The Nielsen Nexus

[Mirror Image]

Thanks for enticing me to listen to Nielsen's Fourth yet again! I'm growing very fond of it.
Although I can't offer you much in the way of comparison, I will say that to me the Schmidt set sounds very good and has great clarity. No difficulties in perceiving the various instrumental sections. I certainly wouldn't call it "overly reverberant". Hope you'll enjoy it!

Thank you, Camphy! I'm getting quite excited about Schmidt's Nielsen now.

[Mirror Image]

I finally got around to listening to Vilde Frang's recording of the Violin Concerto and I have no words right now other than WOW!!!!

[Karl Henning]

Cool.

Viz. the Bostock symphonies . . . I need to give a listen (or, another listen, or, a proper listen).  I certainly snaffled up the box for Other Stuff.

[Mirror Image]

Cool.

Viz. the Bostock symphonies . . . I need to give a listen (or, another listen, or, a proper listen).  I certainly snaffled up the box for Other Stuff.

How is Bostock's set, Karl? Hurwitz doesn't like Bostock's performances that much.

[Karl Henning]

I think we got that exchange backwards, John 

Although I have that box, I do not have a reliable impression of the symphonies.  (Honestly, all I remember is the affecting Paraphrase on "Nearer, My God, to Thee.")  I need to go back to it.

— I remember Sarge informing us that this set includes the alternate version of the Andante pastorale of the Sinfonia espansiva, with instruments subbing for the vocalise;  and I remember making a mental note to have a listen.  I think I may have lost that mental note until just now . . . .

[Mirror Image]

I think we got that exchange backwards, John 

Although I have that box, I do not have a reliable impression of the symphonies.  (Honestly, all I remember is the affecting Paraphrase on "Nearer, My God, to Thee.")  I need to go back to it.

— I remember Sarge informing us that this set includes the alternate version of the Andante pastorale of the Sinfonia espansiva, with instruments subbing for the vocalise;  and I remember making a mental note to have a listen.  I think I may have lost that mental note until just now . . . .

Hmmm...well maybe Sarge can inform us about the merits of these performances (it's certainly not like I need more Nielsen in my collection), but, as the saying goes, "inquiring minds want to know." Please let me know your impressions of Bostock's Nielsen whenever you get the chance to listen to more of the set.

[Sergeant Rock]

Hmmm...well maybe Sarge can inform us about the merits of these performances (it's certainly not like I need more Nielsen in my collection), but, as the saying goes, "inquiring minds want to know." Please let me know your impressions of Bostock's Nielsen whenever you get the chance to listen to more of the set.

Here's what I said three years ago (I don't think I've been back to the box since...I have too damn many CDs ):

Good news, Karl. The two symphonies I've heard so far, Espansiva and Inextinguishable, are quite good...well, different anyway, and to me, different often means good 

As sometimes happens, what the Hurwitzer considers a negative, I consider a positive. This for example:

"His hasty accelerando over the powerful repeated chords leads to a main tempo that is apparently too fast for the orchestra to negotiate successfully. Consequently, the remainder of the movement is riddled with blurred articulation, hesitant entrances and insecure rhythms."

I didn't hear it that way. What I heard was a fascinating new way to play those opening chords. Something shockingly different. Yeah, the chords become a bit blurred as the acceleration reaches an insane pace, but man, does that launch the Allegro in a thrilling fashion. Too fast for a desert island pick or a library choice, maybe, but great fun to hear. Bostock has to brake pretty hard for the second subject but I like the extreme contrast. Gramophone noticed a lack of body in the strings and that too is a negative that I can turn into a positive: the strings don't swamp the rest of the orchestra (like in some Espansivas I know); there is great clarity in the other sections of the orchestra, especially the brass, which really pack a punch. The climax of the development, that fantastic waltz, is almost as good as Bernstein's or Kuchar's (even though at Bostock's tempo it would create chaos on the ballroom floor  ). Both Andantes are on the CD: the original with soprano and tenor, and Nielsen's alternative orchestration for clarinet and trombone. That should interest you! I thought the tempo for the Finale utterly perfect.

So, 13 bucks already well spent, and I've only heard the first CD of ten 


Sarge

[Mirror Image]

Thanks for the feedback, Sarge. The only thing that is hindering me is the audio quality of this set. Out of 10, how would you rate it? Is the audio quality pretty consistent throughout the whole set? Thanks.

[Sergeant Rock]

Thanks for the feedback, Sarge. The only thing that is hindering me is the audio quality of this set. Out of 10, how would you rate it? Is the audio quality pretty consistent throughout the whole set? Thanks.

Nothing sounds bad but the quality is inconsistent. 1, for example, sounds a tad muffled. 3 is brass and drum heavy when it needs to be...a plus. 4 has very prominent horns (which CT complains about but I like). Depending on the disc, I'd give 6, 7 or 8 (maybe even a 9 for #3).

Edit: after further sampling the set, I'd say you might find the string balance objectionable at points in some of the symphonies. I think too some might find the brass a bit crude (not me, it's thrilling).

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Here's what I said three years ago (I don't think I've been back to the box since...I have too damn many CDs ):

I don't think I have been, either.  And recently I laid eyes on the Schønwandt box, and realized how long I was due for quality time with that 'un.  (Money well spent in both cases, indeed.)

[Moonfish]

The Bostock set is just 13 dollars, which I presume has to be a minor cost in your (and anybody's) eyes. I like it quite a bit (so far #1-4), but I have still to traverse the rest of the discs. Besides, you get access to some more peripheral pieces (it sounds like that was Karl's motivation  ). In my ears the sound quality (so far) is not top notch, but very good indeed.

Jack Lawson at Musicweb seemed to have enjoyed Bostock quite a bit.

[Mirror Image]

Nothing sounds bad but the quality is inconsistent. 1, for example, sounds a tad muffled. 3 is brass and drum heavy when it needs to be...a plus. 4 has very prominent horns (which CT complains about but I like). Depending on the disc, I'd give 6, 7 or 8 (maybe even a 9 for #3).

Edit: after further sampling the set, I'd say you might find the string balance objectionable at points in some of the symphonies. I think too some might find the brass a bit crude (not me, it's thrilling).

Sarge

Thanks again, Sarge. Sounds like I'll skip the Bostock cycle as I don't really see how he could better Oramo or Schonwandt for me.

[Karl Henning]

The Bostock set is just 13 dollars, which I presume has to be a minor cost in your (and anybody's) eyes. I like it quite a bit (so far #1-4), but I have still to traverse the rest of the discs. Besides, you get access to some more peripheral pieces (it sounds like that was Karl's motivation  ). In my ears the sound quality (so far) is not top notch, but very good indeed.

Jack Lawson at Musicweb seemed to have enjoyed Bostock quite a bit.

Aye, that fairly describes my motivation (I certainly did not anticipate this symphony cycle vying with my favorites.) That said, last night I listened to the First Symphony from this set (which is where I began revisiting Schønwandt's set the other day), and found it perfectly satisfying, musically and sonically. The Sarge's dictum ("Different is good") applies here, meseems.  So my point (insofar as I have one, here) is that even in the symphonies, which in buying this set I did not have in view at all, I have found value.

Which (for me) is all gravy, since the box easily has a disc's worth and more of music I find nowhere else, readily justifying the $13 I paid for it.

[Karl Henning]

No mystery, why I feel such an affinity with this composer! (emphasis mine)

It has been said that Carl Nielsen brooded long over the first movement of the Third Symphony.  Then at last he got the idea for the main subject one day while he was in a tram, and having no music paper he notated the theme on his sleeve.

[Mirror Image]

Has anyone watched the documentary titled The Light and the Darkness that's coupled with Schonwandt's symphony cycle on DVD?

[Mirror Image]

Hello Nielsenites, do check out this website when you have time:

http://www.carlnielsen.org/en

Lots of great information here and details about Nielsen's life and music.

[Camphy]

Hello Nielsenites, do check out this website when you have time:

http://www.carlnielsen.org/en

Lots of great information here and details about Nielsen's life and music.

Thanks for the link!

[Mirror Image]

Thanks for the link!

[Mirror Image]

Hello Nielsenites, do check out this website when you have time:

http://www.carlnielsen.org/en

Lots of great information here and details about Nielsen's life and music.

I read the biography from this site and it's quite good. It shed some light on an aspect of Nielsen I knew nothing about, which were the difficulties of his marriage to Anne Marie Brodersen who pursued her own art just as vigorously as Nielsen did. This caused a lot of friction in their marriage.

[Karl Henning]

On 14 April 1912 the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.  The news shook the world, and the tale of how the ship's small eight-member band played the hymn Nearer my God to Thee as the vessel sank went all around the globe.  The Copenhagen Orchestral Society (Københavns Orkestforening) quickly decided to mount a benefit concert for the families of the drowned musicians, and Nielsen agreed to compose a paraphrase of Nearer my God to Thee and to conduct the concert.  He drew up a short score in pencil with a few indications for the instrumentation, which he then left to Julius Reesen to carry out.  It is evident from the score that it was finished on 18 May.  The concert should have taken place on 21 May in the old railway hall in Copenhagen, which the Falck emergency service had promised to convert for the occasion into a brand new concert hall, but the concert was cancelled because of the sudden death of King Frederick VIII on 14 May.  At first the plan was simply to postpone the concert for about ten days, but afterwards the whole enterprise was shelved until further notice.

Three years later [the] Copenhagen Orchestral Society organized a 'Monster Concert' for the benefit of the society's pension fund.  The concert was held on 22 August 1915 in the park Kongens Have, where a huge wind orchestra of some 200 musicians had been put together for the occasion, conducted by Frederick Schnedler-Petersen and Carl Nielsen respectively.  Among the works on the programme was the paraphrase of Nearer my God to Thee, conducted by the composer.  It is interesting that the piece was presented on this occasion as if it had been specially composed for the concert.  According to contemporary newspaper reports the audience of about 30,000 received the piece with enthusiasm, and the concluding chorale had to be encored.  On 28 August Nielsen wrote to his good friend Bodil Neergaard: "The concert went well and people were grateful for the little I had come up with for the occasion, and that always makes one feel good."

This appears to have been the only performance of the paraphrase during the composer's lifetime.  In fact Nielsen is said not to have been particularly proud of this — strictly speaking — rather banal piece of programme music, and later he was hardly he was hardly willing to acknowledge its paternity.

Nielsen used Lowell Mason's melody from 1852 as the basis of his paraphrase.  But in 1912, besides this melody, there were a further two settings of Sarah F. Adams' text, one by John B. Dykes and one by Sir Arthur Sullivan.  Which tune was actually played on the Titanic quickly became a subject of discussion, and an admonitory article in Nationaltidende on 18 May 1912 points out the importance of Nielsen choosing the right melody, thought by the author to be the one by Dykes.  But as we have seen, by this time the piece was already finished.  The discussion of the melody used continues to this day.

Until the present edition, the original performance material has always been considered to have been lost.  This has led to a number of reconstruction attempts on the basis of Nielsen's short score in pencil.  However, the whole of the original material (namely score and parts in Julius Reesen's own hand) has been preserved, and with this edition the paraphrase is published for the first time in the version that the composer himself conducted in 1915.  The manuscript set of parts has been chosen as the main source over the score, since in connection with the copying-out of the parts Julius Reesen made a large number of changes in the instrumentation, such that in a number of respects the original score does not represent the final version.

The Bostock recording conforms to the Carl Nielsen Edition score, with the following three departures:

The Lowell Mason tune in the Carl Nielsen Edition score, a bit peculiarly, casts the meter in 6/4;  Bostock's performance "flattens" the meter to the customary 4/4.

The score is marked to repeat the Lowell Mason tune, but Bostock does not repeat.

At the end of the repeated passage, the score has two grand fff chords;  these are missing from Bostock's performance.