Havergal Brian.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I am sorry for any distress I (and the Tube) may have caused you... 

[Dundonnell]

I am sorry for any distress I (and the Tube) may have caused you... 

I am sure the stress you must have been under was immeasurably greater than mine

[kishnevi]

Speaking as a person who has never heard a note of anything Brian wrote,  I'd like to know if there's a particular work or works I'm better off using as an entrance to his music; and if so, any particular performance that's generally available and not a download (I'm on dial up, so it's just no feasible to download performances.)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Speaking as a person who has never heard a note of anything Brian wrote,  I'd like to know if there's a particular work or works I'm better off using as an entrance to his music; and if so, any particular performance that's generally available and not a download (I'm on dial up, so it's just no feasible to download performances.)

Hello, Jeffrey! I'd suggest two CDs because they are readily available:


On Lyrita, Symphonies 6 & 16 - one of the most approachable of Brian symphonies coupled with one of the most cogent and severe. Performance and recording are both top-drawer.


On Dutton, Symphonies 10 & 31, Concerto for Orchestra and English Suite No. 3 - one of the best Brian CDs, spanning 40 years. No. 10 is dramatic, No. 30 a true successor to No. 16. The Concerto for Orchestra is an excellent introduction to Brian's (very) late style. And the English Suite No. 3 is a wonderfully varied and 'light' (more or less) work from the 1920s, when Brian was busy on the 'Gothic'.


If you could get the EMI two-fer (OOP) with Nos. 7-9 & 31, too, you would have a representative collection of Brian's works.


--Johan

[Albion]

Speaking as a person who has never heard a note of anything Brian wrote,  I'd like to know if there's a particular work or works I'm better off using as an entrance to his music; and if so, any particular performance that's generally available and not a download (I'm on dial up, so it's just no feasible to download performances.)

If you can stretch to it, I would suggest two discs initially -

Symphonies 6 and 16 (coupled with Arnold Cooke's Symphony 3) on Lyrita (SRCD295)
Symphonies 10 and 30, Concerto for Orchestra and English Suite No.3 on Dutton (CDLX7267)

None of the symphonies here are very long, but each is full of variety and gives a great introduction to Brian's musical world. Also, these are amongst the best performances that there have been of any of his scores.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Ha! Great minds...

[DaveF]

did you download the new, improved mp3s of the Brisbane Gothic? They're terrific.

I'm puzzled now because the first ones I downloaded, shortly after they were originally posted, have a sample rate of 320k, whereas these new ones seem to be 128.  I haven't listened, but are they really better?

And sorry not to see anyone after the Prom - I took a look at the queue at the Queen's Arms, where there appeared to be one person serving, and thought a 2-hour Gothic was enough, without a 2-hour wait for a pint.  And had to keep myself fresh for a visit to Legoland the next day  - although I feel that as well as a Lego St Paul's and Houses of Parliament it needs a Lego Albert Hall - perhaps with 800 Lego choristers singing their heads off inside...

DF

[Albion]

Ha! Great minds...

Or telepathy! We must have been posting virtually simultaneously.

Jeffrey - seriously, go ahead and buy both discs. After a couple of hearings, you'll know whether or not Brian is the man for you - if he is, there's plenty more to explore!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

@Dave They should be 256kbps... Strange! And yes, they are really better.

[cilgwyn]

The emi 'twofer' is marvellous. (I think it sounds better than the Naxos cd's,despite the age of the recordings). It's pricey on Amazon at the moment,but if you hang on and keep on looking it can be found very cheap. I got mine for around £3 in the end.
The cd's can sometimes be found individually,though.
The Lyrita & Dutton are an extremely good place to start. Can't recommend the Naxos cd's though,personally. They are the only Brian recordings I've never liked.

[Lethevich]

Speaking as a relatively recent convert, that Lyrita disc of No.6 and 16 really did it for me, along with the 7th on the EMI twofer. As much as I admire the Dutton disc, I find the 10th rather more daunting at the moment.

No.6 is the most ideal entry-point for Brian in that it contains an equal amount of traditional expectations (the central melody) and Brianic curiosity. Unlike the more accessable 7th, it is an early example of Brian in pointalistic mode, where excess is so trimmed back that the work demands multiple listens (often in a row) to take in all of the content, let alone fully assess it.

[DaveF]

They should be 256kbps... Strange!

No, the only strange thing is my bad memory - 256 it is.  Or perhaps I've turned into one of the characters in the Monty Python "Buying a Bed" sketch who halves every number before he says it:  "And how long is the bed?"  "Three feet long, sir."

DF

[cilgwyn]

Oh dear,I was one of that low brow lot watching the Goodies!
Anyone for a game of ecky thump?

[John Whitmore]

One last try:

     http://www.mediafire.com/?673pyqddwa9ztp4

Thanks very much for this. I've listened to parts of it already. Very interesting stuff. It's spirited enough but a bit rough and ready. The engineers made the right decision to set the orchestra back and avoid close mics. The cavernous sound hides a multitude of sins especially for the really stretched string players. I wish the CBS and Unicorn engineers had done this for the LSSO - we suffered due to the close mics and lack of reverberation which put everyone under the microscope and showed up every single blemish. A bit more bloom and the discs would have sounded less excruciating. Anyway thanks for these Hull recordings. I'd heard about them for years and had no idea what to expect. I like the sound but don't wish to be too crtical about the playing - it's kids having a go at the end of the day.

[cilgwyn]

Actually,there's more! It's just,I needed a bit of help from Johan! Did you get these?


     Hull Youth Symphony Orchestra Recordings link here:

    http://www.mediafire.com/?gwsteelf843vw#

Scrapy strings or not,I find the Hull Youth SO 'In Memoriam' more moving than the Naxos performance & their 'Festal Dance' allot more fun (it has the zany piano 'ad lib'). I know Johan likes these recordings.

[John Whitmore]

Actually,there's more! It's just,I needed a bit of help from Johan! Did you get these?


     Hull Youth Symphony Orchestra Recordings link here:

    http://www.mediafire.com/?gwsteelf843vw#

Scrapy strings or not,I find the Hull Youth SO 'In Memoriam' more moving than the Naxos performance & their 'Festal Dance' allot more fun (it has the zany piano 'ad lib'). I know Johan likes these recordings.

Got them all thanks. 2 CDs worth. It really is the string playing that's hard to come to terms with in both tone and intonation but it's still good to have these recordings all the same. Much appreciated.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Yes, though the strings are hair-raising, I have come to like these performances. I think the climax of the Fantastic Variations, for instance, with its ad lib. organ is spectacular. And the Hull Youth SO have infectious enthusiasm which brings out the irreverence and fun of some of these pieces. I still have to listen to 'In Memoriam' and will do so later.

[cilgwyn]

Tuck in,as you say!
I must say,I REALLY DO prefer 'In Memoriam' to the Naxos version. It just is so much grander,and much more moving & also tender in the reflective moments. Also,the strings here don't seem to 'scrape' much either & stay in tune (at least most of the time). I find the Naxos version dull in comparison.
The Festal Dance has that piano part,crucial for me,it just adds to the all out wacky fun. Again,by comparison,the Naxos performance seems dull and humourless.
And that organ 'ad lib' is REALLY spectacular. If the Naxos players had their half their sense of fun,sheer gusto and enthusiasm I'm sure I would love their recordings!
The cd's sound very good too.
The string playing can be a bit wierd though!!!!!!!!!

[John Whitmore]

Tuck in,as you say!
I must say,I REALLY DO prefer 'In Memoriam' to the Naxos version. It just is so much grander,and much more moving & also tender in the reflective moments. Also,the strings here don't seem to 'scrape' much either & stay in tune (at least most of the time). I find the Naxos version dull in comparison.
The Festal Dance has that piano part,crucial for me,it just adds to the all out wacky fun. Again,by comparison,the Naxos performance seems dull and humourless.
And that organ 'ad lib' is REALLY spectacular. If the Naxos players had their half their sense of fun,sheer gusto and enthusiasm I'm sure I would love their recordings!
The cd's sound very good too.
The string playing can be a bit wierd though!!!!!!!!!

Yes, In Memorium sounds very good and it's also very musically played. I don't know the piece at all but listening to it for the first time there is nothing technically difficult contained in it. The string writing is straight forward and mostly below the stave (i.e. limited "scrape" potential). In other words the orchestra isn't stretched technically so they can concentrate on musical issues (phrasing, dynamics etc) and they cope very well. I like this a lot.

[Guido]

Dial up! I didn't know it still existed!