Chronic Lurker.

[Jake]

Greetings all.

How to begin? I'm a 26 year old cinephile who currently works with video and is quickly transforming into a music addict.

I've basically been selling my DVD collection to build up my music collection. Music has simply meant more to me this last year than cinema ever has. This sounds insane to my cinephile friends. I simply point them to Perotin or Beethoven's Op. 131 and if they still don't understand, I have nothing left to say about it (except for maybe pointing them to Machaut).

My interest essentially began with Early music and truthfully, it still is my passion. Though I am slowly but surely branching out into different eras of music. My favorite composers so far are Bach, Ockeghem, Perotin, Leonin, Machaut, Ives, Byrd, Dunstaple, Messiaen, Liszt and the greatest of all, Anonymous. 

Thank you all for such a magnificent forum. It's already added some incredible discs to my wall. I have a nasty habit of joining these forums only to lurk for years and years. I hope this forum cures me.

[Brahmsian]

Welcome aboard GMG, planetjake!   

[bwv 1080]

I simply point them to Perotin or Beethoven's Op. 131 and if they still don't understand, I have nothing left to say about it

Yep, its kind of hard to understand how someone can be indifferent to op 131 - the gulf is too great to bridge

welcome aboard

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Greetings planetjake from a former Chicagoan (and current Muscovite!).

My interest essentially began with Early music and truthfully, it still is my passion. Though I am slowly but surely branching out into different eras of music. My favorite composers so far are Bach, Ockeghem, Perotin, Leonin, Machaut, Ives, Byrd, Dunstaple, Messiaen, Liszt and the greatest of all, Anonymous. 

Fascinating. In my experience, fans of Early Music are also fans of Modern Music. That seems to be true in your case as well.

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and enjoy!

[Hollywood]

Greetings from Beethoven's Vienna, planetjake. Welcome to the forum. 

[bhodges]

Every musical universe needs a planetjake! Hey, welcome. And PS, Chicago is a great town for music - do you get to the CSO?

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Welcome!

[North Star]

Welcome aboard

Yep, its kind of hard to understand how someone can be indifferent to op 131 - the gulf is too great to bridge

Amen to that. It's sad that out of my friends, only one is interested in Classical Music. Luckily things aren't so bad outside the real world

[Mn Dave]

Greeetings.

[DavidRoss]

Klaatu barada nikto!

[Mirror Image]

Welcome to our humble abode. Hope you stick around. We have some great, knowledgeable people here.

[Coco]

Welcome from another Chicagoan early and modern music fan!

[Que]

Welcome!

And I kindly invite you to join GMG's Early Music Club, that you probably already encountered during your chronic lurking phase...

Q

[Jake]

Wow. So many responses already! ChamberNut, mc ukrneal, Coco, Mirror Image, Hollywood, North Star, Mn Dave, Karl and David Ross: Thank you!

Brewski: I have not, shamefully. I've made it to a few early music concerts at the university andl in some churches around the city. Nothing recently, though. 

bvw 1080: In my estimation, it's an equal challenge to be indifferent to The Art of The Fugue, which I've also encountered! Yikes.

Velimir: They make strange bedfellows, don't they? I cant begin to articulate the subconscious reasoning that occurs with this judgment. My first love was Perotin. My second Ives. Anyone have any insight on this strange phenomena? I'd love to read any enlightened opinions.

Que: No! No, I have not encountered that. Wow. Thank you so much for the invite. I'm sure I'll spend the rest of my evening pouring over ever post in that monster. Thanks again!

I can already tell I'll love it here.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Velimir: They make strange bedfellows, don't they? I cant begin to articulate the subconscious reasoning that occurs with this judgment. My first love was Perotin. My second Ives. Anyone have any insight on this strange phenomena? I'd love to read any enlightened opinions.

I don't know how enlightened I am, but I can give it a shot. First, both EM and MM tend to use forms of tonal organization outside the usual major/minor tonality. Second, they're more likely to use polyphony, gradual forms of variation and repetition, and so forth, rather than the goal-oriented forms (sonata, rondo) of Classical and Romantic composers. There is also a certain austerity in the sound which differs greatly from the "plush" sound of the in-between periods.

Sometimes there are direct links too. Many modern composers found inspiration in Early Music. Stravinsky and Webern are just two obvious examples. Even earlier, Brahms was exploring Baroque and earlier composers and bringing back ideas for his own dense and rhythmically complex works.

I admit I'm not a huge EM fan - I tend to listen selectively, to a rather short list of pieces and composers - but I find it refreshing to listen to, and it often gives me some interesting perspective on music that came later.

On the opposite chronological end, maybe you saw this, but here's an interesting article on the New Music scene in Chicago. Maybe you're familiar with some of this?:

http://timeoutchicago.com/music-nightlife/opera-classical/89622/concerto-inferno

[Jake]

Velimir: Tremendous. I won't lie, I've only been listening to music seriously for a year. Much of the vernacular goes over my head but I'm learning fast and I know enough to understand on a superficial level what you're laying down. Thank you for taking the time to articulate it. I have indeed read that article and even been to see some of the groups they describe therein. I'm an anxious little fellow so I'm not in bars often let alone to hear classical music. But I respect their ideas and attitude immensely even if it isn't entirely my thing. Plus I don't drink, so the whole "Classical music and PBR" stuff doesn't really fly with me.

Funny that you mention Webern, as I just bought "The Complete Webern" (Boulez) not long ago. Still waiting for it but I'm not being very patient about it.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I'm sure you'll find Webern interesting, maybe even enjoyable  You may be aware that he wrote his dissertation on the Renaissance composer Heinrich Isaac.

By the way, how did you get into Early Musick in the first place? It's kind of an unusual way to get into classical music I think.

[Jake]

Long story short, a good friend got me into it. A much more learned and intelligent friend. He knew I was interested in classical music but I didn't know where to start in terms of recordings or specific periods and it just so happened that he had made an "Early Music Sampler" for a different friend. He burnt me a copy (a two disc set!) and sent me on my merry way. I haven't looked back. I've since purchased every recording represented on the two discs (a total of about 140 Cd's including two complete sets of Bach's Cantatas, which I guess I didn't have to buy but did anyway because why the heck not?). I know Bach isn't technically "Early Music" but he was included anyway and I'm glad of it.

I did not know that about Webern. This intrigues me all the more. I'm just reading through the liner notes in the box (which just came today). Webern was recommended to me by the same friend. I've heard nothing but tremendous things about it so I anticipate it being an enjoyable experience. I'm a slow listener. I tend to pour over recordings for months and months. I'll often just put a CD on repeat and listen to it for hours upon hours in a dark room. I've been told this is unhealthy, but It's the only way I've been able to absorb the music to my satisfaction. So even if I don't "like" Webern, I'll know it as completely as I can.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

That sounds great. Your thoroughness is admirable. I don't have anywhere near 140 Early Music CDs (probably more in the 30-40 range), but I do enjoy what I have. Early and Modern both require you to stretch your ears a bit; that's something I enjoy doing.

BTW, my favorite pre-Baroque period is probably the few decades either side of 1600 - it saw the final flowering of the Renaissance polyphonic style, and the beginnings of the Baroque. And, most important for me, the beginnings of serious instrumental music. But I do enjoy much earlier composers, including your man Perotin (I have the Hilliard disc on ECM - was just listening to it last week, in fact).