Composers That Are Linked To Your Soul

[Scarpia]

Of Brian's 32 symphonies 29 are purely orchestral. Henry Wood, Thomas Beecham, Adrian Boult, Charles Groves, Charles Mackerras, Norman Del Mar, all conducted Brian's works. Robert Simpson, apart from being instrumental in putting Bruckner and Nielsen on the musical map [Edit: for the English-speaking world, that is], was Havergal Brian's staunchest advocate, without him I wouldn't be sitting here writing this. If you really want to hear Brian at his best (and I have seen you change your mind on Simpson, so you do have an open mind), why not try symphonies 8 and 16 (28 and 18 minutes respectively). No rush. Try them in four months' time, I don't care. But listen to them, only the once, just for fairness' sake. They aren't 'easy', and rather abstract, but that won't frighten you off.

Symphony No 8 in Bb minor (1949). The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles Groves (commercial recording, EMI, June 1978):

http://www.mediafire.com/?0jf2yvnm2tj

Symphony No. 16 (1960). The London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Myer Fredman (commercial recording, Lyrita, 1975):

http://www.mediafire.com/?i0uuiz32kjd

Well, we've come full circle here because I've listened to the excerpts and more or less decided that that Groves recording of No 8 was the one I wanted to try, but it is out of print and paying $50 for a used copy doesn't appeal to me.   I've downloaded your mp3 file, but I ordinarily don't listen to music that way.   When EMI re-issues those Grove recordings I will pick one up.

Although he's one of my musical soulmates, I see and hear the difficulty his music presents. I doubt you can overcome those difficulties.

Trying a little reverse psychology here?

[Scarpia]

That reminds me: hey Harry, have you convinced Brilliant Classics to do a complete Ravel edition?

Hmm, there is enough to fill 2 CDs with orchestral music, 2 CDs with opera and ballet, 2CDs with piano music, 2CDs with chamber music, and there are some songs, probably another 2 CDs, maybe a bit more.  All of it is available in multiple versions.  Is it so hard to assemble your own complete Ravel edition?

[Sergeant Rock]

Trying a little reverse psychology here?

  ...did it work?

Sarge

[Brian]

Hmm, there is enough to fill 2 CDs with orchestral music, 2 CDs with opera and ballet, 2CDs with piano music, 2CDs with chamber music, and there are some songs, probably another 2 CDs, maybe a bit more.  All of it is available in multiple versions.  Is it so hard to assemble your own complete Ravel edition?

Well, I want them to get some obscure Dutch pianist to do the obscure early Grieg and Schumann variations, for example, and the other unrecorded music. Anyway you're lowballing the CD count (e.g. you can't fill all the operas, cantatas, Daphnis, and Mother Goose on 2 CDs).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Well, we've come full circle here because I've listened to the excerpts and more or less decided that that Groves recording of No 8 was the one I wanted to try, but it is out of print and paying $50 for a used copy doesn't appeal to me.   I've downloaded your mp3 file, but I ordinarily don't listen to music that way. When EMI re-issues those Grove recordings I will pick one up.

Fair enough. There has already been a re-issue, though (a twofer with 7, 8, 9 & 31) and that is OOP. I don't think EMI will re-re-issue so soon. But I appreciate your willingness. Let's leave it at that.

[Scarpia]

Well, I want them to get some obscure Dutch pianist to do the obscure early Grieg and Schumann variations, for example, and the other unrecorded music. Anyway you're lowballing the CD count (e.g. you can't fill all the operas, cantatas, Daphnis, and Mother Goose on 2 CDs).

This one has all the orchestral music, opera and ballet on 4 CDs, no?

Now what are those variations that you are talking about?  Written by Ravel on themes by Grieg and Schumann, disowned works?  Never heard of their existence before.

[Brian]

Now what are those variations that you are talking about?  Written by Ravel on themes by Grieg and Schumann, disowned works?  Never heard of their existence before.

Nos 2 and 3 here

[Sergeant Rock]

This one has all the orchestral music, opera and ballet on 4 CDs, no?

L'Heure espagnole is missing.

Sarge

[The new erato]

There's tons of unrecorded stuff like this:

28, Tout est lumière for soprano, mixed choir, and orchestra (1900)
29, Myrrha, cantata for soprano, tenor, baritone, and orchestra (1901)
33, La nuit for soprano, mixed choir, and orchestra (1902)
34, Alcyone for soprano, alto, tenor, and orchestra (1902)

The Piano concertoes, Daphnis, both operas and the other ballets/suites, I fail to see how this can fill less than 5 CDs? Without going into timings, it is quite customary to use on disc for the concertoes, one for Daphnis and one for each of the two one-act operas. Which leaves one disc for the rest, which seems rather insufficient.

[Scarpia]

There's tons of unrecorded stuff like this:

28, Tout est lumière for soprano, mixed choir, and orchestra (1900)
29, Myrrha, cantata for soprano, tenor, baritone, and orchestra (1901)
33, La nuit for soprano, mixed choir, and orchestra (1902)
34, Alcyone for soprano, alto, tenor, and orchestra (1902)

The Piano concertoes, Daphnis, both operas and the other ballets/suites, I fail to see how this can fill less than 5 CDs? Without going into timings, it is quite customary to use on disc for the concertoes, one for Daphnis and one for each of the two one-act operas. Which leaves one disc for the rest, which seems rather insufficient.

Ok, 5 then.  I found a youtube of those operas.  My lord, beyond dreadful.  Sometimes obscure things are undiscovered treasure.  Obscure things by extremely popular composers are normally obscure for a reason.

In any case, maybe the topic should be changed back to peoples souls, at least for those who claim to have them.    

[Brian]

Ok, 5 then.  I found a youtube of those operas.  My lord, beyond dreadful.  Sometimes obscure things are undiscovered treasure.  Obscure things by extremely popular composers are normally obscure for a reason.

In any case, maybe the topic should be changed back to peoples souls, at least for those who claim to have them.   

Careful. You just called "beyond dreadful" the exact works which are closest to Luke's soul.

[Bulldog]

If I had to extend my original list to 5 more, it would include:

Bartok
Part
Tchaikovsky
Bruckner
Rubbra

The honest truth is that so many composers have accessed my soul on more than one occasion. Narrowing it down to five is impossible the more I think about it. So here's what my list looks like so far:

Bruckner
Berg
Bartok
Villa-Lobos
Vaughan Williams
Delius
Tchaikovsky
Ravel
Rubbra

To add more: Sibelius, Shostakovich, Alwyn, Mysakovsky, Lyadov, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Mahler, Bloch, Martinu, Milhaud, Pettersson, Rachmaninov, Nielsen, Braga Santos, Revueltas, Ginastera, Debussy, Szymanowski, Honegger, Berlioz, Respighi, Barber, Piston, Diamond, Copland, Langgaard, Finzi, Reich, Arnold, Sculthorpe, Vine, Schmidt, Vivaldi, Hindemith, Bernstein, among others.

You could try to be somewhat selective.

[Sergeant Rock]

Ok, 5 then.  I found a youtube of those operas.  My lord, beyond dreadful.

Congratulations! You once again have proven your ability to shock me.   Honestly, I didn't think it were possible for someone who likes Ravel to call his operas "dreadful." But there it is, in black and white.

In any case, maybe the topic should be changed back to peoples souls, at least for those who claim to have them.   

Don't you, at least, have a metaphorical soul? Isn't there any music that...I don't know...touches you? Music that has a deep personal meaning to you? Music that expresses something ineffable in you?

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

You could try to be somewhat selective.

Hey, it's really tough to narrow down your top 300 to a mere 51+ 

Sarge

[Luke]

Ok, 5 then.  I found a youtube of those operas.  My lord, beyond dreadful.  Sometimes obscure things are undiscovered treasure.  Obscure things by extremely popular composers are normally obscure for a reason.

Scarps, you are really outdoing yourself on this thread!  I won't bother to argue with you, though, you are clearly enjoying yourself. But I would point out that just because you haven't heard something it doesn't necessarily follow that it is obscure. L'enfant et les sortileges, very probably Ravel's most representative work and, many would say, his masterpiece, if there can only be one, has been recorded many, many times; L'heure espagnole, a perfect little piece in its own way too, though a more shallow one, does not lag too far behind.

[The new erato]

Ok, 5 then.  I found a youtube of those operas.  My lord, beyond dreadful.  Sometimes obscure things are undiscovered treasure.  Obscure things by extremely popular composers are normally obscure for a reason.

In any case, maybe the topic should be changed back to peoples souls, at least for those who claim to have them.   

Some of the best small operas from the last century.

[Scarpia]

Scarps, you are really outdoing yourself on this thread!  I won't bother to argue with you, though, you are clearly enjoying yourself. But I would point out that just because you haven't heard something it doesn't necessarily follow that it is obscure. L'enfant et les sortileges, very probably Ravel's most representative work and, many would say, his masterpiece, if there can only be one, has been recorded many, many times; L'heure espagnole, a perfect little piece in its own way too, though a more shallow one, does not lag too far behind.

It was not L'enfant, but the other one, that I described as obscure.  In any case, I recently picked up a recording of L'enfant with the intention of listening soon.  It was that video that was dreadful, at in my initial impression.  Maybe this is an opera that is best heard and not seen. 

[Bogey]

Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, ....and Copland continues to make his mark for me.

[Scarpia]

Don't you, at least, have a metaphorical soul? Isn't there any music that...I don't know...touches you? Music that has a deep personal meaning to you? Music that expresses something ineffable in you?

I find "classical" music utterly fascinating and captivating.  I'm not sure what the link to my "soul" would be.  The composers that I am drawn to, to the extent that I would want to be familiar with their entire body of work, would be Brahms, Bach, Sibelius, Faure, Beethoven, Mozart.  Going into the Fringes, it may reach to Martinu, Finzi, Janacek, some others, maybe Bax.

[karlhenning]

Even the tape interludes in Déserts? 

I wanted to revisit this before answering.

And now I have.

Yes, even those : )