Sir Arthur Bliss

[Scarpia]

OK I'll let you off then 

Unfortunately the vendor shipped the wrong CD, I have to reorder.

In any case, listened to the Checkmate Suite and Hymn to Apollo again.  Initially I was attracted by the harmonies, but I have starting to appreciate Bliss more for his exquisite melodic invention.  Flowing melodies with lots of large intervals, just what I like.

[vandermolen]

If you missed this first time round on Marco Polo I'd strongly recommend it. One of the best in the Naxos Film Music Classics I think (with Waxman's 'Rebecca', Auric's 'La Belle et La Bete' and Honegger's 'Demon of the Himalayas'). I really enjoyed ever work on the CD, and rate Christopher Columbus Suite very highly - a most enjoyable CD. 'Men of Two Worlds' is a lovely work too.

[Guido]

I'm looking for a CD of the premiere performance of Bliss' cello concerto - it on Intaglio, INCD 7151, published in 1992, but sadly now predictably out of print - does anyone have this?

[tjguitar]

I'm looking for a CD of the premiere performance of Bliss' cello concerto - it on Intaglio, INCD 7151, published in 1992, but sadly now predictably out of print - does anyone have this?

might try the Bliss Society - http://www.arthurbliss.org/

[tjguitar]

This CD came out a few months ago, has anyone picked it up?

[jurajjak]

Don't forget Bliss's major opera, The Olympians. It's a work of boundless energy and invention, very quickly paced all the way through and colorfully orchestrated. Its neglect is truly sad, if not surprising.


andrew

[vandermolen]

This CD came out a few months ago, has anyone picked it up?

Yes, it is a very good CD. The coupling is unique - two of Bliss's finest scores. The best performance of the Blow Meditations is with Hugo Rignold on Lyrita, but this one is still excellent. The Metamorphic Variations was Bliss's last major score - it is a work I have only discovered recently and one to which I return offer. The performance here is as good as the others on Nimbus and BBC Radio Classics and the recording is superior. It is an eloquent, searching and powerful score.

[Mirror Image]

Bliss wrote some good music like Colour Symphony which is severely underrated. Checkmate is another fine work. He's a great composer.

[Sid]

I have not heard a huge amount by this composer, but I do like his Clarinet Quintet. It probably ranks along with the great works for that combination, by Mozart, Weber & Brahms. The clarinet was a favourite instrument of Bliss' brother who was killed in WW1. It is a very poignant work, especially the clarinet solo in the beginning. One thing I find a bit difficult with Bliss is that he was quite eclectic, everything from Romanticism to Impressionism and Modernism (so many isms) went into his music. But he seems to have done it skilfully, even though not all of his music grabs me like the quintet...

[vandermolen]

Bliss wrote some good music like Colour Symphony which is severely underrated. Checkmate is another fine work. He's a great composer.

I agree - also his film score 'Things to Come' and ballets ' Miracle in the Gorbals' and 'Adam Zero'.

[Scarpia]

Checkmate is another fine work.

I find myself often frustrated that there is no record of or way to appreciate the ballets themselves.  I would love to see a film of Bliss's Checkmate, William Schuman's Undertow or Judith.  Only recently has a decent recreation of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps become available. 

[vandermolen]

Bliss's lovely Oboe Quintet is one of my favourite pieces of chamber music (there are several recordings including one on Naxos).

[Mirror Image]

I find myself often frustrated that there is no record of or way to appreciate the ballets themselves.  I would love to see a film of Bliss's Checkmate, William Schuman's Undertow or Judith.  Only recently has a decent recreation of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps become available.

Yet another sign of the declining classical market.

[Guido]

I have not heard a huge amount by this composer, but I do like his Clarinet Quintet. It probably ranks along with the great works for that combination, by Mozart, Weber & Brahms.

Really? Mozart and Brahms?

[vandermolen]

I am greatly enjoying this CD - amazingly still available very cheaply on Amazon UK (Unicorn have long disappeared). Bliss it seems to me is one of those composers who just misses greatness (although perhaps 'Morning Heroes' does achieve this) - but I find myself often returning to his music.

[eyeresist]

I'm looking into Bliss again, thanks chiefly to the rerelease of the Things to Come Suite conducted by Herrmann. I don't think anyone makes as much of this music as him, especially in the Prologue and Epilogue. (I love the vertiginous nausea embodied by the Prologue.) Fine playing and good recording too.

The Groves recording of the Colour Symphony still doesn't do much for me. I think this may partly be due to the old sound - a virtuoso work like this needs a much fresher and more lively recording. I'm thinking of getting the Lloyd-Jones next.

Morning Heroes - tossing up between Groves and Kibblewhite (on Argo). Gramophone says Kibblewhite is more dramatic and has the better choir, but prefers Groves' speaker. My reaction from listening to Amazon samples was exactly opposite to this! (But I agree with their disappointment at Kibblewhite's two-dimensional sound.) Best thing might be to stitch Brian Blessed's speech onto Groves' performance?

[Daverz]

The Groves recording of the Colour Symphony still doesn't do much for me. I think this may partly be due to the old sound - a virtuoso work like this needs a much fresher and more lively recording. I'm thinking of getting the Lloyd-Jones next.

I much prefer Lloyd-Jones to Groves, though I don't think Groves is bad.  I haven't heard Handley or Hickox, though.

[Mirror Image]

I much prefer Lloyd-Jones to Groves, though I don't think Groves is bad.  I haven't heard Handley or Hickox, though.

I own all the recordings of A Colour Symphony --- Lloyd-Jones, Groves, Handley, Hickox, Wordsworth. The best performance I've heard is Handley's with the Ulster Orchestra on Chandos. He seems to reach deeper than any of the other performances I've heard. You can actually feel the shape of work with all of these beautiful intertwining strands which form into a cohesive whole. Handley works wonders with this score.

[eyeresist]

Could you list your versions in order of preference?

[Mirror Image]

Could you list your versions in order of preference?

Sure...

Handley
Hickox
Lloyd-Jones
Wordsworth
Groves