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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