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1964-5 My first year at the RAM with Harvey (1)
On 10 September 1964, Clarence Myerscough, a young professor at the Royal Academy of Music (that institution I know so well) came to W E Hill’s door with one of his newly-acquired pupils, Harvey Richardson!
Now my diary recollections become more detailed and intensive. (Bear with me if I get a bit technical!)
(Clarence Myerscough)
After some careful handling of me and ‘trying out’ by Professor Myerscough (who looked distinctly like Beethoven!), a deal was struck. I was sold, along with my Hill’s Certificate of Authenticity (stating I was made by Thomas Kennedy in 1810 being a copy of a Stradivarius) for the sum of £80.00. Harvey’s father, Leslie, was happy to pay this amount to help his musically ambitious son. I was furnished with a new case and an additional waterproof cover, and my new young owner was ‘over the moon’.
However, my first day with Harvey at the RAM didn’t start well!
(The Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Road, London)
In the rush down the steep flight of steps to the platform at Stanmore Underground Station (the Tube which took us directly to Baker Street) Harvey’s fingers slipped and I tumbled down onto the concrete stairs! However, I could tell that Harvey was extremely upset, as he examined me as the train drew slowly away from the station. Of course, I was ‘shaken but not stirred’, and there was no obvious damage – but memories of my broken neck in 1820, and later in the trenches of the Western Front in 1917, came flooding back to me.
However, as soon as Harvey began his intensive practice regime (4 hours per day), he found that special resonant part of me which, as you know, is best experienced on my two lower strings, D & G. He was soon attacking all the scales, major, minor, chromatic, along with those famous and well-worn 42 Studies by Rudolphe Kreutzer – (The very same name attached to Beethoven’s wonderful Violin Sonata, and Tolstoy’s famous novel).
Throughout the many years of Harvey’s long period of ownership, he was never truly or fully ‘at home’, or even truly ‘in tune’ in my higher registers, especially in the higher left-hand positions, 5th, 6th, +. The A major Study by Kreutzer is a particular case in point. Is this because he was a ‘late starter’, beginning to play at the relatively late age of 12 years, with all those left-hand positions above the 3rd position being quite daunting, or was there an innate hearing difficulty for him in high pitched sounds? There is no doubt that Harvey was always more relaxed in the 1st and 3rd positions on my two lower strings, and he seemed to resonate easily there with my unique richness of tone, which first came to prominence with Schleiermacher’s ‘stimmung’ emotionalism after my broken neck had been repaired for the first time, all those years ago.
There is a definite psychological link here with Harvey’s need for ‘safety’, security and less tension. I have wondered if there could be a connection between my broken neck experiences and Harvey’s tendency to ‘stiffen’ his own neck, and other parts of his body, while playing. I noticed, also, that Harvey never mastered a perfectly smooth movement with his bowing arm. With a long full downward stroke of the bow, particularly at slower speeds, there is often a slight ‘kink’ in the contact with the string, usually about half-way along the bow. Many of my other players had suffered from this small problem, but Harvey has never overcome it. It is also the bow stroke which can become very constricted if the player suffers from ‘nerves’ while playing. In those days at the Academy, advice about posture, relaxation, physical exercise, was never given. My maker Thomas Kennedy went to great lengths to ensure that every part of my body was properly ‘balanced’ – the position of the sound-post (standing inside between my belly and back) was of particular concern. Surely the body of my player (i.e.my other body) should be trained in proper posture and balance?
I have noticed over the years that Harvey has been introduced to various methods of meditation and contemplation. There is no doubt in my mind that a well-balanced instrument in the hands of a well-balanced player performs a much richer and more meaningful sound.
Christian theology puts great weight and emphasis upon ‘the Body’. When ‘the body of Christ’ is offered at the Eucharist, I assume it is a perfectly balanced and relaxed body – or is it?
Clarence Myerscough immediately introduced Harvey – and me – to a range of demanding and interesting pieces. These included works by Fritz Kreisler (who we heard about during WW1 when I was broken), Alexander Glazounov’s ‘Meditation’, Bela Bartok’s arrangements of ‘Roumanian Dances’, and a significant Caprice by Niccolo Paganini. (How Harvey struggled with that!)
Various technical methods were introduced into Harvey’s playing:
‘staccato’ (each note sharply detached from others),
‘spiccato’ (the hair of the bow bouncing off the string on each note change),
‘martele’ (detached, strongly accented notes using generous and rapid bow strokes)
(Violin markings for bowing styles)
As we shall soon discover, Harvey went on to spend much of his life as a minister in the Methodist Church. It has occurred to me that a good preacher needs to hone her/his speaking and bodily movement skills (with ‘staccato, spiccato, martele, etc’) just as much as does a violinist.
The effectiveness of a message is greatly enhanced when accompanied by carefully considered movements of the body.
In my next Diary entry, I shall record how Harvey met another teacher at the RAM, Eric Fenby, and how he made a lasting impact of huge significance in Music and Theology……………………………..