Havergal Brian.

[krummholz]

I think I read that in an essay on the HBS site... yes, I'm pretty certain it was this one, by Martin O'Leary.

http://www.havergalbrian.org/articles/sym6_1.php

Rereading the article, it appears that Brian hadn't finished the prelude when the bad news came, so my statement wasn't quite accurate in that it wasn't actually an operatic prelude at the time it was finished. Still, if O'Leary is correct, the piece was originally intended as the prelude and one would assume that its general structure and length were fixed by that time.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Music samples of the new Brian CD have appeared on Presto Classical. Judge for yourselves. I'll give my first impressions later...

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8612435--havergal-brian-symphonies-nos-7-and-16#tracklist

[krummholz]

Music samples of the new Brian CD have appeared on Presto Classical. Judge for yourselves. I'll give my first impressions later...

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8612435--havergal-brian-symphonies-nos-7-and-16#tracklist

Those are certainly short excerpts! Very hard to form any real impression. But for what it's worth, all of it sounded self-conscious and stilted to me, compared to the performances that I have on CD (Mackerras for #7, Fredman for #16). That impression was stronger and more consistent in #7, probably because Presto gives us the opening of each movement, and because the opening of #16 is so atmospheric. The entry of the percussion in #16 did sound nice and ominous though. In the Tinker's Wedding overture, I had more the impression of a read-through or rehearsal than a performance.

Still, with such brief snippets of each performance, it's really hard to say anything with much confidence.

[relm1]

I like the brisker version of Tinker's Wedding on Dutton better.  Plus I think Mackerras has a much more natural sound on #7 where this naxos release screams sound stage.  But I still plan to explore it.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

To be perfectly honest, on the strength of these snippets I won't be chucking out my Lyrita and EMI recordings. I know what I like about Brian and how he ought to sound, and I was reminded of the Naxos 2, of which only the final movement really took off. I hope I am gravely mistaken.

[vandermolen]

To be perfectly honest, on the strength of these snippets I won't be chucking out my Lyrita and EMI recordings. I know what I like about Brian and how he ought to sound, and I was reminded of the Naxos 2, of which only the final movement really took off. I hope I am gravely mistaken.

+1
Still, I'm sure that I won't be disappointed with my HBS mug which is part of the same order. 

[cilgwyn]

My first stop for Brian's Seventh is always the Newstone recording. The Mackerras recording is good;but the Newstone has more atmosphere. It's a pity if this new recording is disappointing. The previous recordings of No's 8 and 6,were very rewarding. I particularly enjoyed their Sinfonia Tragica,with that Russian sounding brass.
Maybe,it will sound better,when you hear the recording,complete?!!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I also find the Newstone still the best. It has that hard to define aura which Fredman and Pope also knew how to conjure up. Brian must sound mysterious, grand, magical and even a bit weird... We have been blessed these past decades with many well-played and excellently-recorded performances. What I hope for in future is the perfect combination of mystery / power / great sound / precision. Tempo is also of the essence. Why this Tinker's Wedding should be taken so slowly is beyond me.

[Karl Henning]

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

Hoe gaat het, Johan?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Hoe gaat het, Johan?

Ha! Karl! All well. As you know, my novel was published last August. Now in its third printing and well-received by critics and fellow poets and novelists. Life could be worse.

[Klaatu]

For me, Number 16 heads the list of Brian's greatest symphonies. (By a very slim whisker - it's a tough call!) Fredman's recording is superb and it will be a great disappointment if the new Naxos fails to do this work justice.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

For me, Number 16 heads the list of Brian's greatest symphonies. (By a very slim whisker - it's a tough call!) Fredman's recording is superb and it will be a great disappointment if the new Naxos fails to do this work justice.

No.16 is certainly among his strongest. The others, for me, are 1, 8, 22 and 30. I love all the symphonies, but those really show him at his best.

[vandermolen]

Ha! Karl! All well. As you know, my novel was published last August. Now in its third printing and well-received by critics and fellow poets and novelists. Life could be worse.

That's good news Johan. Congratulations! English translation?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

That's good news Johan. Congratulations! English translation?

Ha! 'Through the Eye of the Cyclone' is in two parts, Nether Hemisphere and Upper Hemisphere. Upper Hemisphere will follow in 2021. So, when the project is finished, I hope there will be translations into German and English, no mean task, because most reviews so far mention Joyce and David Foster Wallace when they try to place me. My book is a sharp break with Dutch literature's love affair with realism, psychology and the autobiographical.

[vandermolen]

Ha! 'Through the Eye of the Cyclone' is in two parts, Nether Hemisphere and Upper Hemisphere. Upper Hemisphere will follow in 2021. So, when the project is finished, I hope there will be translations into German and English, no mean task, because most reviews so far mention Joyce and David Foster Wallace when they try to place me. My book is a sharp break with Dutch literature's love affair with realism, psychology and the autobiographical.

Well, I look forward to 2021.

[calyptorhynchus]

My book is a sharp break with Dutch literature's love affair with realism, psychology and the autobiographical.

Damn that realism!

[relm1]

+1
Still, I'm sure that I won't be disappointed with my HBS mug which is part of the same order. 

Your mug is less impressive than mine.  It is a "I survived the Gothic" from the Brisbane performance in 2010 which was the first concert performance since 1983 that they gifted me with.  

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Your mug is less impressive than mine.  It is a "I survived the Gothic" from the Brisbane performance in 2010 which was the first concert performance since 1983 that they gifted me with.

I believe it when I see it... 

[springrite]

I believe it when I see it... 

You don't believe he survived? 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

You don't believe he survived?