Ian Crisp wrote:

>Much of the interest comes from the tension between the lack of rules on
>the one hand and the natural tendency to fall back on the "expected" on the
>other.

Yes, and from the simple tension of not knowing what the heck you're going
to play for the next phrase.  We talk every rehearsal about the "expected"
and how not to fall into it.  Though sometimes it's very nice to do
something "expected", when a simple harmonic resolution just happens.

>On the other hand, spontaneous improvisation can be sheer hell for
>listeners, even ones with a good deal of experience of doing it themselves
>and who know the musicians who are performing.

Well, that's the challenge, isn't it.  Because it's all very well to
sit around and improvise and feel profound but if it doesn't communicate
anything to an audience then it's sort of limited, isn't it? Our hope is
to put something together that is like a program, a concert, a set, or a
Performance, but is fun to listen to and can ideally be repeated in more
or less the same form in different venues 100 times a year or so:-).

>It is very much music for the performers, not for listeners who stand
>outside the performance.

I haven't gotten much feedback on the page yet.  Perhaps it's because
it's absolute rubbish.  Actually, I'd be kind of interested if it absolute
rubbish to listeners.  I kind of like one or two things but there you are,
I'm the one making the music.

So if anyone's interested, at http://mp3.com/TRAMUNTANA we've posted one or
two new things:  two collaborations with a poet friend of ours who read a
couple of his poems while we improvised accompaniment.  The two tracks on
the page were the most interesting.  Bernat the poet actually showed up
kindof late so we did three short improvs of violin and cello while we
waited for him.  The second one, entitled Leak Soup, is the one we're
happiest with but Pittsy, a pizzicato number, is also perhaps amusing.

>I'm just delighted by any sign of a return of the improvisatory element to
>classical music.

Thanks, I like that aspect of this project as well.  Improvisation was
for so long an integral, taken-for-granted part of classical music, and now
the vast overwhelming majority of classical musicians never improvise ever,
even one note.  I get bemused looks from my colleagues when I explain about
this.  But I've been improvising on one instrument or another for 25 years,
and it's fun to have found another musician who is interested in exploring
it.

David Runnion
http://mp3.com/TRAMUNTANA
http://mp3.com/serafinotrio