“The great works of imagination--the masterworks of
poetry, drama, and fiction-- are simply indications for performance that you
hold in your hand, and like and musical scores they call for skilled
performance by you, the artist and the reader. Literature is an art, and
reading is also an art, and unless you recognize and develop your qualities as
an interpretive artist you are not getting the best from your reading. You do
not play a Bach concerto for the solo cello on a musical saw, and you should
not read a play of Shakespeare in the voice of an auctioneer selling tobacco.”--
Robertson Davies, Reading and Writing (1992)Friday, February 24, 2012
Quote of the Day (Robertson Davies, on Reading as Interpretative Art)
“The great works of imagination--the masterworks of
poetry, drama, and fiction-- are simply indications for performance that you
hold in your hand, and like and musical scores they call for skilled
performance by you, the artist and the reader. Literature is an art, and
reading is also an art, and unless you recognize and develop your qualities as
an interpretive artist you are not getting the best from your reading. You do
not play a Bach concerto for the solo cello on a musical saw, and you should
not read a play of Shakespeare in the voice of an auctioneer selling tobacco.”--
Robertson Davies, Reading and Writing (1992)
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1 comment:
Actually, he was wrong - one does play music by Bach on the musical saw, even with great acclaim from prominent newspaper critics, Pulitzer prize winning composers and prominent conductors. If you are a good artist - you are a good artist.
Bach on musical saw: http://youtu.be/O0AmVevhuK4
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