Havergal Brian.

Started by Harry, June 09, 2007, 04:36:53 AM

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PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 03, 2008, 07:24:16 AM
Thanks for the info. I pre-ordered it.

Sarge

10 pounds? That's like 20 bucks...for ONE cd ?

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on March 03, 2008, 07:25:46 AM
10 pounds? That's like 20 bucks...for ONE cd ?

I look at it this way: the two Brian symphonies and the Cooke symphony were originally released on two LPs but they are appearing together on one CD. A bargain as far as I'm concerned. And too, 10 pounds is only 13 Euro (my currency), which is way below full price in Germany (€19.99).

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

springrite

Just finished listening to the Brian violin concerto, Symphony #18. After the first couple of minutes of the concerto which did not grab me, it keeps getting better. This is a magnificent concerto! The symphony is also very good. One thing about Brian, he is never boring. I am slowly getting a hang of it now. Will give Gothic another good attentive listening next week!

If I ever see the symphony #8 which has been touted about here, I will surely get it.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: springrite on March 03, 2008, 08:20:21 AM
Just finished listening to the Brian violin concerto, Symphony #18. After the first couple of minutes of the concerto which did not grab me, it keeps getting better. This is a magnificent concerto! The symphony is also very good. One thing about Brian, he is never boring. I am slowly getting a hang of it now. Will give Gothic another good attentive listening next week!

If I ever see the symphony #8 which has been touted about here, I will surely get it.

I am very glad you are getting into Brian! The Violin Concerto is indeed a magnificent work, with some of the loveliest melodies Brian ever devised, and the playing of Marat Bisengaliev is superb. I had the pleasure of hearing and seeing him perform this work live, in London, at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, in 1995. And that performance was even better than the recorded one! As far as the Eighteenth is concerned - in the BBC radio performance, of which I have a tape cassette (!), the slow movement is more powerful, but otherwise the Marco Polo is quite good.

I wonder whether the Eighth is still available (on a two-fer, with the Ninth, Seventh and Thirty-First, too). If not, I think I could help you out...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

springrite

Other than the Gothic and the violin concerto CD which I found during my trip to Toronto, the rest I found in second hand shops. So that was just luck. I think the 5 CDs I have are the 5 (or 6) that are somewhat easily available. The rest are harder to come by.

The funny thing is, I found out about Brian because I had a double LP of the Gothic which I never listened to because I did not and still do not have a turntable. Reading notes on that LP got me intrigued.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: springrite on March 03, 2008, 08:37:21 AM
The funny thing is, I found out about Brian because I had a double LP of the Gothic which I never listened to because I did not and still do not have a turntable. Reading notes on that LP got me intrigued.

That double LP - is that the pirated recording of the Boult 'Gothic', on Aries?
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

not edward

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on March 03, 2008, 07:25:46 AM
10 pounds? That's like 20 bucks...for ONE cd ?
It's only that expensive because the US dollar stinks right now. ;) (Also, export orders only pay 8.51: no VAT on them.)

I'm interested in this disc too, since I've heard such good things about the 6th symphony. So far, I only have two Brian discs: the original Marco Polo release with the violin concerto & 18th symphony (like it) and the Hyperion 3rd symphony (don't like it).
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

johnQpublic

Quote from: edward on March 03, 2008, 09:03:12 AM
So far, I only have two Brian discs: the original Marco Polo release with the violin concerto & 18th symphony (like it) and the Hyperion 3rd symphony (don't like it).

You're not alone regarding the 3rd.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: johnQpublic on March 03, 2008, 09:39:42 AM
You're not alone regarding the 3rd.

I know the first performance of the Third (under Stanley Pope, if I'm not mistaken). And that's superior to the Hyperion. The Hyperion was recorded at the Maida Vale studios, and the acoustics are simply nor right for this work - a big orchestra must have room to breathe. I was present at a studio performance that preceded the final recording, and I noticed those cramped acoustics.

So - don't be hasty writing a work off. Most of Brian's symphonies have been performed and/or recorded only a few times. And it's sheer good luck when the only performances you have are excellent (like the Lyrita Sixth and Sixteenth).
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

lukeottevanger

HB no 5 is on Radio Three sometime in the next hour or two!   ;D  ;D  ;D I'm going to try to record it, but I don't fancy my chances, so if anyone else wanted to have a go, I'm sure they would be eternally loved....

(Apparently they've been playing a lot of HB this week, but I've missed all of it, apart from a part-song they played a few minutes ago  >:( >:( >:( >:( )

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: lukeottevanger on March 05, 2008, 05:17:58 AM
HB no 5 is on Radio Three sometime in the next hour or two!   ;D  ;D  ;D I'm going to try to record it, but I don't fancy my chances, so if anyone else wanted to have a go, I'm sure they would be eternally loved....

(Apparently they've been playing a lot of HB this week, but I've missed all of it, apart from a part-song they played a few minutes ago  >:( >:( >:( >:( )

Thanks for warning us! I'll see what I can do, but I have to leave the house in an hour's time...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

lukeottevanger

I've been looking.....you can also listen again to the yesterdays broadcast, which includes symph 30; I suppose today's broadcast OF 5 will be available soon too. Tomorrow has no 18 and Friday has no 3. But it's 5 that interests me!

J.Z. Herrenberg

#152
Quote from: lukeottevanger on March 05, 2008, 05:25:54 AM
I've been looking.....you can also listen again to the yesterdays broadcast, which includes symph 30; I suppose today's broadcast OF 5 will be available soon too. Tomorrow has no 18 and Friday has no 3. But it's 5 that interests me!

The 30th is really terrific! I only have that on cassette. And this Fifth is a performance I don't know!

I think I am going to see about that 30th. Bruch has just started.

Addition: I use the Opera browser, and getting to the part of a program you want to hear is a bit difficult, so I'll have to switch to IE. I have a free software programme 'Audacity', that lets you record streams. So I must be able to keep those Brian works...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

lukeottevanger

Quote from: Jezetha on March 05, 2008, 05:31:16 AM
The 30th is really terrific! I only have that on cassette. And this Fifth is a performance I don't know!

I think I am going to see about that 30th. Bruch has just started.

Addition: I use the Opera browser, and getting to the part of a program you want to hear is a bit difficult, so I'll have to switch to IE. I have a free software programme 'Audacity', that lets you record streams. So I must be able to keep those Brian works...

I've just finished listening to 30 (and recording it too, though I suspect I could have got more quality using a different method). I too had [have] 30 on cassette, recorded off R3 at some point in the 90s, which is why I was particularly keen to hear 5, which I have only ever read about (with mouth watering!) in MacDonald. But it's still good to have 30 recorded digitally now.

What with this no 5, the forthcoming 6 and 16, and my recent LP finds, I'm having a high old Havergal time at the moment!

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: lukeottevanger on March 05, 2008, 05:17:58 AM
HB no 5 is on Radio Three sometime in the next hour or two!

Thanks for the heads up, Luke. I'm tuned in. The Mozart is currently playing. HB5 next  8)

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 05, 2008, 07:11:48 AM
Thanks for the heads up, Luke. I'm tuned in. The Mozart is currently playing. HB5 next  8)

Sarge

Listening, too! Slow movement winding down now.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

lukeottevanger

 :) :) So, if you want to use the 'listen again' feature after the broadcast has finished (I will be, to record the thing!), don't forget to listen to a point a little earlier too - I suppose it would have been at about 1:50-ish UK time - to the broadcast of the HB partsong. Tiny, but exquisite.

vandermolen

Lyrita are finally showing the forthcoming Brian release on their website:

http://www.lyrita.co.uk/
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: vandermolen on March 06, 2008, 11:23:34 PM
Lyrita are finally showing the forthcoming Brian release on their website:

http://www.lyrita.co.uk/

Well well. It's 2008. Finally these classic recordings are available again!

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

Dundonnell

Quote from: vandermolen on March 06, 2008, 11:23:34 PM
Lyrita are finally showing the forthcoming Brian release on their website:

http://www.lyrita.co.uk/

I normally use MDT but Europadisc advertised the new Lyrita first so I ordered from them. The discs are in the post!!