Havergal Brian.

[Maestro267]

Go for the Lyrita. No. 6 is better there, too.

I must admit I did find the Naxos 6 kind of underwhelming compared to the first performance of it I heard, on Radio 3 some time previously. Little details like the gong stroke at the end, are hardly audible in the Naxos recording. So I am tempted to give the Lyrita a go, yes.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I must admit I did find the Naxos 6 kind of underwhelming compared to the first performance of it I heard, on Radio 3 some time previously. Little details like the gong stroke at the end, are hardly audible in the Naxos recording. So I am tempted to give the Lyrita a go, yes.

You won't regret it. I have known this recording for more than 35 years now, it's seared into my heart. And - you get the great No. 16 plus Cooke 3 (as Christo pointed out).

[PerfectWagnerite]

not sure i have seen this mentioned earlier, so just in case, JPC has regrouped some of the Naxos releases in a boxset :

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/havergal-brian-symphonien-nr-1-the-gothic-1-2-4-6-8-12-11-15-17-18-20-26-28-29-31-32/hnum/7899127

Looks like about 2/3 the way there. May be in the next 20 yrs it will be finished.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Every symphony has now been recorded, but not all on the Naxos label...

[vandermolen]

I suppose it's time to wake a sleeping dragon...



Mind you, I don't have a dog in the fight. I'm not a fan of Brian's music, but it is fascinating to see the Brian fan club come back to life once there's the smell of a new recording around the corner. Almost like how a drop of blood in a piranha infested river triggers the demise of a wounded agouti.

How exciting! I like both of those symphonies.

[relm1]

Every symphony has now been recorded, but not all on the Naxos label...

But I want to hear the operas and oratorios 

[André]

Looks like about 2/3 the way there. May be in the next 20 yrs it will be finished.

I think this JPC batch is made up of individual jewel cases (IOW the original cd releases), not a space-saving box with cardboard sleeves. A great deal all the same, though.

[calyptorhynchus]

As the Havergal Brian thread has sprung back to life I expect we'll soon get the usual 'don't know why you bother with HB', 'He's not a good composer/horrible/can't stand him' &c

Well 389 pages later I think there has to be a reason why we have so many pages on this thread, and why we constantly get reactions like those I caricatured above.

At the end of the Hyperion recording of Robert Simpson's 9th Symphony there is a talk by the composer (which itself has been roundly criticised by people on the Robert Simpson thread for Simpson's alleged arrogance). There Simpson says he would like to explain how his 9th Symphony works, though, he adds, no one will be convinced by the explanation unless they have already been convinced by the music. And I think those who criticise the tone of his talk are those who have been convinced by the music but don't want to like it and so reject his talk. My own feeling is that anyone who can write something as magnificent and compelling as Simpson's 9th deserves a few minutes of happy discussion of his work, Simpson, I think, was one of those highly talented people who sometimes forgot that almost everyone he met was less talented than he was. HB probably never forgot this, but never let it show either.

Anyway, I think that people who keeping on coming back to criticise Brian, or Simpson on the Simpson thread, are like the people who criticise the Simpson 9th talk, people who have been struck by the music but don't want to like it and keep on coming back to tell other people they shouldn't like it either.

[vandermolen]

Does anyone here know when symphonies 7 and 16 are to be released on Naxos please?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

In May, if I read that correctly.

[vandermolen]

In May, if I read that correctly.

Thanks Johan.

[Maestro267]

GMG is without doubt the most HB-friendly discussion space I've come across, and the active discussion about so many of these composers beyond the "standard repertoire" is a large reason why I find this forum a pleasant place to visit. And it says something that the Havergal Brian thread has 389 pages while threads for other, better-known composers lag far behind.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Yes, it's quite incredible, so many pages devoted to a quirky, independent Briton... I started contributing to this thread in July 2007. And never looked back. Long may it flourish!

[PerfectWagnerite]

GMG is without doubt the most HB-friendly discussion space I've come across, and the active discussion about so many of these composers beyond the "standard repertoire" is a large reason why I find this forum a pleasant place to visit. And it says something that the Havergal Brian thread has 389 pages while threads for other, better-known composers lag far behind.

I think there is a certain mysticism to Brian's music and life. The guy was largely self-taught, really answered to no one, wrote music into his '90s and is about as non-mainstream as it gets. I don't even like his music yet I feel a strange attraction.

[relm1]

I started contributing to this thread in July 2007. And never looked back. Long may it flourish!

July?  But this thread started in June 2007.  I guess you're not as much a HB fan as I thought.   

[springrite]

July?  But this thread started in June 2007.  I guess you're not as much a HB fan as I thought.   

Sitting on the fence for an entire month! Shocking!!!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Gents, gents! In June 2007 I wasn't even a member... In July I came and joined and contributed.... And the rest is history. 

[Augustus]

There is a review of the new Naxos disc here: https://artmusiclounge.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/walker-conducts-havergal-brian/

[vandermolen]

There is a review of the new Naxos disc here: https://artmusiclounge.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/walker-conducts-havergal-brian/

Very interesting and thanks for posting it. I have a higher opinion of Symphony 7 than the author of the review and look forward to the appearance of this CD.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

There is a review of the new Naxos disc here: https://artmusiclounge.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/walker-conducts-havergal-brian/

That's quick! Will have a look...