Your Top Five Melodists

Started by Florestan, June 23, 2018, 06:18:18 AM

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Florestan

#20
June 23, 2018, 08:55:26 AM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on June 23, 2018, 08:26:39 AM
Satie or Fauré or Saint-Saens....can't make up my mind which French composer I like more.

Chabrier, Lalo, Massenet?  :)

And now that I think of it, Sarasate.
"Beauty must appeal to the senses, must provide us with immediate enjoyment, must impress us or insinuate itself into us without any effort on our part. ." — Claude Debussy

Sergeant Rock

#21
June 23, 2018, 08:59:26 AM
Quote from: Florestan on June 23, 2018, 08:55:26 AM
Chabrier, Lalo, Massenet?  :)

And now that I think of it, Sarasate.

All worthy contenders.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

amw

#22
June 23, 2018, 09:03:15 AM
Quote from: amw on June 23, 2018, 08:21:38 AM
I'd be curious to see what people's favourite melodies are, actually. Sometimes can be a bit hard to define what people exactly mean by that.
like, the first picks that come to my mind would include:

https://youtu.be/QXAv-NGppFw?t=1328
https://youtu.be/QXAv-NGppFw?t=1423
https://youtu.be/6p0I7dTKqeU?t=662
https://youtu.be/FrBU9u6RKio?t=78
https://youtu.be/JlMHjo7Jwhk?t=69
https://youtu.be/-Hl_zkSYVGU?t=23
https://youtu.be/h1T20eu3mMQ?t=119
https://youtu.be/ewJoB90LLDc?t=770
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfrx7YhUNY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_uPCzXldtA
https://youtu.be/mKT5XsmMAts?t=615
https://youtu.be/QVs5EYngDno?t=178

but even just going through these I start to wonder how much I'm responding to other things like harmonic context and timbre that are inseparable from the melodic material itself. And also obviously a lot is based on what repertoire I know best.

San Antone

#23
June 23, 2018, 09:36:55 AM
Quote from: amw on June 23, 2018, 09:03:15 AM
like, the first picks that come to my mind would include:

https://youtu.be/QXAv-NGppFw?t=1328
https://youtu.be/QXAv-NGppFw?t=1423
https://youtu.be/6p0I7dTKqeU?t=662
https://youtu.be/FrBU9u6RKio?t=78
https://youtu.be/JlMHjo7Jwhk?t=69
https://youtu.be/-Hl_zkSYVGU?t=23
https://youtu.be/h1T20eu3mMQ?t=119
https://youtu.be/ewJoB90LLDc?t=770
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfrx7YhUNY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_uPCzXldtA
https://youtu.be/mKT5XsmMAts?t=615
https://youtu.be/QVs5EYngDno?t=178

but even just going through these I start to wonder how much I'm responding to other things like harmonic context and timbre that are inseparable from the melodic material itself. And also obviously a lot is based on what repertoire I know best.

Of those, the Brahms violin sonata and the Poulenc piano concerto are examples I'd choose.  Brahms is a composer known for other things than melody but when I think his works there are always really good melodies.

Ken B

#24
June 23, 2018, 09:41:16 AM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on June 23, 2018, 08:37:06 AM
I had a senior moment for sure  ;D

Sarge

Two of them: you listed Elgar.

;) >:D

Ken B

#25
June 23, 2018, 09:44:43 AM
Schubert
Mozart

Handel


Karl Henning

#26
June 23, 2018, 09:44:55 AM
Quote from: Florestan on June 23, 2018, 07:04:09 AM
Great list, although --- believe me or not --- I have never heard one single note of Glass.  :)

I know our Greg will forgive me this jest: If you've heard one, you've heard 'em all.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Ken B

#27
June 23, 2018, 09:54:25 AM
To help Florestan overcome his appalling lack ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pyyDvKrc58s&t=11s

bwv 1080

#28
June 23, 2018, 10:21:33 AM
Quote from: Ken B on June 23, 2018, 09:54:25 AM
To help Florestan overcome his appalling lack ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pyyDvKrc58s&t=11s

Sorry, like most of Glass, I find that trite and pedantic.  The guy is a hack compared to Riley, Reich or Adams

Brian

#29
June 23, 2018, 10:31:36 AM Last Edit: June 23, 2018, 10:34:08 AM by Brian
Quote from: amw on June 23, 2018, 09:03:15 AM
like, the first picks that come to my mind would include:
On mobile right now, very excited to get to a computer later and find out what all is on this list of links. The first melodies I think of immediately as my favorites are - in the order they appeared in my brain, not necessarily final order -

Schubert quintet D956, That tune in the first movement
L'embarquement pour Cythère
The Moldau
J Strauss - Roses from the South, the theme which begins the intro and returns mid-waltzing
The B theme from first movement of Tchaikovsky's Suite No 3, and the love theme from his Hamlet, and the I don't know what it's called but the gorgeous slow Adagio from Sleeping Beauty
Shostakovich fugue theme in A major, Op 87 No 7

Dvorak category: Symphony No 4, the scherzo and trio; Quintet Op 77, B theme in the scherzo; opening of Quintet Op 81; more or less the entire Dumky Trio

Amw, not sure what insight you will get from my list but I see a pattern of melodies which are in major keys but still communicate sadness or a sense of loss.

Oh, an outlier: the Love of Three Oranges march!

SymphonicAddict

#30
June 23, 2018, 12:58:01 PM Last Edit: June 23, 2018, 12:59:41 PM by SymphonicAddict
Tons and tons of unforgettable melodies from these awesome composers:

Tchaikovsky
Dvorák
Saint-Saëns
Atterberg
Raff

Bonus: Braga Santos

Christo

#31
June 23, 2018, 01:01:52 PM
Vaughan Williams
Braga Santos
Tchaikovsky
Dvořák
Saint-Saëns
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Sergeant Rock

#32
June 23, 2018, 01:09:53 PM
Quote from: Ken B on June 23, 2018, 09:41:16 AM
Two of them: you listed Elgar.

;) >:D

;D :D ;D  ...great comment...and I forgive you  ;)

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Sammy

#33
June 23, 2018, 01:17:37 PM
Can someone point me to an unforgettable melody by Raff?

Karl Henning

#34
June 23, 2018, 01:54:40 PM
Quote from: Sammy on June 23, 2018, 01:17:37 PM
Can someone point me to an unforgettable melody by Raff?

I cannot forget what I have never heard  0:)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Christo

#35
June 23, 2018, 11:53:50 PM
Another five:
Malcolm Arnold
Samuel Barber
Zoltán Kodály
Ottorino Respighi
Joaquín Rodrigo


... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Florestan

#36
June 24, 2018, 12:40:09 AM
A general consensus seems to emerge around Mozart, Schubert, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky.  :)
"Beauty must appeal to the senses, must provide us with immediate enjoyment, must impress us or insinuate itself into us without any effort on our part. ." — Claude Debussy

amw

#37
June 24, 2018, 02:59:39 AM
Quote from: Brian on June 23, 2018, 10:31:36 AM
On mobile right now, very excited to get to a computer later and find out what all is on this list of links. The first melodies I think of immediately as my favorites are - in the order they appeared in my brain, not necessarily final order -

Schubert quintet D956, That tune in the first movement
L'embarquement pour Cythère
The Moldau
J Strauss - Roses from the South, the theme which begins the intro and returns mid-waltzing
The B theme from first movement of Tchaikovsky's Suite No 3, and the love theme from his Hamlet, and the I don't know what it's called but the gorgeous slow Adagio from Sleeping Beauty
Shostakovich fugue theme in A major, Op 87 No 7

Dvorak category: Symphony No 4, the scherzo and trio; Quintet Op 77, B theme in the scherzo; opening of Quintet Op 81; more or less the entire Dumky Trio

Amw, not sure what insight you will get from my list but I see a pattern of melodies which are in major keys but still communicate sadness or a sense of loss.
I think we all have different things we look for. Most of my choices seem to be in triple time (3/4, or 3/8, or 6/8 or 6/4 etc). That said we also seem to agree on the Schubert and Tchaikovsky choices....

Quote from: San Antone on June 23, 2018, 09:36:55 AM
Of those, the Brahms violin sonata and the Poulenc piano concerto are examples I'd choose.  Brahms is a composer known for other things than melody but when I think his works there are always really good melodies.
Honestly Brahms should be on my list in general. He could write a tune when he put his mind to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74III4mmds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt3leotWcw8
https://youtu.be/r6fnrHigxRE?t=1015
https://youtu.be/rwM5jYT-64s?t=55
https://youtu.be/w_-fIWfrlvo?t=908

ritter

#38
June 24, 2018, 03:59:52 AM
Bellini! Bellini!

Sergeant Rock

#39
June 24, 2018, 05:17:46 AM
Quote from: amw on June 23, 2018, 08:21:38 AM
I'd be curious to see what people's favourite melodies are, actually.

Some of my favorites from the "five" composers I listed in my original post:

Mahler the Almschi theme from the Finale of Symphony No.10 https://youtu.be/p0D_ByNajKg?t=4186
Mahler Andante from Symphony No.6 https://youtu.be/E7y0_Z3uXts?t=2125
Tchaikovsky Pas de deux from the Nutcracker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5USHu6D6U
Tchaikovsky Swan theme from Swan Lake https://youtu.be/9cNQFB0TDfY?t=4
Elgar "Sabbath Morning at Sea" from Sea Pictures https://youtu.be/GauIMo8Manc?t=580
Vaughan Williams Fantasia from Symphony No.8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlZuR_KQa2g
Fauré Pavane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD2SOMlKf4w
Fauré Sicilienne from Pelleas et Melisande https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ucDjeG_XM
Saint-Saens the simple, hymn-like main theme from the last movement of the Piano Concerto No.4 https://youtu.be/gjUuri84-jk?t=1248
Satie Gnossienne No.4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgsnRLPIUD0
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"
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