Putting it down: the making of a cd with special reference to Hendrik Hofmeyr's Notturno elegiaco for piano trio

• Main Author: Nay, Malcolm
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: digital recording
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7171

M.Mus. Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008 === The broad structure of this reflexive essay is twofold: First I discuss my experience of making a compact disc (CD) recording with the Trio Hemanay, which consists of three performer-musicians – Marian Lewin (cello), Helen Vosloo (flute) and myself, Malcolm Nay (piano), and second I offer an analysis of Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Notturno Elegiaco for Piano Trio, a work composed specifically for the Trio Hemanay,. I draw on writings of other performers and recording artists, who have contemplated and engaged with the recording process, in order to place myself, the Trio and our music-making within a South African context. I further contextualise the Trio with reference to other well-known performing ensembles in South Africa. I refer to the inception and constitution of the Hemanay Trio and give some insights into aspects that inform the aesthetics and rationale of its establishment and existence. I also discuss the practicalities of financing and producing such a recording, and the extent to which non-musical issues inevitably impact on the artistic outcome. I further elaborate on the value of documenting music through recordings, both from a personal and from an objective perspective, and I reflect on what I have learnt from the recording experience; where relevant, I collate this with the experience of my two colleagues. In Part II, I offer an analysis of the musical content and a stylistic scrutiny of Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Notturno Elegiaco, recorded by Trio Hemanay on the CD under discussion (the only current recording of this work). This essay is written in a narrative form, which allows me to discuss the inception of the recording, the development of the process and the elements that have contributed to the acquisition of greater insights for both me and for the Trio, all of which may influence future projects.