Havergal Brian.

[cilgwyn]

Actually,I had a change of plan. I bought Brian Orch Wks Vol 2 from HMV & am thinking of an Xmas download for the Gothic. After,burning 65-70 cds,in the last few weeks, & upoading & downloading & uploading & downloading,I'm getting pretty used to this.
I won't be giving up on cassettes altogether. Once I can get round to squeezing through that tiny attic trapdoor (Eugene Tombs in the X Files would get through it) I will treat my cassette deck to that nice fm stereo ariel that's been propped up in the corner of the sitting room,for yonks!

A Havergal Brian Opera box set would be nice! (One day?)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Oh, so it is NOT a bad economy. It's just that people are giving themselves presents!

I've got to find myself a boxset as a present. The Gothic seems so ... tiny. Too bad the Complete Havergal Brian Opera Boxset is not available. I'd get that for myself in a minute. I've loved the bits I have heard and would love to own them all!

The mind boggles. But - who knows, perhaps I'll live long enough to see it.

[cilgwyn]

And nice to see that one of my favourite places for getting new books,The Book Depository,is offering Havergal Brian on music Vol 1 at only £16.99,post free. So far the price has stayed my hand,but it's coming down. How much longer will I be able,or have a good reason,to resist?
 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

And nice to see that one of my favourite places for getting new books,The Book Depository,is offering Havergal Brian on music Vol 1 at only £16.99,post free. So far the price has stayed my hand,but it's coming down. How much longer will I be able,or have a good reason,to resist?

I know The Book Depository. I recently ordered the 'autobiography' of Alan Partridge there (very funny, btw)...

[cilgwyn]

Not saying,I WILL be getting it from them! After all,I can get it straight from Toccata. But the B.D are always quick & the books are in good nick when they get to me. I got sick to death of sending back bargain price,post free,books from a certain extremely well known site. Shocking,really! I don't see why I should pay for dents,score marks,tears & even a missing dust jacket! Tut! Tut! And so many. I DO buy books from Sellers there,though.

[kishnevi]

Well, IT arrived today from MDT.  (I guess I'm one of those people who pushed it to the top of the MDT charts.)   I may possibly be the first paying nonMP3 American customer to have it in my greedy little hands.

I was quite impressed by it.   Not a bit of bombast in it, which, given the length and the number of performers, is rather impressive all by itself.  Favorite moments were the start of the fourth and fifth movements and the bass solo near the end of the sixth movement.  This is going to get a good many repeat listens from me.

I do have a question for those that were actually there: what was the big red thing behind the harps which shows rather prominently in the photo of the performance that's part of the CD packaging? One of the percussion thingies or something else entirely?

[hbswebmaster]

That was the thunder machine, painted bright orange; a nine-sided drum containing heavy objects (rocks, wood, metal, not sure what!) that rumbled, thumped and thudded when it was rotated by means of a handle.

[Dundonnell]

There's your answer.....

but...I couldn't resist posting this again-

it is a wonderful memory for those of us lucky to have been there of an utterly memorable evening which we will never forget and of the thunderous, ecstatic reception from an audience made up, of course, if you are to believe Andrew Clements of totally deluded fools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oMxbxI3l18&feature=related

Courtesy of Johan's sister who took the footage

[kishnevi]

thanks for the answer.

I was a bit flabbergasted by one of the comments on that video--that someone could pick out the exact notes compared to the score.  I'm lucky if i can count the beat.  ONE two three ONE two three...oh, that must be a waltz (or a landler).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

That was the thunder machine, painted bright orange; a nine-sided drum containing heavy objects (rocks, wood, metal, not sure what!) that rumbled, thumped and thudded when it was rotated by means of a handle.

Perhaps you could check with John G, Martyn, but I think that red tombola thing was the 'scarecrow' Brian asks for. A thunder machine is an existing instrument. The scarecrow had to be purpose-built for the concert.

[John Whitmore]

Perhaps you could check with John G, Martyn, but I think that red tombola thing was the 'scarecrow' Brian asks for. A thunder machine is an existing instrument. The scarecrow had to be purpose-built for the concert.

And a very beautiful, lyrical one too. Please correct me if I'm totally wrong but the thunder machine used in Brian 10 isn't a machine at all, it's a huge sheet of upmarket Bacofoil that just gets shaken at the appropriate moment. The wind machine is a small black box with a handle on it that you turn and canvas being scraped inside the box sounds a bit like wind. Aren't things getting a bit mixed up here? I reckon there's 1) a thunder sheet 2) a wind machine and 3) that big orange tombola effort with bricks and rocks and other rubbish (violas etc) inside it (Thunder Machine/Scarecrow??). These must have taken 3 years at the RAM to master.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

You're correct in distinguishing the three, John. But thunder-sheet and thunder machine are, I think, synonymous. In German it's called a Donnermaschine, and Wagner and Strauss use it, if I remember correctly.

[Hattoff]

Martyn Brabbins was the conductor on the radio3 concert last night.
Immediately before the Zemlinsky there was an interesting chat about HB: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017ssqz
Then they played the Te Deum from the Hyperion Gothic; I was, again totally shattered by it.

There is an incredible amount of invention in Brian, it just doesn't stop. Absolutely unbelievable.

Add more cliches to taste.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Martyn Brabbins was the conductor on the radio3 concert last night.
Immediately before the Zemlinsky there was an interesting chat about HB: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017ssqz
Then they played the Te Deum from the Hyperion Gothic; I was, again totally shattered by it.

There is an incredible amount of invention in Brian, it just doesn't stop. Absolutely unbelievable.

Add more cliches to taste.

Around which minute does Brian start? You know?


Found it! Around 52 minutes in.


I'll capture the stream and put it up here.

[John Whitmore]

Martyn Brabbins was the conductor on the radio3 concert last night.
Immediately before the Zemlinsky there was an interesting chat about HB: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017ssqz
Then they played the Te Deum from the Hyperion Gothic; I was, again totally shattered by it.

There is an incredible amount of invention in Brian, it just doesn't stop. Absolutely unbelievable.

Add more cliches to taste.

Brabbins also raves about the improved Hyperion sound vs the radio broadcast so I suppose I better buy it. He's clearly thrilled with the outcome and rightly so. This is GOOD music - I don't understand all the critical bashing. I bet Mahler would have enjoyed it immensely. I'm not a huge fan of choral music - I really dislike Mahler 8 -  but the Gothic has something about it. Doesn't it? It really should have been on the telly. By way of an aside, I still await the professional restoration of the CBS Psalm 23 LP that I've commissioned but it should be with me soon. The master tapes have gone missing so there is no chance of a proper CD release. I will share flacs as and when.

[John Whitmore]

PS the stream sounds fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Here are the interview with Martyn Brabbins and the Gothic Te Deum:


http://www.mediafire.com/?mwb3ewab392yvcm

[John Whitmore]

Here are the interview with Martyn Brabbins and the Gothic Te Deum:


http://www.mediafire.com/?mwb3ewab392yvcm

Beat me to it!! Good man.

[hbswebmaster]

Johan,

My understanding is that Brian specifically did not want a thunder sheet (although that what has been used in previous performances) but specified his idea of a thunder machine, which was built for this performance. The 'scarecrow' was the birdscare - the multiple football-rattles that you hear in the final moments of the Judex and prior to the second 'non confundar'.

I think, anyway! I will confirm.

Talking of links: the Gothic appeared on Radio 3's Breakfast programme this morning as part of the Specialist Classical Chart roundup; the last 10 minutes or so of the 'te ergo quaesumus' was broadcast - here it is, starting 1 hour 50 minutes in. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017t0ck/Breakfast_Tuesday_Petroc_Trelawny/

[Lethevich]

And nice to see that one of my favourite places for getting new books,The Book Depository,is offering Havergal Brian on music Vol 1 at only £16.99,post free. So far the price has stayed my hand,but it's coming down. How much longer will I be able,or have a good reason,to resist?

I'll send you my old copy for free if you like - I'm not really the resale type. Paperback (I upgraded) but very good condition.