Havergal Brian.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

(The man has always had a staggeringly large range of interests. Maybe if he were younger we could have got a Christmas Havergal from him!)

One very useful thing he does here is promote composers who aren't played much in Russia - not just VW but Bruckner, Nielsen, Martinu, and plenty of others. I remember fondly a Nielsen mini-festival he led a few years ago.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

A new and interesting take on The Gothic by Erik Klackner:


http://klacknermusic.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/havergal-brian-epic/


"From the perspective of a recording 5600 miles and a month and a half away, I did not get the sense of musical frustration that many commentators have noted; there weren't many points of great release, but there were at least a few spots where the music really exploded"

[John Whitmore]

Time to emigrate to Russia, then.

I might just  do that. Is the beer any good? Anyway after a hard day's restoration I can now share the Heriot School LP with you all. Many thanks Steve!! The surfaces were a bit rustly but I think the result is better than the previous transfer of the 4th English Suite - much brighter. The surprise item on here is the Arnold Grand Grand Overture complete with floor polishers and vacuum cleaners. Utter chaos and the kids do a great job with it. I have also included artwork using the original LP sleeve. So here it is:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2iztk43jkn7bn
I'm now putting finishing touches to the Legend performance and the good news is that the LP sound is superb and the clicks can be removed. I will be back later.

[karlhenning]

I might just  do that. Is the beer any good?

Stepan Razin was good when I was in St Petersburg.

[Hattoff]

Well done John, that's a lot, lot better. I have never heard the music so clearly, even when I had a decent record deck, amplifier and speakers.
Comparison, it's as if I were at a concert and suddenly realised that I had my fingers in my ears and took them out.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Well done John, that's a lot, lot better. I have never heard the music so clearly, even when I had a decent record deck, amplifier and speakers.
Comparison, it's as if I were at a concert and suddenly realised that I had my fingers in my ears and took them out.

Exactly. It is as if you are there.

[Dundonnell]

Really? Well,I'm not suprised,in a way. I wouldn't have thought allot of stuff that good would get past him. Indeed,long before I began to post on this Message Board,I would actually refer 'Dundonnell's' posts when I was trying to find information about an unusual or neglected composer,or if I was choosing a recording. I used others,of course,but I remember his posts were very informative. They stood out from the crowd!
Must say,it would be nice to see that Daniel Jones reach a bit further than one page! Some new recordings or broadcasts would help!
Anyway..................

Sorry, missed this because I was away in London for the weekend.

So...very belatedly....blushes

[John Whitmore]

Here's the second LP sent to me by Steve. It called English music for violin and piano (Auracle Records 1981). This sounds fabulous and it includes the Brian Legend. What a lovely piece. Vinyl sound at its best. CD artwork included in the download folder. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bz88cqrhxfhce

[Lethevich]

John - thank you for your transfers (and Hattoff for supplying the discs!). I am often leary about LP rips, or ones encoded in mp3, as they are often carried out by people who aren't up to the task, but the 4th English Suite sounds brilliant! Such a strange work too, for a bit of a Brian-outsider such as myself - it ends almost as soon as it begins.

Edit: Hmm, as anticipated, the Legend only succeeds in making me cross at Brian for not writing more chamber music. This would make such a perfect recital-filler, why don't people chuck this on at the end of an Ireland, Bax or Moeran disc?

[John Whitmore]

John - thank you for your transfers (and Hattoff for supplying the discs!). I am often leary about LP rips, or ones encoded in mp3, as they are often carried out by people who aren't up to the task, but the 4th English Suite sounds brilliant! Such a strange work too, for a bit of a Brian-outsider such as myself - it ends almost as soon as it begins.

Edit: Hmm, as anticipated, the Legend only succeeds in making me cross at Brian for not writing more chamber music. This would make such a perfect recital-filler, why don't people chuck this on at the end of an Ireland, Bax or Moeran disc?

Thanks for your kind words. I like the suite - I posted earlier that it breathes the same air as Dream Children/Nursery Suite. Or at least it does to my ears. Attractive and unusual. I wish the movements were a bit longer to be honest. Steve (Hattoff) looked after his LPs so the transfers were quite painless despite the low cutting volume of the suite. The Legend is a good piece, awkwardly written in places (there's a shock!) and I've enjoyed encountering it. I agree that it could be used as a "stocking filler" so to speak with recitals of British violin music. Today I will be transferring Steve's Opera Viva double LP (Holst, Delius, Smythe etc). Uploads some time this afternoon.

[Hattoff]

John has done a quite remarkable job with the Brian Legend LP, the sound quality is superb. There is something about the sound of the best vinyl that, even when transferred to digital, gives it an edge of warmth that makes it more alive and even more realistic (I smell a paradox there ). I am more than pleased that I sent the LPs to John and am looking forward to the next one.

Agree with Lethe about the Brian, he crtainly had an individual and sometimes beautiful voice unlike Malcolm Arnold's piece which is a total plagiarism of Prokofiev, though perhaps it's some sort of hommage?

The Walton and Rawsthorne are well worth hearing too.

[eyeresist]

Colin Davis has always been pretty selective in the British music he conducted, as has Rattle. Andrew Davis did quite a lot of the more obscure stuff. Elder does appear to be branching out now a little. Hickox...of course but, very sadly, he is no longer with us. Edward Gardner does not want to be pigeon-holed as a British music specialist.
...
The deaths of conductors like Handley and Hickox(and Bryden Thomson earlier) has been a real tragedy for the cause of British music.

Once again David Lloyd Jones is completely overlooked 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Once again David Lloyd Jones is completely overlooked 

The (perhaps unjust) fate of a Naxos conductor.

I might just  do that. Is the beer any good?

Russian beer's gotten a lot better in recent years.

[cilgwyn]

Talking about big,neglected, & possibly underrated, English choral works & Malcolm Arnold (who admired it) reminds to have another go at Lambert's 'Summers last will & testament'. The revival of which caused a minor stir some years ago.
I notice you're comment left on Erik Klackner's blog,Johan,excluded 'Das Siegeslied' from you're list of Brian masterworks?
  Incidentally,I recorded the Prom performance of Bruckners 8th on my dolby cassette deck. I couldn't help thinking of John while I listened to it!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Talking about big,neglected, & possibly underrated, English choral works & Malcolm Arnold (who admired it) reminds to have another go at Lambert's 'Summers last will & testament'. The revival of which caused a minor stir some years ago.
I notice you're comment left on Erik Klackner's blog,Johan,excluded 'Das Siegeslied' from you're list of Brian masterworks?

Correct. I mentioned the works I think absolutely 'work' for anyone with ears and a sense of adventure: 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 16, 27, 30. The Gothic - an amazing symphonic quest. 'Wine of Summer, No. 5, because it is compact, clear, understated yet poetic. No. 6 - almost the same reasons as No. 5, though the emotion is stronger. No. 8, because it's 'the quintessential Havergal Brian symphony' (Malcolm MacDonald), one of his richest creations. No. 10, because it seems to attain the level No. 8 was working toward. No. 27, because it is the best expression of old age, raging against the dying of the light (to these ears), moving and violent. No. 30, because - as with No. 10 - it reaches a higher level, and the ending is the most triumphant thing Brian ever wrote (spiritually far greater than the festive ending of No. 9 and also less aggressive than the tremendous Coda of No. 16).


As for Das Siegeslied - I am still not convinced by it. Perhaps a better performance will sway me, but I find the circularity of the structure too easy (the opening march returning in the Coda). And this in spite of all the claims MM makes for it (indictment of totalitarianism et cetera)...

[Lethevich]

It could depend on the pre-disposition of the listener to this type of work - being a fan of pieces such as Max Reger's Psalm 100 goes a long way towards making Das Siegeslied an enjoyable singfest.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

It could depend on the pre-disposition of the listener to this type of work - being a fan of pieces such as Max Reger's Psalm 100 goes a long way towards making Das Siegeslied an enjoyable singfest.

Yes. And I do enjoy Das Siegeslied. I don't yet rate it as highly as some of the others, that's all...

[Lethevich]

Yes. And I do enjoy Das Siegeslied. I don't yet rate it as highly as some of the others, that's all...

Indeedie, there's nothing particularly "vital" about it, and that is a word that I associate with Brian at his best.

[cilgwyn]

I concur with you're choices. Although, No's 3 and 7 are two of my favourites,they are,it seems to me,problematic,in various ways. Though,that only adds to their fascination,for me. No 4 sounds very impressive in the Poole performance,but I always have a problem with the final movement,which seems to go on far too long for it's own good. There are allot of marvellous ideas,but also a proprtion of empty tub thumping bombast as well,which worries me. Still,that wonderful final surge of voices right at the end is well worth the wait. I remember on my old Dolby cassette copy,you actually had to turn the tape over (at that point) to hear it!
  On the plus side,I do think the second movement,on it's own,is one of Brian's most individual and awe inspiring creations.

[John Whitmore]

  Incidentally,I recorded the Prom performance of Bruckners 8th on my dolby cassette deck. I couldn't help thinking of John while I listened to it!

How do you know it was the 8th? They all sound the same and as dull and turgid as each other. I had a clapped out old car that stopped and started all the time like Bruckner. Off we went and all was well. Then it stalled. Then off it went again. Drove me mad.