Havergal Brian.

[cilgwyn]

That was the first Brian Lp I ever bought. I'm in full agreement with you there,John.
It's a pity that the only cd's available are s/h copies sold at less than reasonable prices.
£18.74 on Amazon! That's the lowest I've seen.
Albion's recommendations are d*** good follow ups though.
(Buy 'em all?!!!)
(That's better,three posts in a row is a bit greedy!)

[Lethevich]

5-10, 16, 30, 31 and others have such potential for wider-appeal. A combination of any of these works would provoke admiration for at least a couple as well as show off Brian's compositional range.

If you want a good PR hook how about a concert of five numbered symphonies rather than just one large one

[(poco) Sforzando]

I can see the reappearance of 'Sforzando' at some point if we're not careful.

Can't have that, can we? Only true believers allowed on this thread. But continue to make my point for me, as if ridiculing anyone who disagrees with your assessments is somehow going to "put them in their place" and "make them see the error of their ways." Sorry, but it doesn't work that way.

[cilgwyn]

                                          !

[Luke]

5-10, 16, 30, 31 and others have such potential for wider-appeal. A combination of any of these works would provoke admiration for at least a couple as well as show off Brian's compositional range.

If you want a good PR hook how about a concert of five numbered symphonies rather than just one large one

Or the 8-9-10 trilogy - it would be marvellous to hear them presented in sequence, by a single orchestra/conductor. But really, I think many of those earlier ones would go down a treat.

[Lethevich]

Re. more theoretical Brian programming: I often find myself experiencing a reoccuring thought as to what the 4th would sound like when presented alongside other works - perhaps the overture-style 6th, or more as a two-parter with perhaps the 7th opening. Such couplings could hardly fail to be crowd-pleasing. 8-10 might be scary even for me :\

[(poco) Sforzando]

Re. more theoretical Brian programming: I often find myself experiencing a reoccuring thought as to what the 4th would sound like when presented alongside other works - perhaps the overture-style 6th, or more as a two-parter with perhaps the 7th opening.

In honesty, the opening minute of the 7th is an embarrassment. Those fanfares sound like something out of a 4th-rate movie score. I was shocked to hear something so amateurish from presumably a serious composer.

OK, OK, I'll bow out. Only committed Brianites allowed on this thread . . . . 

[Luke]

Never sounded that way to me. Did you listen to the rest?

[cilgwyn]

All these performances of No1 to choose from and still only two recordings of No 4. The Poole is the one for me. Can't stand the 'Marco Polo',but maybe that's just me. Brabbins has got to be the man for it.
No's 3,4 & 5 in a row. What a thought. Of course,I've done it,on tape and cd. But in  first class concert performances?
Incidentally,I'm not really that happy with the Hyperion recording of No 3. I think it could be done allot better,somehow. It's also sounds very 'boxy',almost as if Marco Polo recorded it. Again,Brabbins the man!
I agree about the opening fanfare of the Seventh being the 'worst' part,in a way. (It's the same with 'Also sprach Zarathustra'. The rest is so much better,although of course you hear that motif all/most of the way through).
One of my favourite Brian symphonies though.

[Lethevich]

In honesty, the opening minute of the 7th is an embarrassment. Those fanfares sound like something out of a 4th-rate movie score. I was shocked to hear something so amateurish from presumably a serious composer.

It sounded very strange to me, but this was only from unfamiliarity - every time I have heard it since it makes me smile - pure fantasy, crazy medievalism, just... weird! The rest of the symphony is almost standard as far as Brian's music goes, though.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Never sounded that way to me. Did you listen to the rest?

Doesn't matter. I'm just the resident philistine.

[cilgwyn]

Yes,not sure what Brian was thinking of there. I shall have to look at the 'sleeve notes' & the HBS site. You half expect Tony Curtis dressed as a medieval Prince,complete with mandatory tights.
The Rank movie gong man would definately approve.

[Luke]

It sounded very strange to me, but this was only from unfamiliarity - every time I have heard it since it makes me smile - pure fantasy, crazy medievalism, just... weird! The rest of the symphony is almost standard as far as Brian's music goes, though.

Completely agree that the fanfare works - have never heard it as a problem at all. Brian's openings are always smething special, I think. The mock-Handelian one of the 4th is another one with such an unusual set-aside nature - an utter stroke of genius, I think, that one. (The fanfares in The Gothic are superb things too) And yes, here in the 7th there is that odd medievalism there that you mention - but I think it runs through the whole piece, with the Strasburg cathedral bell in various forms underpinning the whole mad fantasy.

[cilgwyn]

                                                "!"

[Dundonnell]

Completely agree that the fanfare works - have never heard it as a problem at all. Brian's openings are always smething special, I think. The mock-Handelian one of the 4th is another one with such an unusual set-aside nature - an utter stroke of genius, I think, that one. (The fanfares in The Gothic are superb things too) And yes, here in the 7th there is that odd medievalism there that you mention - but I think it runs through the whole piece, with the Strasburg cathedral bell in various forms underpinning the whole mad fantasy.

....and we should remember that Havergal Brian had a really wicked sense of humour! He knows exactly what he is doing and where we may gasp in surprise or even horror I suspect he wanted precisely that reaction

[Guido]

Doesn't matter. I'm just the resident philistine.

Haha you're a hoot! 

[Guido]

Where can one get hold of the Schmidt version of the Gothic? I have the Lenard for sure, and downloaded another, which I thought was the Boult but now I'm not so sure. The timings are
11:15
10:36
11:50
Is this the Boult? If so, where can I hear the Schmidt?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Look here for some info on the Schmidt Gothic, by Albion...


http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1169.msg16221.html#msg16221


And here is my folder:


http://www.mediafire.com/?ljyh205e6n1xf


Albion provides links to some background material by the HBS. David Brown, former editor of the Newsletter, writes in 1980: "If one knew nothing of the work, had not attended the concert, and read only the critics in the biggest-circulation papers afterwards, one might imagine that here was a white elephant delivered to a decent burial.  The audience reaction was of course the perfect answer to that notion"...


Not much has changed since.

[Philip Legge]

Comparative timings available at : http://www.havergalbrian.org/sym1.htm

From your timings Guido, that's almost certainly the Boult.

[Albion]

Re. more theoretical Brian programming: I often find myself experiencing a reoccuring thought as to what the 4th would sound like when presented alongside other works - perhaps the overture-style 6th, or more as a two-parter with perhaps the 7th opening. Such couplings could hardly fail to be crowd-pleasing. 8-10 might be scary even for me :\

Entire concerts devoted to Brian are going to be as rare as hens' teeth, so if you were able to schedule a work of his within a mixed programme, who might be the accompanying composers and what might be the accompanying piece(s)?

The tactic could either be an attempt to point up links with other composers, or it could be just the opposite - a jarring juxtaposition to highlight the originality of Brian's style.

To get some mileage out of the former approach, first of all I would programme two quite different symphonies, perhaps 5 and 16. Brian's music would sit very well alongside Berlioz, another maverick original (although perhaps impractical, it would be great to give a rare outing to something as wacky as Lélio), and also probably something representative of intricate counterpoint (one of the cornerstones of Brian's compositional technique): by playing Elgar's orchestration of Bach's Fantasia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 (Op. 86) you would get two sympathetic links for the price of one!