Sorabji's Sandcastle

[mikkeljs]

Great news! You will also have the honour of becoming one of the (probably less than) 100 people in the world who play Sorabji

exactly! No one has ever played the 5th sonata. I just hope I can get permission to do it.

[mikkeljs]

now I have studied almost one line of the 5th sonata!  Then I just have around 1400 more lines left...

[greg]

Lol, I think you might want to take this slowly. You do realize that you're playing some of the very hardest (if not the hardeset) piano works in the history of mankind, right?
hmmm it looks like it's never been publicly performed, as you say:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kaikhosru_Sorabji#Works_for_solo_piano_2

unless there was an unknown performance in somebody's basement or something 

[mikkeljs]

Lol, I think you might want to take this slowly. You do realize that you're playing some of the very hardest (if not the hardeset) piano works in the history of mankind, right?
hmmm it looks like it's never been publicly performed, as you say:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kaikhosru_Sorabji#Works_for_solo_piano_2

unless there was an unknown performance in somebody's basement or something 

Yeah, I know it is definately one of the hardest pieces to play. I have planned to study the movements and record them one by one, since I will never get in a condition to play the entire piece 100% perfectly at once. But I can probably play every single movement perfect, it´s just a matter of time and work.

It is actually a very beautyful piece! 3rd mvt has some similarities with Ravels Gaspard and 2nd mvt is entirely octaves in 32th-notes non-stop. 

[Lethevich]

It's great that you are able to do this. The folks at: http://www.sorabji-archive.co.uk/forum/index.php might be interested in any recorded movements and could probably offer advice on details of the music.

[mikkeljs]

I ordered the scores from the Sorabji-Archive and found out, that the person who administrates it knew Sorabji personally and is a composer himself. He even dedicated a sonata to a pianist professor, who I have got a lesson from, so it seems like a small world.  

[greg]

A small world when you're using the internet. 

[mikkeljs]

I wonder what Archimagicum means. I just googled it, but with no result. The only thing that comes up it Sorabjis piece. I found also a bit sad news for me. Someone have decided to release a recording next year with the sonata. I would wish that I could be the first ever to perform it, but now it seems not so realistic.    I hope that the pianist (don´t know his name) will change his mind, or else I will try to do it better than him.  
Does anyone knows what Archimagicum means?

There was also a long forword to the piece, but since it was a copy of the manuscript, it was so messy that I couldn´t even read a single word of it!   And there seem to be no tempo marking.

[Lethevich]

Arch in Latin is roughly equivelent to "first/top" I think, and from Googling magicum, it does indeed seem to mean "magic". But even then, the term doesn't seem to make much sense...

[Cato]

I wonder what Archimagicum means. I just googled it, but with no result. The only thing that comes up it Sorabjis piece. I found also a bit sad news for me. Someone have decided to release a recording next year with the sonata. I would wish that I could be the first ever to perform it, but now it seems not so realistic.    I hope that the pianist (don´t know his name) will change his mind, or else I will try to do it better than him.  
Does anyone knows what Archimagicum means?

There was also a long forword to the piece, but since it was a copy of the manuscript, it was so messy that I couldn´t even read a single word of it!   And there seem to be no tempo marking.

Well, the "i" is interesting.

Arch- would be from Greek for "old" or "ancient."

With the "i" the derivation would more likely be from the Greek word for "lead" as in architect, "lead builder."

"Magicum" is Latin - neuter gender - for magical, but could be used as the noun for magic.

So, you have either "Ancient Magic" or "Leading Magic" or both!  

[Josquin des Prez]

I wonder if Sorabji knew just how pretentious many of his works were.

[mikkeljs]

Ahh, I start to see a clear referrence to the music then! I have just scimmed it through, and parts of it, especially the last mvt, which has the title Archimagos reminded me of Messiaens God thema and the parallel motioned stepwise polyphony somehow sounds like a big organ in a cathedral!

[Lethevich]

Nice one, Cato

I wonder if Sorabji knew just how pretentious many of his works were.

Of course he must've - I thought that was rather the point when composing 5 hour long musical pieces However, pretension is not the first thing I get from listening to them, but self-indlugence is. It's a fine line, of course. Fortunately he carries it off quite well, and was no doubt aware that he would always be a niche figure due to these qualities in his music...

[mikkeljs]

Nice one, Cato

Of course he must've - I thought that was rather the point when composing 5 hour long musical pieces However, pretension is not the first thing I get from listening to them, but self-indlugence is. It's a fine line, of course. Fortunately he carries it off quite well, and was no doubt aware that he would always be a niche figure due to these qualities in his music...

What if a dusin of other composers wrote such long pieces too? Then it would seem like just a normal thing in contemporary music like miniatures or something as common as atonal daily food...

[greg]

I wonder what Archimagicum means. I just googled it, but with no result. The only thing that comes up it Sorabjis piece. I found also a bit sad news for me. Someone have decided to release a recording next year with the sonata. I would wish that I could be the first ever to perform it, but now it seems not so realistic.    I hope that the pianist (don´t know his name) will change his mind, or else I will try to do it better than him.  
Does anyone knows what Archimagicum means?

There was also a long forword to the piece, but since it was a copy of the manuscript, it was so messy that I couldn´t even read a single word of it!   And there seem to be no tempo marking.

Hey, even if you're the second, that's not too bad. If you recorded it, there would only be two recordings, after all (and it's not guaranteed that everyone will like the other guy's recording better than yours.) Definitely give it a shot, either way.

[Josquin des Prez]

What if a dusin of other composers wrote such long pieces too? Then it would seem like just a normal thing in contemporary music like miniatures or something as common as atonal daily food...

There's nothing normal about contemporary music. I mean, isn't that the point?

[Lethevich]

Maybe a bit tangential, but when I listen to those long works - while they do ramble a little and can hardly be listened to in the same way that Beethoven's sonatas can be, they never resort to minimalism or other similar trance-like (i.e. cop-out ) structures to extend them. It's all meat rather than lots of gruel. Nor is it always notes for the sake of notes either, as the fugues, nocturnal moments, and everything else are all filled with the spark of a truly restless, fertile mind. I'll agree that it's far from perfect - by its nature cannot be, but it can be so good if it's a style that appeals to the listener.

[mikkeljs]

There's nothing normal about contemporary music. I mean, isn't that the point?

I meant normal in the sence of anti-unnormal.

Hey, even if you're the second, that's not too bad. If you recorded it, there would only be two recordings, after all (and it's not guaranteed that everyone will like the other guy's recording better than yours.) Definitely give it a shot, either way.

thanks for the optimism!  I just felt in love with that piece.

[Valentin]

Possibly this link has been flagged up elsewhere previously but I thought I'd mention it here as it's pertinent to anyone interested in Sorabji's music. It's a streaming two part radio program from 1973 featuring an essay by Sorabji scholar Erik Chisholm and featuring rare recordings of works played by Sorabji himself; courtesy of Internet Archive...

http://www.archive.org/details/AM_1973_11_08

[springrite]

I should find some Sorabji recordings. What little I have heard have been promising. But here in China, unless Sir Richardo Clyderman plays them, good luck finding anything!