Tippett's Tearoom

[John Whitmore]

Here's an example of the range of music that Tippett could produce. A riotous Interlude with electric guitar followed by a sublime Epilogue.
http://youtu.be/Fpm3nKXBHiw

[Mirror Image]

Here's an example of the range of music that Tippett could produce. A riotous Interlude with electric guitar followed by a sublime Epilogue.
http://youtu.be/Fpm3nKXBHiw

Yes, the Shires Suite. What a cool piece of music and I wish a major orchestra had recorded it. It would be nice to have Colin Davis conduct this work.

[John Whitmore]

Yes, the Shires Suite. What a cool piece of music and I wish a major orchestra had recorded it. It would be nice to have Colin Davis conduct this work.

You can get this recording as a download now and it's very good. Go to link and scroll down. It's second on the list. I have a private recording of the very first performance in 1970 and would dearly like to get that into circulation. Anyway here's the 1980 Unicorn disc:
http://www.klassichaus.us/LSSO.php

[Mirror Image]

You can get this recording as a download now and it's very good. Go to link and scroll down. It's second on the list. I have a private recording of the very first performance in 1970 and would dearly like to get that into circulation. Anyway here's the 1980 Unicorn disc:
http://www.klassichaus.us/LSSO.php

Thanks, John. I'll check it out at some point.

[Karl Henning]

Between Edward's intriguing post here, and finding a copy at the right price . . . trigger pulled! : )

[asin]B00004VG09[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Between Edward's intriguing post here, and finding a copy at the right price . . . trigger pulled! : )

[asin]B00004VG09[/asin]

Excellent, Karl! I have this recording on the way too. I'm looking forward to hearing it. I hope it's nothing like The Knot Garden which is one of the worst works I've heard from Tippett.

By the way, Karl, have you heard The Midsummer Marriage?

[Karl Henning]

Not in its entirety. A friend in Buffalo performed a number or two from it on her Master's recital; the music didn't grab me at the time, but that was likely not Tippett's fault.  You know how it can be, John: if your ears are after something else, even music which you yourself might like under neutral circumstances, leaves you cold.  I should check that opera out.

I'd be interested in Luke's commentary on The Knot Garden . . . .

[Mirror Image]

Here'a a YouTube video of the complete opera The Ice Break:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Iq5LDfODpMM

I haven't listened to much of it, but for those of you that haven't heard it you may want to check it out.

[Karl Henning]

Thanks, but I'll await the CD.

[Mirror Image]

Not in its entirety. A friend in Buffalo performed a number or two from it on her Master's recital; the music didn't grab me at the time, but that was likely not Tippett's fault.  You know how it can be, John: if your ears are after something else, even music which you yourself might like under neutral circumstances, leaves you cold.  I should check that opera out.

I'd be interested in Luke's commentary on The Knot Garden . . . .

Yes, I certainly understand, Karl. I've only heard The Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage and they are quite simply some of Tippett's best orchestral writing IMHO.

The Knot Garden, on the other hand, is complete torture for me...lol. I couldn't even listen through the entire opera.

[springrite]

Not in its entirety. A friend in Buffalo performed a number or two from it on her Master's recital; the music didn't grab me at the time, but that was likely not Tippett's fault.  You know how it can be, John: if your ears are after something else, even music which you yourself might like under neutral circumstances, leaves you cold.  I should check that opera out.

I'd be interested in Luke's commentary on The Knot Garden . . . .

I remember hearing some excerpt of the Midsummer Marriage and liking it a lot. Have not heard the whole thing, though.

[Mirror Image]

Thanks, but I'll await the CD.

Oh, me too. I was just putting this video out there for people who aren't risktakers like we are. Some people would actually like to sample the music first before buying it.

[Mirror Image]

I remember hearing some excerpt of the Midsummer Marriage and liking it a lot. Have not heard the whole thing, though.

I'm sure you're familiar with The Ritual Dances right, Paul?

[springrite]

I'm sure you're familiar with The Ritual Dances right, Paul?

Yes, that is one part that i do know.

[Mirror Image]

Yes, that is one part that i do know.

I, too, have not heard the complete opera of The Midsummer Marriage, but seeing as Ritual Dances came from this opera, I bet the rest of the music is first-rate. Hopefully, my Colin Davis recording will arrive shortly.

[Mirror Image]

Just bought this set:

[asin]B000007NG2[/asin]

I wonder if Luke has this?

[Mirror Image]

Allow me to list the recordings I own for you so maybe we can compare notes (so to speak):

-The Symphonies - Hickox, Bournemouth, 3 CDs, Chandos
-Symphonies 1-4, Ritual Dances, various orchestral works, C. Davis, Solti, Marriner, LSO, CSO, 5 CDs, Decca
-A Child of Our Time, Choral Works, Boyhood's End, The Knot Garden, Davis, various performers, 4 CDs, Decca
-Double Concerto, Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orch., Telarc
-The Rose Lake, The Vision of St. Augustine, C. Davis, M. Tippett, London Symphony Orchestra, RCA
-The Rose Lake, Ritual Dances, Richard Hickox, BBC National Orch. of Wales, Hybrid SACD, Chandos
-Piano Concerto, Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, Richard Hickox, Howard Shelley, Bournemouth Symphony, Chandos
-Piano Concerto, Piano Sonatas, John Ogdon, C. Davis, Philharmonia Orch., EMI

Now I would like to add the following recordings to my Tippett pile :

-The Midsummer Marriage, David Whelan, Raimund Herincx, Colin Davis, Elizabeth Bainbridge, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2 CDs, Lyrita

-King Priam, David Atherton, London Sinfonietta, Heather Harper, Robert Tear, London Sinfonietta, 2 CDs, Chandos

-The Ice Break, David Atherton, London Sinfonetta, London Sinfonetta Chorus, Heather Harper, David Wilson-Johnson, Sanford Sylvan, Virgin Classics

-Various Works, Sir Michael Tippett (conductor), English Northern Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, etc., 4 CDs, Nimbus

-Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, Concerto for Double String Orchestra, Ritual Dances, Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Apex (originally released on Teldec)

[not edward]

Just bought this set:

[asin]B000007NG2[/asin]

I wonder if Luke has this?

It's a useful set; a lot of the works are 'lesser' Tippett, but it's great to have some of his less common works collected together; particularly The Blue Guitar, which is a bit difficult to track down. Quality-wise, I think the Triple Concerto is probably the star work here, but everything's interesting.

Count me in as another who doesn't get The Knot Garden (or, really, its offshoot Songs for Dov). Which is probably my fault, not Tippett's.

I spent some time with Tippett today as I had the day off: The Ice Break remains impressive to me despite some weak points (and it's worth noting that both that recording and the Chandos King Priam are directed by the monstrously underrated David Atherton). I also had time to spin all but the first symphony (in the Hickox versions). I like them all but the 3rd and 4th are probably the two Tippett works that I click most viscerally with: there's something about the force with which Tippett projects his personality in these works that I find immensely satisfying. (Hickox's performances are great too in these symphonies and the 4th comes off so much better than in the rather unfortunate Solti version, though I think Colin Davis still remains my go-to 2nd. The composer's own BBC recording of the 2nd and 4th is a valuable supplement too, of course.)

I don't know if Luke agrees with me here, but I feel this sense of winding down in Tippett's music after the 4th symphony, Triple Concerto and The Ice Break (though I need to relisten to the 4th quartet to decide where I think it falls in that). I feel the music loses some of its confrontational edge--even in as dramatic a work as Byzantium--and there is an increasing tendency to recycle some of the more striking ideas from earlier works. Which isn't to say the late work is poor (though I admit to struggling to hold my attention in The Mask of Time) but it perhaps doesn't feel quite as urgently necessary to me as what came before.

[Mirror Image]

It's a useful set; a lot of the works are 'lesser' Tippett, but it's great to have some of his less common works collected together; particularly The Blue Guitar, which is a bit difficult to track down. Quality-wise, I think the Triple Concerto is probably the star work here, but everything's interesting.

Count me in as another who doesn't get The Knot Garden (or, really, its offshoot Songs for Dov). Which is probably my fault, not Tippett's.

I spent some time with Tippett today as I had the day off: The Ice Break remains impressive to me despite some weak points (and it's worth noting that both that recording and the Chandos King Priam are directed by the monstrously underrated David Atherton). I also had time to spin all but the first symphony (in the Hickox versions). I like them all but the 3rd and 4th are probably the two Tippett works that I click most viscerally with: there's something about the force with which Tippett projects his personality in these works that I find immensely satisfying. (Hickox's performances are great too in these symphonies and the 4th comes off so much better than in the rather unfortunate Solti version, though I think Colin Davis still remains my go-to 2nd. The composer's own BBC recording of the 2nd and 4th is a valuable supplement too, of course.)

I don't know if Luke agrees with me here, but I feel this sense of winding down in Tippett's music after the 4th symphony, Triple Concerto and The Ice Break (though I need to relisten to the 4th quartet to decide where I think it falls in that). I feel the music loses some of its confrontational edge--even in as dramatic a work as Byzantium--and there is an increasing tendency to recycle some of the more striking ideas from earlier works. Which isn't to say the late work is poor (though I admit to struggling to hold my attention in The Mask of Time) but it perhaps doesn't feel quite as urgently necessary to me as what came before.

I can't get into Byzantium at all. I didn't like Solti's 4th either, but thought Hickox was much better in this symphony. I tend to agree with you about Colin Davis in Symphony No. 2. A very fine performance. Solti, in my opinion, is one of the lesser Tippett conductors. I don't think he truly gets the music at all. But thankfully, he didn't really record much Tippett. I think Colin Davis, Hickox, and, yes, the underrated Atherton, are all great Tippett conductors. The Knot Garden just hasn't found a way into my heart yet. I doubt it ever will because of it's musical language and, for me, lack of any kind of accessibility. Usually all it takes are some musical phrases that catch my ear and I'm in, but with The Knot Garden, I just feel like pulling my hair out instead.

[Mirror Image]

I've been listening to The Rose Lake and what a fascinating work this is. Tippett described this work, and I'm paraphrasing here because I don't know his exact words, but as "a song without words" or something to that effect.

By the way, I found this interview with Tippett for those of you who are interested:

http://www.fdavidpeat.com/interviews/tippett.htm