What are you listening 2 now?

[Madiel]

Bridge: String Quartet No.2 (1914-5)
Bartok: String Quartet No.2 (1915-7)

[Traverso]

Bach

[Madiel]

It's midnight. I could go to bed, or I could listen to a Dvorak string quartet.

I haven't listened to number 7 in a good while, and it's really the earliest one worth listening to, so let's fix that.

[hopefullytrusting]

If you can stream, look for

"George Szell Plays and Conducts Mozart"
"Otto Klemperer Mozart Symphonies & Serenades"
"Bruno Walter conducts Mozart & Haydn"

I'll look into each for Symphony 41, thanks.

[pjme]

Godfried Devreese: Tombelene (Choreographic Suite)
Has something of the atmosphere of Stravinsky's 'Firebird'

Tombelène (Tombelaine) has old and mysterious origins. I wasn't able to find out if Devreese wrote himself the libretto for his ballet, but the little island offers plenty of "Celtic" inspiration:

In 709, the legendary Druidic forest of Scissy, which stretched across what is now the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, was engulfed by a devastating tidal wave. Of this ancient forest, only three mounds remain: Mont-Dol, Tombelaine, and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Tombelaine, this small granite islet located 3 km from Mont-Saint-Michel and equidistant from the continent, has long been shrouded in legends and mysteries.

This small island was once called Mont-Bélénus, also known as Mont-Belen. Bélénus was an important figure in the Celtic pantheon. The Gauls considered him a benevolent god, and sanctuaries were dedicated to him. This god of war, light and guide of the dead represents a complex figure, whose attributes are found in the Christian representation of the archangel Michael, who also embodies protection, divine light and the fight against the forces of evil.

Rituals and festivities such as Beltane (celebrated at the beginning of May) were associated with him, marking the beginning of the sowing season. Mont-Belen is often considered a place of worship, where the druids practiced rites and ceremonies in honor of Bélénus. This site could have served as a meeting point for the ancient Gauls and a place of meditation and prayer.

Legends of Tombelaine: The Giant and the Knight Montgomery
The name of Tombelaine would come from a Celtic legend, which tells that a young woman, named Helen was abducted by a giant and buried on this islet. The name of the island would thus be a deformation of "Tombe Hélène".

Another story from the Middle Ages tells that Lord Montgomery regularly met his secret love there: Helen. The story stopped abruptly when he had to go to war alongside William, Duke of Normandy to claim the rights to the crown of England. Unfortunately, she learned that her lover had lost his life during the Battle of Hastings, and she lost her life of grief.

It is possible that, in order to avoid attributing to Tombelaine a common etymology with "Mont-Bélénus", some analysts have proposed a derivation of the name into "Tombuluna" (small tomb) in relation to Mont-Tombe, the old name of Mont-Saint-Michel. However, this hypothesis has been rejected, because Mont-Saint-Michel has a smaller surface area than Tombelaine.

There is also a popular legend that says that the giants Gargantua, Grandgousier and Gargamelle would have shaped certain landscapes of Normandy and Brittany. It is said in these legends that giants, by moving or throwing rocks, would have contributed to the formation of certain reliefs around the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Thus, Grandgousier and Gargamelle would be the legendary founders of the two rocks that form an inseparable couple, like an inseparable couple, like a duo of giants united for eternity.

Source: https://www.parcours-initiatique-mont-saint-michel.fr/2024/10/27/tombelaine/

Devreeses libretto could easily be made into a Prix de Rome cantata, or a Massenet opera for Sybil Sanderson : a Gallic chief intrudes upon a ceremony of female druids on Tobelaine. He is overpowered, brought before the youngest priestess and condemned to death... At the crucial moment hatred is replaced by love (and lust.. ). The druids leave the island and the lovers are left alone for three days and nights.The priestess is driven mad....leads her lover to the sea at dawn and then drinks a poisoned cup...

And here is another almost tragi-comical story about Tombelaine....

https://www.normandythenandnow.com/the-legend-of-the-the-barefoot-marquis-de-tombelaine/

[pjme]

To my surprise I found out that Charles Griffes dance -drama "The kairn of Koridwen" could well be inspired by the same legend.

Griffes based his dance-drama on a folk legend drawn from the collection Les Grandes Legendes de France compiled in 1892 by the French historian and prominent Wagnerian Edouard Schuré.
This subject was suggested to Griffes by the sisters Alice and Irene Lewisohn, Artistic Directors of New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse, who commissioned Griffes to compose music which would reflect every nuance and gesture of the dramatic action.
A summary of the libretto can be read :

https://adminstaff.vassar.edu/jochenette/g-intro.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belenus

[Florestan]

Tombelène (Tombelaine) has old and mysterious origins. I wasn't able to find out if Devreese wrote himself the libretto for his ballet, but the little island offers plenty of "Celtic" inspiration:

In 709, the legendary Druidic forest of Scissy, which stretched across what is now the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, was engulfed by a devastating tidal wave. Of this ancient forest, only three mounds remain: Mont-Dol, Tombelaine, and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Tombelaine, this small granite islet located 3 km from Mont-Saint-Michel and equidistant from the continent, has long been shrouded in legends and mysteries.

This small island was once called Mont-Bélénus, also known as Mont-Belen. Bélénus was an important figure in the Celtic pantheon. The Gauls considered him a benevolent god, and sanctuaries were dedicated to him. This god of war, light and guide of the dead represents a complex figure, whose attributes are found in the Christian representation of the archangel Michael, who also embodies protection, divine light and the fight against the forces of evil.

Rituals and festivities such as Beltane (celebrated at the beginning of May) were associated with him, marking the beginning of the sowing season. Mont-Belen is often considered a place of worship, where the druids practiced rites and ceremonies in honor of Bélénus. This site could have served as a meeting point for the ancient Gauls and a place of meditation and prayer.

Legends of Tombelaine: The Giant and the Knight Montgomery
The name of Tombelaine would come from a Celtic legend, which tells that a young woman, named Helen was abducted by a giant and buried on this islet. The name of the island would thus be a deformation of "Tombe Hélène".

Another story from the Middle Ages tells that Lord Montgomery regularly met his secret love there: Helen. The story stopped abruptly when he had to go to war alongside William, Duke of Normandy to claim the rights to the crown of England. Unfortunately, she learned that her lover had lost his life during the Battle of Hastings, and she lost her life of grief.

It is possible that, in order to avoid attributing to Tombelaine a common etymology with "Mont-Bélénus", some analysts have proposed a derivation of the name into "Tombuluna" (small tomb) in relation to Mont-Tombe, the old name of Mont-Saint-Michel. However, this hypothesis has been rejected, because Mont-Saint-Michel has a smaller surface area than Tombelaine.

There is also a popular legend that says that the giants Gargantua, Grandgousier and Gargamelle would have shaped certain landscapes of Normandy and Brittany. It is said in these legends that giants, by moving or throwing rocks, would have contributed to the formation of certain reliefs around the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Thus, Grandgousier and Gargamelle would be the legendary founders of the two rocks that form an inseparable couple, like an inseparable couple, like a duo of giants united for eternity.

Source: https://www.parcours-initiatique-mont-saint-michel.fr/2024/10/27/tombelaine/

Devreeses libretto could easily be made into a Prix de Rome cantata, or a Massenet opera for Sybil Sanderson : a Gallic chief intrudes upon a ceremony of female druids on Tobelaine. He is overpowered, brought before the youngest priestess and condemned to death... At the crucial moment hatred is replaced by love (and lust.. ). The druids leave the island and the lovers are left alone for three days and nights.The priestess is driven mad....leads her lover to the sea at dawn and then drinks a poisoned cup...

And here is another almost tragi-comical story about Tombelaine....

https://www.normandythenandnow.com/the-legend-of-the-the-barefoot-marquis-de-tombelaine/

Fascinating stuff, Peter, thanks for posting it. One can always count on you for such interesting digressions.

[Linz]

Antonin Dvorak Symphony No.7, op.70, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Václav Neumann 

[Traverso]

Pachelbel

[Florestan]

The cover image looks like count Ory to me, but there's no Rossini on this disc.     

[hopefullytrusting]

I'll look into each for Symphony 41, thanks.

@Daverz

Okay, I have listened to all three, and the only one that I didn't like was the Szell, as I felt it was too slow. I liked the one from Otto more, but, again, I felt it was too slow. I liked the one from Walter the best, but I found it too muscular, but I loved the tempo, so that gave me a good starting point to see HIP performances that match that tempo, and I was able to find a conductor who I like in Symphony 41: Rene Jacobs. (also, love his performance of Mozart's Requiem.)

Sometime today (all Dvorak):

String Quartet 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARhNdgH3rxA

Symphony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT-KNS1QyF8

String Quartet 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm5Q5KjuPWo

String Quartet 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daXdi3mQeiw

[pjme]

Fascinating stuff, Peter, thanks for posting it. One can always count on you for such interesting digressions.

Often a piece of music triggers my curiosity. These byways of history rarely were touched upon during my school days for being too sexy, too cruel, too pagan....

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, 1880 (aka 1878/80) - Ed. Robert Haas, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Karl Richter

[Spotted Horses]

Revisiting Bacewicz Piano Sonata No 2, then the Sonatina, then Three Grotesques.



Magical works on a small scale and Kupiec never seems to disappoint.

[Linz]

Ignace Joseph Pleyel Symphonies, Contemporaries of Mozart, volume 1 CD6, London Mozart Players, Matthias Bamert

[Traverso]

Bach

[Maestro267]

Korngold: Symphony
BBC PO/Downes

[Lisztianwagner]

Carl Nielsen
Symphony No.5
Symphony No.6

Herbert Blomstedt & San Francisco Symphony

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony in D Minor, 1869 Ed. Woess. published by Universal Edition, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink

[Linz]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Serenade in D major "Serenata notturna"K239, Concerto in G major for flute and Orchestra K333, "Posthorn Sernade" in D major K320, Günter Wand The Radio Recordings Vol. 1 CD6, NDR Sinfonieorchester; Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks