When you're in a condo, and you're playing a Classical piece with wide dynamic variances, adjusting the volume without disturbing the whole building is tricky. Today, there were two occasions when the vocalists suddenly sang out with such gusto that I had to race over and lower the volume. I then brought it up gradually during a soft passage. During one hasty volume-lowering incident, I said, "Damn, it's difficult to gauge the @#&*ing volume when a choir shifts from soft to loud to soft so damned suddenly!"
My ire was ironic, considering I was listening to Randall Thompson's "The Peaceable Kingdom," performed by Schola Cantorum Of Oxford, under the direction of James Burton. Despite my not-so-peaceable reaction, I enjoyed the rest of the piece at one consistent volume.
