavingha.

As Stolz says, “When I starteduploading to YouTube, I just placedsome older recordings I had made ofsome concerts years ago. I soon thoughtthat they could be better played in thislater phase of my musicianship and start-ed making new recordings, at first withan old camera I never used anymore, butthe sound and images were bad, so Ibought new cameras and recording soft-ware. It has taken me some time to fig-ure out how to use all the differenteffects and possibilities. I think a lotabout my videos now when I am walkingoutside. Sometimes it takes time to findthe right pictures to use, and often I startall over again after having made a video.When recording with backgrounds, I canmake my videos more interesting anddon’t need to go out all the time. For me,YouTube presents the right podiumbecause I have quite neglected my per-forming career. I find it more convenientto play on the Internet than to go outfor recitals and concerts.”

Another pioneer Internet performerand early music enthusiast is DanielShoskes, a urologist by day who in hisoff-hours is a lutenist and a member ofthe board of directors for Apollo’s Fire,the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra.Shoskes’s story is similar, “YouTube hasbeen an interesting experience for me,”he says. “I made a few simple videos alittle over a year ago more as a way to seemyself play and get feedback on mysound and technique. At that point,there were a few scattered lute YouTubevideos, and on a whim I decided to postsome. Thanks to great positive feedback,

Ernst Stolz has established a YouTube channel with specially created videos of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Early Music on YouTube

Early Music America Winter 2008 41

In an effort to fulfill its mission to serve andstrengthen the early music community inNorth America, Early Music America hasexpanded its reach into cyberspace withpages on YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace.

On Early Music America’s YouTube page,EMA members are invited to showcase theirvideotaped performances, workshops, andpresentations to those visiting the site. Thevideos are relatively short (no longer than 10 minutes) and range in quality fromprofessional to amateur.

EMA’s YouTube site is intended to act as a hub for all those who seek videos ofMedieval, Renaissance, and Baroqueperformances from EMA members.

All EMA members are invited to link theirvideos to the EMA YouTube page. The pagehas two categories: “favorites,” whichconsists of all videos on the page linked fromother YouTube pages, and “playlists,” whichorganizes those videos into three categories(Baroque, Renaissance, and Medieval). Thosewith their own videos typically have their ownYouTube page. If you are an EMA memberinterested in linking your videos or yourorganization’s videos to EMA’s YouTubepage, contact Patrick Nugent for details atyoutube@earlymusic.org. Visit EMA’s site atwww.youtube.com/EMAEarlyMusicAmerica.

EMA’s Facebook and MySpace pages were created to inform users about EMA’smission and recent news, as well as toeducate those who want to know moreabout early music. These regularly updatedpages also serve as excellent sources ofnetworking with other early music profes -sionals and fans, in addition to the EMAmember benefits offered on EMA’s web siteat www.earlymusic.org. We invite you tobecome a “fan” of EMA on Facebook or a“friend” on MySpace. —Patrick Nugent

EEMMAA CCrreeaatteess SSiitteess oonn YYoouuTTuubbee,, FFaacceebbooookk,, aanndd MMyySSppaaccee

The commentaries left byviewers touch on a gamut oftopics, ranging from “Wow,this is my kind of music...isthere a place I could buy arecording of this piece?” to“What kind of strings do youuse?” or even “Do you playthat thing like a guitar?”

I made a regular habit of recording andposting pieces I was working on. It was agreat way to focus my practicing toensure a piece was brought to a decentlevel and also a great way to connectwith lutenists around the world. In thepast few months I have been delightedto see many other lutenists and earlymusic performers beginning to postvideos.”

As Shoskes suggests in his story, astriking feature of Youtube is the view-er’s ability to comment upon the up -loaded videos, making direct and imme-

diate feedback and discussion possible inthe “comment” section – as text or evenwith a video response of one’s own. Thecommentaries left by viewers touch on agamut of topics, ranging from “Wow,this is my kind of music...is there a placeI could buy a recording of this piece?” to“What kind of strings do you use?” oreven “Do you play that thing like a gui-tar?” The opportunity for spreadinginformation and education about earlymusic globally can be seen in the num-ber of languages the comments are writ-ten in and the sheer variety of questions

42 Winter 2008 Early Music America

asked by viewers. And best yet, themusic is clearly heard by an audienceoften not normally involved in the earlymusic scene, reaching new fans and listeners worldwide.

Besides his own videos, a gold mineof early music is available throughShoskes’s channel on YouTube: in addi-tion to videos by lutenists Richard Stoneand Ronn McFarlane, his collection alsoincludes 13 videos of world renownedlutenist Robert Barto, many filmed whileBarto was performing Silvius LeopoldWeiss’s complete works for his monu-mental recording for Naxos. SaysShoskes, “[lutenist and composer]Roman Turovsky had actually recordedthe first Barto video [Allemande in Dminor], and I suggested to Barto that Ipost it to YouTube. He was skeptical,but 21,000 views later he realizes what agreat opportunity it can be to bring a rel-atively obscure instrument to the masses.His set of videos from the Naxosrecording sessions was indeed filmed bythe producers. They had given Bob per-mission to use the raw footage, and heallowed me to make clips and post them.”

Other gems Shoskes has been able toprovide include live footage from houseconcerts and “behind the scenes” videosof Apollo’s Fire, cinematic experiencesthat the average concertgoer rarely getsto have in person. The ensemble’sfounder and director Jeannette Sorrelladds, “Apollo’s Fire is also planning topost some video clips of its own onYouTube as a means of providing aneasy introduction to the ensemble forpeople at a distance – especially overseas.We will be posting video clips on ourwebsite as well. Apollo’s Fire has a veryanimated performance style, and ouraudiences always comment that seeingthe group perform is an entirely different experience from merely listen-ing to us on the radio or on CD.”

Top, lutenist Daniel Shoskes, a Clevelandurologist by day, started making YouTubevideos in order to get feedback about hisplaying. Below, the channel established byAssociazone Musicale Karl Jenkins (AMKJ), agroup that describes itself as “being dedicat-ed to organizing concerts in historic settingsaround Rome,” is one of the largest, withover 397 videos of concerts to its credit.

Early Music America Winter 2008 43

10 Fiske Place, Suite 530 • Mt. Vernon, NY 10550914.667.0707 • 301.277.8205

Full roster and audio clips at: www.Jwentworth.com

Another ensemble that has strived touse the YouTube medium in new ways isthe American duo Asteria (Sylvia Rhyne,soprano, and Eric Redlinger, lute andtenor) who specialize in late Medievalvocal and instrumental music. Redlingersays, “While we were on sabbatical lastyear in Burgundy, we were lucky enoughto be able to film in the actual suite ofrooms belonging toMarguerite ofBavaria, the secondDuchess of Bur-gundy, with the origi-nal 14th-century wallpaintings in the back-ground. This wastremendously inspir-ing, and hopefully the29,000+ people whohave viewed that clipagree with us! SinceYouTube has the potential to be a hugepromotional platform, we took greatcare in the production values of ourvideos, even investing in above-averagevideo and audio equipment to create thebest possible results.”

A particularly unique dimension ofthe duo’s online performance videos arepodcasts documenting their travelsthrough Burgundy, Champagne, andParis while researching the manuscriptsand locations of the music they perform.

Redlinger explains, “Books can only pro-vide so much – they can’t show you theway a lute sounds when played in thecourtyard of a 15th-century chateau, andthey can’t give you a sense of how farvoices carry in a room lined with tapes-tries. But a video clip can. If we aregoing to embark on these adventures inthe pursuit of a better understanding of

the context for ourmusic, there is noreason not to bringthe greater Internetcommunity with us.People who ordinari-ly might not havebeen exposed to our music could beattracted to ourYouTube clips by the wonderful shotsof 15th-century

manuscripts that we took in the nationallibrary in Paris. It’s definitely a win/win proposition.”

As one can see, the sheer variety ofearly music available on the web throughsites like YouTube is vast and growingon a daily basis. In addition to innumer-able solo performers and ensembles,there are also channels that offer

“If we are going to embark onthese adventures in thepursuit of a better

understanding of the contextfor our music, there is no

reason not to bring the greater Internetcommunity with us.”

– Eric Redlinger

Asteria’s videos include some shot in roomslived in by the Duchess of Burgundy.

44 Winter 2008 Early Music America

Guntram WolfModern and historic wind instruments

North American contact:

Henry Skolnick Imports7477 Hoover Ave.

St. Louis, MO 63117

(314) 302-1078

hskolnick@charter.net

www.guntramwolf.de

Planning a YouTube trip? A few channels to begin your tour:

AAppoolllloo’’ss FFiirree::www.youtube.com/user/apollosfirebaroque

AAssssoocciiaazzoonnee MMuussiiccaallee KKaarrll JJeennkkiinnss ((AAMMKKJJ))::www.youtube.com/user/romeoamkj

AAsstteerriiaa::www.youtube.com/user/ecumedesjours

DDaanniieell SShhoosskkeess::www.youtube.com/user/kidneykutter

EErrnnsstt SSttoollzz: www.youtube.com/user/ernststolz

veritable libraries full of music. Thechannel established by AssociazoneMusicale Karl Jenkins (AMKJ), a groupthat describes itself as “being dedicatedto organizing concerts in historic set-tings around Rome, early music beingour prerogative,” is one of the largestwith over 397 videos of concerts to itscredit, including everything from soloharpsichord recitals and solos for violin,cello or recorder with continuo, to largerensembles playing full concertos andvocal ensembles performing works rang-ing from Bach, Purcell, and Telemann to

The Apollo’s Fire YouTube channel shows offthe group’s “animated performance style.”

Early Music America Winter 2008 45

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surprising rarities from Antonio deCabezón, William Williams, JohannChristian Schickhardt, and others. Onecould literally spend days listening andwatching all that is available.

Romeo Ciuffa, president of AMKJ,says, “We post videos on YouTube notmerely in the hope that it can help ourensembles find more concerts. butbecause we like to have the ideas, com-ments, and feedback from people, othermusicians, etc. Using new technology

like YouTube is really good for the diffu-sion of the music. This way so manymore people can hear and see this kindof music than in a normal concert setting.”

So the next time you’re left at homewith live music on your mind but not inyour immediate vicinity, try taking aYouTube Internet journey. It’s not justfor cute pet tricks and amateur bloopersanymore. Now you’ll find top-notchmusic played by many artists you knowand love, and perhaps some up-and-coming artists you should get to know.This article only scratches the surface ofwhat is out there. For each video discov-ered, page after page of others by count-less new and seasoned performers canbe accessed by following the links oneach page to related videos. Even moremusic is available by simply doing asearch for your favorite composer, performer, or instrument. There’s notelling what you will find with a littleexploration.

In these days of higher gas prices andtravel expenses, a delightful new concertexperience may be no further away thanyour home computer. And best of all,your journey can begin now! Grant Colburn is a harpsichordist and periodcomposer as well as one of the founders of thecomposers’ guild Vox Saeculorum. He is theauthor of four books of period harpsichordmusic and lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“For me, YouTube presents the right podium.

I find it more convenient to play on the Internet

than to go out for recitals and concerts.” – Ernst Stolz

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