Havergal Brian.

[cilgwyn]

Yes,I remember my mother singing the song to me when I played it ('The Tigers Prologue'),all those years ago.
By the way,does the song refer to a real person? They often did.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thank you John. I think I have these though. But I shall check. There are so many music files on here now & some are on an external drive,which is currently in a cardboard box! A pity Regis,alto or some label can't re-release them though.
  Going on from Albion's helful suggestions,I suppose I could also recommend the Helios (Hyperion) cd of Brian's 3rd,which I currently have going on in my earole! I first heard this via the Aries LP. I was a teenager then & I had no idea it was a Pirate,although I remember thinking that the 'cover art' was the worst I'd ever seen. Next stop was the Hyperion cassette release of the third. Then I got my first cd player!
  I should have known the Aries Lp was 'dodgy'. I bought if from 'Michael G Thomas. Anyone remember their ads,in the Gramophone classifieds? Their lists were full of strange sounding stuff.

I must say, though, that that pirated recording of the first-ever (BBC) performance of the work is, in my opinion, superior to the Hyperion...

[cilgwyn]

I was going to say that,but everyone always says the Aries Lp's (except the 'Gothic') were so awful. So I have kept quiet.
My only problem with it was the 'cover photo'!

NB: I notice from you're quote,that due to a mis-type I actually referred to Albion's
      suggestions as 'helful'! Sorry about this. Only one 'l',luckily!!!

[cilgwyn]

Wait a minute. Silly me. You're referring to the performance. Oh dear,that was a blooper. Still,in my defence I haven't heard that Aries Lp for at least thirty years
and there has been some criticism of the sound quality of the Hyperion recording.
So maybe I'm not a COMPLETE idiot?

[cilgwyn]

The Wales Symphony Orchestra conducted by Colin Wilson?
Aries had a sense of humour,apparently.
Of course,to my teenage years the Aries Lp would have 'sounded' exciting,anyway.
(Last edit!!!)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I remember being obsessed for weeks by the soundworld of the Third (during the 1980s). The Hyperion sounds too dry. I was there in 1988, at the Maida Vale studios, when Lionel Friend conducted a public performance. The acoustic was bad for Brian, the work needs room.

[cilgwyn]

It really needs a new recording. It would be VERY rewarding. Not one of Hyperion's best & they have never shown any interest since. I'm grateful though (for that cd).
The real Colin Wilson,(the 'conductor' of the Aries Pirate) wrote 'The Outsider',didn't he? An in joke I presume?!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

It really needs a new recording. It would be VERY rewarding. Not one of Hyperion's best & they have never shown any interest since. I'm grateful though (for that cd).
The real Colin Wilson,(the 'conductor' of the Aries Pirate) wrote 'The Outsider',didn't he? An in joke I presume?!

Presumably. He also was, if I remember correctly, a member of the HBS once. I saw his name on a membership list a long time ago.

[cilgwyn]

'Allusion to',I mean (I'm keeping an 'eye' on a fish pie,at the moment!) So Colin Wilson was a member? Any other famous people or 'celebrities'?  Or maybe you're not allowed to divulge.

(The 'Naxos' Violin Concerto has just been added to the cd changer)

[cilgwyn]

'Not',I gather. That's understandable. I bet there are a few. It's a fairly well known fact,isn't it,that 'Dame Edna Everage' is a fan of Rued Langgaard!
  Incidentally,I've had that fish pie now & it was delicious (Fish on Sunday?).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Not so quick! SF writer Alan Dean Foster is a member. He came over from Arizona last Sunday. I had lunch with him on Monday with other HBS members, only realising it was him afterwards!

[The new erato]

I only read quotes from it. Thanks. Again, the writer attacks the fans, and doesn't seriously engage with the work.

The entry for 21st July gives lots of links to reactions to the performance:

http://www.therestisnoise.com/

[cilgwyn]

I must admit I hadn't heard of him,but I just put his name into 'search' at Amazon and ALLOT of people have! I see that his 'Spellsinger' trilogy is particularly popular,as are his novelisation's of the 'Alien' movies. Sound quite entertaining too. I might try one. But it will be a 'proper' book,not one of those,'kindle' things'.

[John Whitmore]

For your delectation, I here have a link to my Brisbane Gothic folder, with a better-quality recording. Got it from the tooth-fairy. I think it is John Curro who comes closest yet in reproducing the white heat of Brian's inspiration. Which is not to say everything is perfect. But this is a very compelling reading, especially when you hear the enhanced sound...


http://www.mediafire.com/?km7z6cl54mpyv

I've made my Brisbane CDs and will listen to them later. Please thank the tooth fairy for me and ask him/her if there is a video of the Proms concert available.

[cilgwyn]

I'll be making my cd's as soon as I can! I can hopefully then load them onto the above mentioned cd changer,which is currently 'trundling' through the above mentioned list. Although,I listened to No 3 TWICE,when I loaded up the Naxos Violin Concerto. At the moment I'm on cd 2 of the emi 'twofer' (Symphony 9). Hopefully,it won't be too long before I can use it to listen to all the Brian symphonies in sequence! Listening through them in this way is VERY satisfying as there are so many connections between them,aren't there? And you get more insight into the way Brians musical thought processes evolved......and my 'robot' friend puts them on for me!

A pity Brian can't find a cd company as inspired as Dacapo to give him the complete cycle he deserves. Still,when I bought my Danacord Lp of Langgaard's 6th & Music of the Sphere's back in the late 70's (early 80's?) who could have predicted the revival that would follow?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Last year I had all 32 on my mp3 player, and played them non-stop. Yes, they all hang together, they really form one big world. Of course, there are symphonies I like less and don't often listen to, but that can be because there is only the one performance - who knows what will come out when another orchestra and conductor do the same piece? With five performances of 'The Gothic' it begins to be possible, as Albion wrote here earlier, to really understand what sort of work it is and to compare and contrast interpretations. Fascinating!

[cilgwyn]

All 32 on you're Mp3 player! I shouldn't have mentioned my cd player,should I? (I'm quite impressed,mind,but I wouldn't like to try carrying it around with me. I would need a rucksack & a portable generator!!!!!)
  With respect to the actual music. I recently tried the 8th and 9th & they didn't seem to grab me as much as they used to. (I nearly wore out my Lp copy). This way everything (?) seems to 'fall into place'. Although,not being a musician or as knowledgeable about music as some of the other people on this forum,I wouldn't like to really explain exactly what I mean by that. All I know is that even the 'lighter' works like 'The Tinkers Wedding' comedy' Overture and the English Suite No 3 seem to become part of some kind of extended cycle,that isn't just about the symphonies themselves. You also realise that these 'lighter works' are actually as complex and thought provoking as the symphonies themselves. In fact,to really understand Brian more deeply,it might be useful to (sometimes?) play,not just the symphonies sequentially,but some of these other works as well?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Re symphonies 8 & 9 - never forget you have been listening to only 1 performance of both works since 1978! You aren't grabbed because you know the performances too well...


Yes, I have been listening to Brian's orchestral works in a row, too. Very enjoyable.


And now all the concertos are there, too - the Violin Concerto, the Cello Concerto and the Concerto for Orchestra. The last two share the same (late) language. The Cello Concerto is Brian at his most beautiful, I think, the Concerto for Orchestra opens very gruffly, but mellows as it goes along, and ends dancing. The Violin Concerto is from the 30s and is very symphonic, especially the opening movement. I love it.

[cilgwyn]

They DO now. But then this can happen. Only recently,an old enthusiasm,the equally underrated (but better served on cd) Martinu was only revived,after a long fallow period, by the GMG thread!
What has just been grabbing now,is No 30. I never realised it was so lush. The parts for harp and the sheer beauty of it. The 'lushness' of parts of the score evokes some of his earlier music,albeit briefly,I suppose.
Onto the Naxos cd of the Violin concerto (cd 5 on this contraption!). Hearing this immeadiately after the Dutton cd,the Naxos sounds quite 'thin' by comparison. Is this just my ears? (Or my cd changer....no,DON't tell me that. I'll have to lug it to the post office!).
The changer,need I add,is set to 'repeat ALL'.

[cilgwyn]

My ears have adjusted to the Naxos. It sounds fine now. The Dutton of course is a much more recent recording. (But I'm sure the emi recordings had better sound?)
Not that I'm,erm,complaining!