Tippett's Tearoom

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So I re-listened to Fantasia on a Theme of Handel for piano and orchestra earlier today and I'm glad I revisited it. It has some absolutely delicious piano playing in it. The recording I have of it is Howard Shelley and Hickox. Shelley is just wonderful as usual.

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Perhaps another reason Tippett isn't played very often, and please indulge me here for a minute, is perhaps his music is incredibly difficult to play well? The reason I'm bringing it up is there's some virtuoso trumpet playing in The Ritual Dances. In the Hickox recording I was listening to, it sounded the the BBC National Orchestra of Wales principal trumpeter was having some difficulty with this passage I'm thinking of towards the end of the work. I'll try to figure out exactly where this passage is and get back to this thread. Another work that I imagine is difficult to perform is Symphony No. 3. Anyway, I just think Tippett, with the exception of some of his string orchestra works, have sent many orchestra musicians to the woodshed to get their chops, as they say in the jazz world, into shape.

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Luke, I'm working on several GMG members here trying to convert them over to the darkside. I'm working on TheGSMoeller (Greg) and madaboutmahler (Daniel), but I'm afraid madaboutmahler doesn't quite get Tippett yet, which is perfectly fine because it took me quite some time to appreciate him, but the more I listen to his music, the more I realize how much of a fool I was to dismiss him. But the honest truth, not that I haven't been honest in my posts, is that I did enjoy some Tippett before I dismissed him. I liked all of the string orchestra works and I liked The Rose Lake pretty good. I didn't like any of the symphonies, but I can honestly say I love the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I'm still digesting the 4th and really trying to recover from Solti's barbaric performance that doesn't do this work any favors. Thank goodness there is another performance available! I'll listen to Hickox's performance later on tonight. Anyway, my point is that I enjoy his music much more and I have to say there's no other composer that sounds like him. He had such a unique compositional voice. Like, Luke has mentioned, Tippett wrote from his heart and he wrote with a kind of reckless abandon that I find refreshing.

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So I gave New Year's Suite a first-listen tonight and it's not as bad I've I thought it was going to be. The usage of electric guitars, the saxophones, and a drum kit was pretty cool. I like some of the jazzy moments of this suite. Is this something I'm going to listen to on a daily basis? Of course not, but it's a fascinating little slice of Tippettian strangeness.

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Just thought I would share my thoughts with revisitation to Tippett's 4th with Hickox at the helm. Wow! What a difference a sympathetic conductor can make. The symphony is obviously highly complex and I need more time with it but I seriously like it. What I like about Tippett's music is that there's always a forward momentum happening which I suppose could be contributed to his unique sense of rhythm. I read somewhere that Tippett didn't even like Solti's performance of the 4th which I find amusing since Solti was whom the symphony was dedicated to. I bet he wished he had dedicated the symphony to Colin Davis instead! Haha...

[John Whitmore]

Perhaps another reason Tippett isn't played very often, and please indulge me here for a minute, is perhaps his music is incredibly difficult to play well? The reason I'm bringing it up is there's some virtuoso trumpet playing in The Ritual Dances. In the Hickox recording I was listening to, it sounded the the BBC National Orchestra of Wales principal trumpeter was having some difficulty with this passage I'm thinking of towards the end of the work. I'll try to figure out exactly where this passage is and get back to this thread. Another work that I imagine is difficult to perform is Symphony No. 3. Anyway, I just think Tippett, with the exception of some of his string orchestra works, have sent many orchestra musicians to the woodshed to get their chops, as they say in the jazz world, into shape.

I think it's more about fashion that difficulty. Tippett seems out of favour for the time being. He's joined the long list of Britain's "nearly men" unfortunately. The Ritual Dances, technically, aren't particularly difficult. The LSSO had a crack at it when Michael was conducting it and compared to Ives and Walton it was fairly straight forward. It's a long time ago though!! Tippett always wrote great trumpet parts and the BBCNOW player may just have had one of those days. The Philips (Lyrita) complete Midsummer Marriage is one of the truly great recordings and the music is lyrical and attractive throughout. Nothing like The Knot Garden - which I also enjoy despite the stick it's been getting on here.

[John Whitmore]

Just thought I would share my thoughts with revisitation to Tippett's 4th with Hickox at the helm. Wow! What a difference a sympathetic conductor can make. The symphony is obviously highly complex and I need more time with it but I seriously like it. What I like about Tippett's music is that there's always a forward momentum happening which I suppose could be contributed to his unique sense of rhythm. I read somewhere that Tippett didn't even like Solti's performance of the 4th which I find amusing since Solti was whom the symphony was dedicated to. I bet he wished he had dedicated the symphony to Colin Davis instead! Haha...

Everything Solti did was precise and hard driven. There's lttle or no sentiment in his work and the more intimate, lyrical passages just seem to pass by without any attempt to relax the orchestra and give the music time to breath. Every note is pointed. What he did was excellent of its kind but just not my cup of tea. Davis is a different kettle of fish. Just compare the Prince Charles Suite recordings. Solti rips through it as if it's Russlan and Ludmilla meets Bartok. Davis gives it an Elgarian nobility and allows the music time to speak. Chalk and Cheese. I don't know whether or not Tippett actually said what is quoted about Solti's 4th but if he did I agree with him.

[Luke]

Once again, so much to read! Great to see all this Tippett-love going on. I've been listening myself, but too busy to post here, as usual.

MI - I have that 4 CD set, but as individual CDs. As Edward sys, there are some minor works amongst them, but Tippett's minor works are worth hearing. Perhaps my own favourite 'minor' piece is the sonata for four horns -- playful, atmospheric, wonderfully written, gorgeous sounding, and full of the most typical Tippett sounds (his horn writing is always superb - look at the scherzo of the 3rd symphony!). Do you know that one?

Re The Knot Garden - I do enjoy it, but I find I have to work myself into the mood, immerse myself into the characters (the plot, the characters and the multi-layered implications are really vital in this piece) before I can get more out of it than just a sense of wonder at the often quite shocking sounds Tippett conjures up. With the previous two operas I DON'T - major edit!! - have such problems, even though in the case of Midsummer Marriage the plot is every bit as bizarre.* But yes, the actual sounds of The Knot Garden are pretty compelling...including that moment when it glosses Schubert: as shocking in context as anything else. I find Songs for Dov easier, more condensed, and possibly a good way into the opera itself. But I won't pretend tht either work is easy Tippett.

I agree with Edward about the later works too - he puts it so precisely that I don't feel the need to add more. Even The Rose Lake, which is obviously adorable, I find has this soft edge which is at the same time its charm and its weakness. Tippett's music has bones of steel, even in something as soft-toned as the fleeting first interlude and the ultra-melodic slow movement from the Triple Concerto - that is part of its power. But I don't quite hear them in The Rose Lake

Re the difficulty of Tippett. Sometimes, especially at his most adventurous, he is hard to play as anyone, I think - the Concerto for Orchestra, the 3rd Symphony, these are very difficult works, I suspect. The Ritual Dances aren't that hard, though they require really sensitive playing to come off well, of course.

* I should say that I am one who has faith in Tippett to the extent that I don't have problems either with his plots or his libretti, but I know most people do!

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Wow, I'm surprised by all the action this Tippett forum has received while I was asleep! So much to respond to here...

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I think it's more about fashion that difficulty. Tippett seems out of favour for the time being. He's joined the long list of Britain's "nearly men" unfortunately. The Ritual Dances, technically, aren't particularly difficult. The LSSO had a crack at it when Michael was conducting it and compared to Ives and Walton it was fairly straight forward. It's a long time ago though!! Tippett always wrote great trumpet parts and the BBCNOW player may just have had one of those days. The Philips (Lyrita) complete Midsummer Marriage is one of the truly great recordings and the music is lyrical and attractive throughout. Nothing like The Knot Garden - which I also enjoy despite the stick it's been getting on here.

I need to go back and listen to Hickox's performance of the Ritual Dances because it might have not been a mistake made at all and that particular part was supposed to sound the way it does. I have several versions of Ritual Dances to compare though: Pritchard, Hickox, and now I have Tippett's own performance and Andrew Davis' recording on the way. It doesn't bother that Tippett is out of fashion, especially since I've never kept up with the trends. As for the difficulty of some of Tippett's music, I imagine the works Luke pointed out (Concerto for Orchestra, Symphony No. 3) present some challenges, but professional orchestras working today play such a variety of music that I'm sure those challenges can be easily met. The difficulty in Tippett's music, IMHO, is about keeping the balances right. It does take a special conductor to play Tippett well though. No doubt about it. I only hope that Andrew Davis, who has, from what I've read, been performing a good bit of Tippett, keeps that fire alive.

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Everything Solti did was precise and hard driven. There's lttle or no sentiment in his work and the more intimate, lyrical passages just seem to pass by without any attempt to relax the orchestra and give the music time to breath. Every note is pointed. What he did was excellent of its kind but just not my cup of tea. Davis is a different kettle of fish. Just compare the Prince Charles Suite recordings. Solti rips through it as if it's Russlan and Ludmilla meets Bartok. Davis gives it an Elgarian nobility and allows the music time to speak. Chalk and Cheese. I don't know whether or not Tippett actually said what is quoted about Solti's 4th but if he did I agree with him.

Yes, that's Solti's downfall in Tippett. It's too hard-edged for the music. Imagine him performing The Rose Lake? I bet he would have butchered it! I don't trust Solti in a lot of repertoire though. He should have left Tippett's music alone because he didn't know what the hell he was doing with it. Colin Davis is one of the best Tippett conductors I've heard as is Hickox. I think both conductors exhibited the passion to help realize Tippett's artistic vision. Of course, Tippett was a good conductor of his own music as well (like Britten). So his performances are definitive and Tippett actually has a good baton technique and can get the sounds he wants from the orchestra with little problem unlike Stravinsky who seemed like he was struggling a bit with conducting.

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Luke, once again, your post was a joy to read! Very well done, my friend.

[John Whitmore]

Yes, that's Solti's downfall in Tippett. It's too hard-edged for the music. Imagine him performing The Rose Lake? I bet he would have butchered it! I don't trust Solti in a lot of repertoire though. He should have left Tippett's music alone because he didn't know what the hell he was doing with it. Colin Davis is one of the best Tippett conductors I've heard as is Hickox. I think both conductors exhibited the passion to help realize Tippett's artistic vision. Of course, Tippett was a good conductor of his own music as well (like Britten). So his performances are definitive and Tippett actually has a good baton technique and can get the sounds he wants from the orchestra with little problem unlike Stravinsky who seemed like he was struggling a bit with conducting.

Oops.If only this were true. He was a fine musician but his conducting was terrible. You could never relax when he was on the podium because you never knew when he was going to make a mistake. Sometimes you just came in and ignored him. Britten had great stick technique. Michael just didn't have that gift.

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Oops. If only this were true. He was a fine musician but his conducting was terrible. You could never relax when he was on the podium because you never knew when he was going to make a mistake. Sometimes you just came in and ignored him. Britten had great stick technique. Michael just didn't have that gift.

That's too bad, because his performance of Vision of St. Augustine sounded fantastic and, yes, well-conducted. He's obviously not a Colin Davis or Richard Hickox, but I look forward to hearing more of his own performances.

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I've been at work today, but have managed to listen to Triple Concerto again and I really like this work. Some amazing textures. I'd be interested to read what Luke says about this work from a composer's point-of-view (since he can read and write music). I couldn't even begin to analyze this late Tippett masterpiece.

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Here's a funny article written by someone who's as clueless about Michael Tippett's music as I am about the Welsh language:

http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/041222-NL-tippett.html

I love the fact that Tippett's music still arouses controversy amongst conservative listeners.

[John Whitmore]

This may or may not be of interest

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Mar12/tippett_shires_lsso.htm

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This may or may not be of interest

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Mar12/tippett_shires_lsso.htm

Thanks, John. I'll check it out.

[madaboutmahler]

Luke, I'm working on several GMG members here trying to convert them over to the darkside. I'm working on TheGSMoeller (Greg) and madaboutmahler (Daniel), but I'm afraid madaboutmahler doesn't quite get Tippett yet, which is perfectly fine because it took me quite some time to appreciate him, but the more I listen to his music, the more I realize how much of a fool I was to dismiss him.

Yes... the more I hear of Tippett again, the more I am regretting those comments I made about his music to you, John! I am not even quite sure why I was so against Tippett in the first place. But the mixture of your enthusiasm and hearing excerpts from some of his pieces has made me keen to explore his music much more. I am going to start off by buying the Marriner disc you recommended to me, and I am going to do that as soon as possible! I might even make sure to listen to that before starting the Ring Cycle! Then, after the Ring Cycle, I shall pick up the recording of 'A Child of Our Time' plus a few others, maybe the symphonies. I can certainly imagine myself going into a 'Tippett' phase and enjoying his music an awful lot, maybe Tippett even becoming my favourite British composer of the 20th century, along with VW and Simpson.

So yes, I am very excited about exploring Tippett more!
John, forget everything negative I said about Tippett! I didn't mean it!!!! 

[Luke]

LONG POST ALERT....

I've been at work today, but have managed to listen to Triple Concerto again and I really like this work. Some amazing textures. I'd be interested to read what Luke says about this work from a composer's point-of-view (since he can read and write music). I couldn't even begin to analyze this late Tippett masterpiece.

How to start with the Triple Concerto? It is one of my favourite Tippett works, one of his most lyrical pieces and almost certainly the most sonically sumptuous.

A basic outline is:

The Triple Concerto is a more-or-less standard three movement concerto, essentially fast-slow-fast. However, Tippett separates the movements with two Interludes, during which the soloists do not play. As the soloists aren't active in the Interludes, one could say thatat these points Tippett is not advancing the musical argument, but 'merely' setting the scene or changing the atmosphere. So the first Interlude, delicate and mysterious and wonderfully scored, prepares the way for the intense lyricism of the central slow movement, whilst the second Interlude renimates the music after this deliciously poetic vision, being scored for percussion and brass alone, and thus preparing for the Elgar-ish material which opens the last movement.

More detailed points would be:

FIRST MOVEMENT
The Concerto has an opening motive, a kind of 'birth motive' very similar to that found in the 4th symphony (in fact, the general texture, the orchestration and even the basic notes are more or less the same). This motive recurs, unchanged in essentials, at key moments.  It is followed by the entrance of the soloists, one by one, violin, viola, cello, each taking turns and mapping out their own specific material. This idea here is a little like that found in the Concerto for Orchestra and the 2nd Sonata, only less rigorously applied; that is, each instrument has musical types which it 'owns' and which recur juxtaposed in all manner of ways. The violin has those slashing chords and dazzling virtuosic leaps; the viola lyrical lines in double stops; the cello a mixture of the two moods, lyrical and impetuous, but none of the same music. From the cello we move back to the violin - the sweet, high, crescendo-ing octaves falling into gentle, spicato open fifth. And finally, after this expository, introductory material, we move to the fundamental, central music of this movement, what is essentially the first subject. Here, all three soloists play together for the first time (with the lightest of accompaniments in glockenspiel, vibraphone and a few other discrete touches in the winds). This is a magical moment in Tippett, IMO - the texture here is amazing, and it is found again, almost identically though somehow with less strikingly abundant lyricism, in the 4th quartet. The viola is at the bottom, with a warm, undulating idea in sixths (sounding in 2/4, though the time signature here is 3/4) (there's a kinship between this idea and the birth motive, too, in some ways). Above it the two other soloists spin a shining web of higher notes, the violin with a wide leaping melody in 6/8, the cello with a high line featuring prominent repeated notes. I make a big deal of describing this passage because it is so central to the piece, even though it never lasts for very long.

The mood so far has been mostly lyrical, sometime skittish, sometimes rich, impulsive, all in the shadow of that dark opening birth motive in which the horns feature prominently. After that point we have heard only the soloists, lightly accompanied by strings, winds and glints of percussion. Suddenly all this changes, with echoing brass fanfares, along with percussion slaps and snaps.. A glowing, dancing transition in winds, mallets, tuned gongs and bells leads into what one could call the second subject - another lyrical one. Here we see a principle which will be expanded in the slow movement - the varying presentations of a long lyrical theme, split in various ways through the soloist. Accompanied by rich harp figures, the theme itself features prominent, repeated falling ninths and twisting quintuplet, and it is always heard on two of the soloists, whilst the third dances  in 'light, delicate, accompanying' figures across the strings. Each combination of the soloists 'gets to' play the melody - first vioin and cello, then cello and viola, then viola and violin, and, briefly, finally violin and cello again. And at this point we reach one more wonderful idea, totally unexpected.

A hum starts up, created by an exquisitely orchestrated presentation of a single chord spelt, from top to bottom, E, D sharp, B, A, E. This chord is maintained in delicately pattering patterns of pizzicato strings (this is an idea which is important in this concerto). Above it, reinforcing it, we hear a bar of rich harp and mallets (bells, vibes, marimba and tuned gong again), and then a bar of 'brassy, nasal' horn, repeating an E in an insistent crescendo, supported by the timp. This page looks uncannily like the transcriptions one sees in ethonomusicology books of gamelans - uncanny except for the fact that it was indeed prompted by this sort of music example, in Cloin McPhee's book Music in Bali (IIRC). The four-note mode, the fast, interlocking, cross-rhythmed patterns, the resonant, glowing mallet sounds - all these are directly inspired by the gamelan, and they pave the way, here, for the much more sumptuous gamelan sounds of the slow movement. At this point, however, the are interrupted by 'strong, brilliant' dancing figures from the soloists (the first time they actually play entirely homophonically). The pattern recurs three times, until finally, the brass, who haven't feautred much apart from their earlier fanfares, break in once more, developing the soloists' dancing figure into a 'crisp, bright' dance of their own. A 'bell-like, brilliant' bar of link from winds and mallets (glock, bells, marimba, vibes) and suddenly, we are back at the opening birth-motive, in unchanged rhythm and orchestration, but one tone higher

What happens now is the development section. It is, fundamentally, about the superimposition of elements which had previously been heard separately (again, look at the Concerto for Orchestra for a much more rigorous application of this idea). So, after the birth motive, instead of the gradual introduction of the soloists, they burst in together, the cello playing the birth motive again, the other two playing versions of previously-heard figuration

I won't go into too much detail about the rest of the movement - you will hear all the ideas you've already heard again. But notice the formal logic with which things are presented. Soon after the passage I last described, the viola takes a solo, but this time accompanied; then we hear the initial brass fanfares again, with a string figure underpinning the this time. Then the cello takes a longer solo, accompanied again (and this time by its solo colleagues, too). This solo starts with the cello's initial material, but then (I love this moment) for ten bars 'singing, passionate' plays a never-before-heard and never-heard-again melody, accompanied by some amazing scoring in the winds. More previously heard material - the link to the second subject, and the second subject itself, and now something else completely new - an odd murmuring in the clarinet/bass clarinets accompanying a long solo in the violin (see how the formal pattering plays out?) which finishes in the same way as it did earlier in the concerto, in such a way as to lead into the first subjecto, presented in the same way by the soloists alone, and extended into a few stormy bars in which the timps join. This is followed, unaltered, (importantly - it doesn't change, it just acts as a kind of magical catalyst, I think) by the 'gamelan' episode from earlier, which as before is followed by the dancing brass fanfare and the link bar...which this time is echoed by an approximation of itself in the soloists; the link bar and its echo are heard again, higher, there is a pause but no double bar, and we are in...

INTERLUDE 1

Sorry to be so wordy about movement I. I wanted to give an idea of the way the layer, cutting and juxtapositions work in this piece. There is no real development of ideas at all; the development takes place in their combination. Interlude 1 is just as fascinating (well, I find it fascinating anyway!) but simpler. It is really one of Tippett's most delicate, tender, fragrant beautiful moments, a garden of exquisite sonorites. To remind you, the soloists do not play in this movement. Almost everything takes place over gentle lapping murmurings in strings, harp, mallet instruments, celesta etc. Take that as read. Over this sort of thing the following happens:

Alto flute solo
Horn duet
Bass oboe solo  (note the dry, quiet pizzicati in the background)

Again just a pause, no double bar, and we are in the middle movement

SECOND MOVEMENT

The second movement is like the fulfilment of the promise of the Interlude. Here, in addition to the rapt sonorities, we have the soloists, singing one of the most intense, lyrical melodies in modern music (actually, I can't think of a more intense, lyrical melody in modern music...). This melody is presented rather like the second subject of the first movement - the soloists always play in octave, although not always the octave you'd expect (the cello often takes the middle one, about 2 octaves above middle C). Underneath there is a gorgeous swell, rolling like a deep wave, soft timps and mallets to the fore, and above the deep hum of a tuned gong in A flat, a heavy, incense-laden connection with that gamelan music in the first movement, but now deeply, sleepily sensuous. Another little orientalism here, almost inaudible - whilst the soloists sing their song, the orchestral violas pluck a little glissando, which is marked 'sitar-like' in the score.

Anyway, this movement is effectively a rondo, with this music for all three soloists plus the deep, gong-laden swell as the A theme, and most episodes featuring the soloists, one by one. If I lay it out as a schema, and you compare it to the schema I gave for the interlude, you'll see a fascinating thing, which I've never read about in my books on Tippett.

A - soloists plus orchestra
B - cello solo, duetting prominently with bass oboe
A - the theme now in the wind, the solosits decorating in octaves
C - a build up of ostinati, fanfare like figures in the wind and trumpets over FIVE tuned gongs (in a whole tone wedge from A flat up to E - tht is, from the gong note used most prominently in this movement to that used most prominently in the first movement). The gongs are sustained by horns and trombones
D - violin solo, duetting prominently with alto flute
C
E - violin and viola duet, with prominent accompaniment from pattering, quiet pizzicati
A - the  theme back with the soloists, but garlanded with a celesta solo now
F - the music dies away with pizzicati patterings again....and then, finish...
G - viola solo, duetting (trio-ing?) prominently with horn duet, and instantly echoing itself quietly, 'distant', and with the horns muted

Note, then, how the prominent wind solos of the interlude find fulfilment in the main movement as they partner the soloists in their own music

Again, no double bar, just a pause, and then

INTERLUDE 2

An echo of the brass and percussion fanfares in the first movement, maybe. The music wakes from its slumber with crsip clicks and snaps in the percussion - wood blocks, claves, castanets, and a hi-hat playing something that is essentially a swing rhythm. The music remains percussion only, and almost pitchless (apart from the tight timp rolls on E) until trumpets and trombone enter with skirling calls. Again, in a link to the first movments fanfares, where the horns echoe the trumpets, here the trombone echo the trumpets. The musi dies on the timps. Again no double bar, and we enter

MOVEMENT 3
Here we start with another moment of dark lyricism, on a bed of the lowest strings and winds. The soloists enter one by one, first the cello, gradually rising, joined by the viola, and finally the violin. A cresecndo, and the movement proper begins:

This is a melody in the orchestral strings, marked 'singing: rich, golden.' It is quite grandiose, at least at first, and I've seen it refered to as resembling Elgar; I tend to think of it in those terms too, though more for its attitude than its actual sound. For a while solosits and orchestra exchange this melody, and then suddenly the music changes mood entirely.

The dry, pattering pizzicati are back, and over the top repeated insistent notes in wind and brass crescendo in seemingly unrelated tempo. This is in fact very similar to the gamelan music from movement 1, whose every other bar also featured a repeated note crescendoing in this same sort of rhythm, over single-harmony patterings in mallets and pizzicati strings. I find this section quite overwhelming, as the repeated notes grow more and more insistent, enticing the soloists to join in, which they do, with an angular, agile, joyful dance music over the top of everything. The music tumbles, unexpectedly, into...

The birth motive from movement 1. This is presented exactly as at the opening, and back at its originl pitch, a true recapitulation, but it continues in the soloists as it did on its second appearance in the opening movement, almosr unaltered (though at the lower pitch implied by the transposition of the birth motive. At the point at which this music broke off in the first movement, Tippett links to the music for the soloists from later in that movement, the music which leads up to the reappearance of the first subject and beyond. All of this is reheard, right up to what I called the 'stormy bars' where the timps join...and even beyond, because just as in the first movement here the gamelan music returns, exactly as it always is, at the same pitch. The 'stormy' music is exchanged with it once (the last we hear of the soloists) but it returns, quickly fragments, and, with a thwack on E, the concerto is over.

That last movement is odd, with its never-again-heard introduction, its never-again-heard 'Elgar' melody, its never-again-heard accumulation of repeated note ostinati, and then its sudden, condensed recap of the most salient music of the first movement. Possibly, it is one of those flawed parts of Tippett's oeuvre we were discussing. Certainly Meirion Bowen, Tippett's biggest and most committed advocate, thinks so. After the premiere Tippett rewrote quite a chunk of this movement because it just 'didn't register,' and maybe it still remains unbalanced. But personally I love this waywardness, I find it a compulsive, fascinating listen

Anyway, hope this gives some idea of the processes Tippett is working with in this most beautiful of pieces, and that it doesn't get in the way of enjoyment!