Quiz: Mystery scores

[(poco) Sforzando]

Gavin Bryars... aah I see that Sfz beat me too it.

That's why they call me Sfz.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I am glad of this further information;  for one thing, it means that I really have never known 

Me neither.

[Guido]

Jesus's Blood Never Failed Me Yet

[Guido]

What on earth is the manuscript though Luke - surely Bryars does not write his music that badly?

[lukeottevanger]

Yes - that's the one! Which is why I've been on about 'repetition' and 'failing' 'again and again'...... The police called to a Canadian radio station? Apparently, on an occasion that the piece was being played on Winnipeg radio, at least one member of the public assumed that there was a hostage situation at the station, with the music being played as a distress call. Cue police raid... 

I'm surprised too - except that this is his quickly sketched-out harmonic skeleton, and I don't think he was that bothered by rhythmic accuracy. But no, it doesn't match up well at all. This is an early score, too, when he was still more a jazz player and a 'conceptual' composer than the more 'traditional' figure he is now - presumably his attitude to notation at this point was not the same as a 'classical' composer's, being freer and more 'expressive' than precise. Certainly his scores since then are perfectly correctly written, as far as I've seen them.

[Guido]

Yes! Which is why I've been on about 'repetition' and 'failing' 'again and again'...... The police called to a Canadian radio station? Apparently, on an occasion that the piece was being played on Winnipeg radio, at least one member of the public assumed that there was a hostage situation at the station, with the music being played as a distress call. Cue police raid... 

Lol!

[lukeottevanger]

Me neither.

You and Karl ought to hear it, then, at least once. It's a love-it-or-hate-it piece, mind you....

[karlhenning]

Oh, without fail, Luke 

And . . . YHM

[Guido]

http://www.last.fm/music/Gavin+Bryars/_/Jesus%27+Blood+Never+Failed+Me+Yet?autostart

Hear it for free. I'm going to make a private prediction that one of you will love it, and one will hate it.

[lukeottevanger]

No bet. I'd make the same prediction!

[(poco) Sforzando]

I haven't heard it (or even heard of it), and I hate it already.

[lukeottevanger]

  Always best to be suspicious, you're right!

[Guido]

I haven't heard it (or even heard of it), and I hate it already.

Now, now, I didn't say who would like it and who wouldn't... I'm surprised you haven't heard of it - it must rank as one of the most famous contemporary classical works (though it's now over 35 years old of course!).

[Maciek]

Dammit, I knew that was the wrong door! I come in here once every couple of months (last time was late July) and what do I find? Talk of Nabokov?! Eek! Let me out of here!

(BTW, is 375 perhaps by Nicolas?)

(BTW no. 2, somehow Michel Dansel's idea seems unappealing; for one thing, it's too similar to Fet's poetic efforts from more than a hundred years ago - for some reason, Fet had no eminent followers in that department... )

(BTW no. 3, Guido, I'm under the impression your list is a little constraint-centered, not to mention French-centered; how about starting out with more Nabokov, and a bit of Pynchon, Barth or Barthelme instead? I wouldn't want to de-Perec you, but...)

[Guido]

(BTW no. 3, Guido, I'm under the impression your list is a little constraint-centered, not to mention French-centered; how about starting out with more Nabokov, and a bit of Pynchon, Barth or Barthelme instead? I wouldn't want to de-Perec you, but...)

They all just sounded so fascinating. In reality I won't really be able to to focus on reading anything seriously than until next summer - but I would love to hear your recommendations.

[Maciek]

If you don't have much time, Barthelme and Borges would be perfect - their short stories are really short. And brilliant!

Nabokov has written some shorter novels. Despair and The Real Life of Sebastian Knight are real jewels, and yet each less than 200 pages long. And Transparent Things is even shorter, though perhaps a bit too dense for a quick, leisurely read...

I forgot to mention in the previous list my favorite post World War II French writer: Alain Robbe-Grillet!

[lukeottevanger]

(BTW, is 375 perhaps by Nicolas?)

Hidden in a BTW, too! Yes, 375 is by Nabokov's brother Nikolai (usually described as his brother - e.g. here - but some websites - here, or here - seem pretty assured that they were cousins, though.  )

I don't think you need to guess the work - this is from his Piano Sonata

[Maciek]

Oh, I can assure you 100% they were cousins, not brothers. VN had two brothers, Sergey and Kirill. Sergey (born less than a year after Vladimir) was actually a pretty good musician and loved music very much (he went to all the Diaghilev premieres in Paris), and according to at least some reports, he was generally as brilliant as the writer (and a bit more genial). VN's uncle "Ruka" had some musical talents too. Ruka died when Vladimir was still a boy (bequeathing on his nephew an enormous estate which was soon to be taken over by the Bolsheviks). Sergey perished in Neuengamme.

While in America, Nicolas and Vladimir were often confused - even by the FBI or CIA or some other organization of that sort.

Oh, dear. Did I just enter into lecturing mode?

But tell me one thing, I'm extremely interested: how is that Piano Sonata, generally? Do you have any other Nabokov scores?

[karlhenning]

. . . Oh, dear. Did I just enter into lecturing mode?

Not a bit of it, mon cher; you were being informative.

[Maciek]

Oops, just noticed that most of the stuff I mentioned is described in one of the articles Luke linked to - which, incidentally, is to a great extent copied and pasted (OK, maybe reworded) from several items which appeared in the British press some years ago (May 2000, to be exact). Well, Lev Grossman (the guy who started the "scandal") is acknowledged parenthetically, but to me that doesn't seem enough - I would expect a proper citation, there's a mass of other people's research incorporated into this lady's text. But, of course, she added a (c) sign at the very bottom. Some people have got nerve! (OK, OK, perhaps I'm overreacting...)

(And the motto of her blog is a quotation from Nabokov too - unattributed, of course )

Not a bit of it, mon cher; you were being informative.

Thank you, Karl.