Henry Cowell (1897-1965)

Started by vandermolen, March 06, 2011, 01:22:15 AM

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cilgwyn

Yes,I've grown to really like that one. In fact I love that one! :) I think my next favourite has to be No 15. You can download a new recording of Botstein conducting No 11 from Amazon;but I think the old Louisville recording has a bit more of that elusive quality called atmosphere. Some of the symphonies do seem forgettable,but I rather like No's 4 & 5. His chamber music is very intriguing. The Mode cds are well worth acquiring. I also like Atlantis,his Variations for Orchestra and Ongaku. Sort the chaff from the wheat (and there is allot of chaff) and I think Cowell is actually quite an interesting,and at times,rewarding composer.

cilgwyn

Incidentally, I only really started enjoying the music on this cd after making a cd-r of it without Hymn and Fuguing Tune No 3!




snyprrr


cilgwyn

The wheat's good,though.....and very nourishing! :)



I see you're point,though! ::) ;D

cilgwyn

Ahem! Wheat from the chaff! :-[ ;D

These two cds are very good,imho. The music is well performed and recorded. Cowell's chamber music is intriguing and absorbing. I love the wacky Atlantis on Dancing with Henry,for small orchestra and voices. Lots of wordless grunting and moaning. Quite an extraordinary piece,and funny too! Must be fun to perform,too?! Mosaic is a 2 cd set.

 

NB: Actually,I like marmite on toast for breakfast. Can't stand cereal!! ??? :( ;D

snyprrr

Quote from: cilgwyn on June 11, 2017, 10:46:15 AM
Ahem! Wheat from the chaff! :-[ ;D

I like marmite

mm mm mm...not for me thank you :P gag lol

'Mosaic' is the single best Cowell presentation there is. I passed on the other one... I can't remember what else is on it...but I thought it was "normal" stuff found elsewhere?...

Oh, and the few Koch CDs... the 'Concerto Grosso' sounds very pastoral, as does the Harp Quartet on the Mode disc...



I'd really like to hear more of the 'ultra dissonant' phase @1917-1919... the CPO disc has some of that... the 'Adagio';;;



uh...

cilgwyn

I'm afraid I just have to disagree with you,snyprrr ...............................over Marmite!! :P ;D

snyprrr

Quote from: cilgwyn on June 15, 2017, 01:49:01 PM
I'm afraid I just have to disagree with you,snyprrr ...............................over Marmite!! :P ;D

Well, you know what prince Charles used it for... ack!! :P

cilgwyn

"Prince Charles' favourite sandwich is a bap (organic, of course) filled with a fried egg, Gruyere cheese and the famously salty brown goo".
I'm not exactly a fan of Prince Charles;but to be fair this sounds delicious! The nearest I get to this is a poached egg,on marmite on toast,for breakfast!
I remember inadvertantly starting a 'Marmite' thread at the Art Music Forum,after inadvertantly letting slip that I preferred Vegemite. Well,I did for a while!! ::)
By the way,I didn't know Marmite had been used as a baldness cure?!! ??? ::)

In keeping with the topic;I suppose one could say that Henry Cowell is a 'Marmite' composer?!! ::) :D

vandermolen

#89
I thought that the rather unpopular (on this site anyway) HC deserved a bump-up (or to be awakened from hibernation). Today I have been greatly enjoying his 5th Symphony once again. Its opening rather reminded me of William Schuman's 'New England Triptych'. Douglas Moore's powerful and brooding 'In Memoriam' was a fine discovery and I have always enjoyed Dello Joio's 'Meditations on Ecclesiastes':
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Brian

Yesterday, listened to Henry Cowell's String Quartet No. 5, which appears in the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet box set even though it does not involve woodwinds. I was immediately taken with the soundworld he creates: based in American folk music, but sophisticated; modern harmonies, but with a clearness and transparency; structurally odd and episodic but pleasant.

I started reading up on Cowell elsewhere and learned about his eclectic interests, passion for different musical traditions, and seemingly agreeable approach to music (the notes to the string quartet include a quote that goes like, "I just wrote something I wanted to hear").

Today listening to lots more Cowell.



Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 3 is a total pleasure - maybe the hymn is not instantly memorable but what a charming concert opener. Ongaku is very different, a tribute to Japanese musical style that really does sound Japanese to my barely-trained ear. The thing that stands out about it is that Cowell modestly gives up Western musical conventions in service to the Japanese ones. There's no hidden sonata form or buildup to a "grand finale."



The only previous Cowell listening I'd ever done is the 20-minute Variations for Orchestra on this CD. The theme is barely noticeable in most of the variations, but the orchestration is so colorful and entertaining that you don't miss it for a second. The piece moves like a dream, floating through fantasy worlds. Super cool.

I'm now going to go through all the 5 pages of this thread and read everything  while listening to the album below. Looking forward to reading 8)



I do wish there were more Cowell-focused albums out there. His piano music seems well-covered but it's amazing that Naxos, for example, has not done a symphony series, only chamber music.

vandermolen

Quote from: Brian on November 01, 2023, 07:10:47 AMYesterday, listened to Henry Cowell's String Quartet No. 5, which appears in the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet box set even though it does not involve woodwinds. I was immediately taken with the soundworld he creates: based in American folk music, but sophisticated; modern harmonies, but with a clearness and transparency; structurally odd and episodic but pleasant.

I started reading up on Cowell elsewhere and learned about his eclectic interests, passion for different musical traditions, and seemingly agreeable approach to music (the notes to the string quartet include a quote that goes like, "I just wrote something I wanted to hear").

Today listening to lots more Cowell.



Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 3 is a total pleasure - maybe the hymn is not instantly memorable but what a charming concert opener. Ongaku is very different, a tribute to Japanese musical style that really does sound Japanese to my barely-trained ear. The thing that stands out about it is that Cowell modestly gives up Western musical conventions in service to the Japanese ones. There's no hidden sonata form or buildup to a "grand finale."



The only previous Cowell listening I'd ever done is the 20-minute Variations for Orchestra on this CD. The theme is barely noticeable in most of the variations, but the orchestration is so colorful and entertaining that you don't miss it for a second. The piece moves like a dream, floating through fantasy worlds. Super cool.

I'm now going to go through all the 5 pages of this thread and read everything  while listening to the album below. Looking forward to reading 8)



I do wish there were more Cowell-focused albums out there. His piano music seems well-covered but it's amazing that Naxos, for example, has not done a symphony series, only chamber music.
I really like the 5th Symphony
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Brian

The Fifth Symphony is not on streaming so I will have to check YouTube for it. I just listened to the Fourth...



...and it is very "cute" American populist music coming from 19th century traditions, folk dances, religious hymns, etc. Not jazzy. Like a small, modest-sized midpoint between the more grandiose points of Ives' Symphony No. 2 and Copland's Americana.

Leo K.

I found a recording on Apple Music of the 7th Symphony conducted by William Strickland (with Vienna Philharmonic) which I am rather enjoying. I only know Henry Cowell from his association with Charles Ives in various biographies so this is very interesting!