As an antidote to the "10 favorite dark works" poll, I offer you to name 10 pieces which exude the pure, unadultered, affirmative joy of living! Mine would be:
Alfvén: Symphony no. 3
Anderson, Leroy: Piano Concerto in C major
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 4
Brahms: Serenade no. 1
Dubois: Quintette for oboe, violin, viola, cello, and piano
Dvořák: Symphony no. 8
Martinů: Symphony no. 1
Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 17
Poulenc: Cello Sonata
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto no. 1
Obviously, it was quite difficult to leave out composers like Haydn and Mendelssohn. It's also worth noting that, in contrast to their ebullient outer movements, the slow movements of the Braga Santos, Martinů, and Saint-Saëns works I listed are quite dark.
Right now, I can't even think of a list, Kyle. :D I guess I'm still in the abyssal zone while you've obviously been swimming in the sunlight zone much more than I have lately. ;D
Quote from: Mirror Image on August 24, 2021, 07:29:18 PM
Right now, I can't even think of a list, Kyle. :D I guess I'm still in the abyssal zone while you've obviously been swimming in the sunlight zone much more than I have lately. ;D
Judging by your new Penderecki avatar, I guessed as such! :D
Quote from: kyjo on August 24, 2021, 07:30:21 PM
Judging by your new Penderecki avatar, I guessed as such! :D
Indeed. :P
I have many works in mind, but for now I put these:
Janacek: Sinfonietta
Chávez: Sinfonía India
Ibert: Divertissement
Bantock: A Celtic Symphony
Poulenc, Milhaud, Honegger, Tailleferre, Auric: Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
Tubin: Sinfonietta on Estonian motifs
Roussel: Suite in F
Glazunov: The Seasons
Mendelssohn: String Octet
Wild card:
Langgaard: Symphony No. 11 Ixion
Okay...I think I'm ready. :) In no particular order:
Debussy: Suite bergamasque
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28, TrV 171
Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D
Walton: Portsmouth Point Overture
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Milhaud: La Création du monde, Op. 81a
Martinů: Sonatina for Two Violins and Piano, H. 198
Stravinsky: Pulcinella
Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, "American"
I rarely listen to joyful works but these came to mind:
Martinu: Symphony No.4
Walter Leigh: Harpsichord Concerto
Vaughan Williams: English Folksong Suite
Holst: Suite No.1 for Wind Band
Honegger: Symphony No.4 'Delights of Basel'
Frank Bridge: Enter Spring
Bantock: Celtic Symphony
Moeran: Overture for a Masque
Alwyn: Overture - Derby Day
Glazunov: The Seasons
+1 for John's suggestion of Walton's 'Portsmouth Point'
Quote from: vandermolen on August 24, 2021, 11:15:20 PM
I rarely listen to joyful works but these came to mind:
Martinu: Symphony No.4
Walter Leigh: Harpsichord Concerto
Vaughan Williams: English Folksong Suite
Holst: Suite No.1 for Wind Band
Honegger: Symphony No.4 'Delights of Basel'
Frank Bridge: Enter Spring
Bantock: Celtic Symphony
Moeran: Overture for a Masque
Alwyn: Overture - Derby Day
Glazunov: The Seasons
+1 for John's suggestion of Walton's 'Portsmouth Point'
I like your comment here about rarely listening to joyful works as I'm the same way. I rarely go out of my way to listen to something joyful, but when I do I can rarely find one! Quite the conundrum! :) Btw, I knew you'd like my Walton pick. ;)
Great idea, Kyle! I've been thinking about it myself but you beat me to it. :D
It's very difficult to limit myself to just 10, but I'll try to do it on an otomh, one-work-per-composer, no-particular-order basis.
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Dvorak - Serenade for Strings Op. 22
Schubert - Trout Quintet
Chopin - Barcarolle
Haydn - Symphony No. 88
Beethoven - Septet
Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony
Boccherini - Fandango Quintet
Wolf-Ferrari - Idilio Concertino for Oboe and String Orchestra
Grieg - Wedding Day at Trolhaugen
Castellanos: Santa Cruz de Pacairigua
Chabrier: España
Debussy: L'isle joyeuse - hello?? Obvious choice but I'm the first one to think of it?!?! 8)
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
Ibert: Divertissement
Janáček: Sinfonietta
Massenet: Suite No. 4, "Scènes pittoresques"
Mignone: Maracatu de Chico Rei
Rossini/Respighi: La boutique fantasque
Roussel: the bacchanalia and coronation from Bacchus et Ariane
BONUS ROUND: the 3 most joyful major composers of all time
Dvořák: String Quintet Op. 97
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
Dvořák: Te Deum
Haydn: Symphony No. 82
Haydn: Symphony No. 98
Haydn: Symphony No. 103
Tchaikovsky: Concert Fantasia
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 2
EXTRA BONUS: most sarcastically joyous piece??
Hindemith: The Flying Dutchman Overture As Played By Sight-Reading By a Second-Rate Spa Orchestra at the Village Well at Seven in the Morning
I admire the collective ability to keep it down to 10 8)
Quote from: Mirror Image on August 25, 2021, 05:54:17 AM
I like your comment here about rarely listening to joyful works as I'm the same way. I rarely go out of my way to listen to something joyful, but when I do I can rarely find one! Quite the conundrum! :) Btw, I knew you'd like my Walton pick. ;)
Yes John - 'Portsmouth Point' was a truly inspired choice.
Yes, also, I much prefer works which express a sense of doom-laden catastrophe, which is probably why I rarely listen to Dvorak (great composer though he was - I love the final moments of his Cello Concerto). Hopeless defiance is something which always appeals to me (the ending of Stanley Bate's 4th Symphony comes to mind as does the ending of Gliere's 'Ilya Murometz' Symphony).
Quote from: Brian on August 25, 2021, 09:30:04 AM
Chabrier: España
Debussy: L'isle joyeuse - hello?? Obvious choice but I'm the first one to think of it?!?! 8)
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
Massenet: Suite No. 4, "Scènes pittoresques"
Rossini/Respighi: La boutique fantasque
Yessssss!
Quotethe 3 most joyful major composers of all time
Dvořák: String Quintet Op. 97
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
Dvořák: Te Deum
Haydn: Symphony No. 82
Haydn: Symphony No. 98
Haydn: Symphony No. 103
Tchaikovsky: Concert Fantasia
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 2
Hard to disagree, but then again no such list would be complete without at least Vivaldi, Schubert and Saint-Saens offering strong competition. Heck, Milhaud and Francaix as well. And that's just the beginning of my quibble... :D
Quote from: vandermolen on August 25, 2021, 09:40:49 AM
I much prefer works which express a sense of doom-laden catastrophe
You don't need any music for that. Just watch the news and you'll be satisfied aplenty. ;D
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 25, 2021, 09:31:49 AM
I admire the collective ability to keep it down to 10 8)
I, for one, try to restrain myself as much as possible... ;)
Quote from: vandermolen on August 24, 2021, 11:15:20 PM
I rarely listen to joyful works but these came to mind:...
Quote from: vandermolen on August 25, 2021, 09:40:49 AM
Yes John - 'Portsmouth Point' was a truly inspired choice.
Yes, also, I much prefer works which express a sense of doom-laden catastrophe, which is probably why I rarely listen to Dvorak (great composer though he was - I love the final moments of his Cello Concerto). Hopeless defiance is something which always appeals to me (the ending of Stanley Bate's 4th Symphony comes to mind as does the ending of Gliere's 'Ilya Murometz' Symphony).
Jeffrey,
How come? :(
PD
Quote from: Florestan on August 25, 2021, 10:11:00 AM
You don't need any music for that. Just watch the news and you'll be satisfied aplenty. ;D
Agreed!
Quote from: Florestan on August 25, 2021, 10:04:07 AM
Yessssss!
If you haven't heard this piece:
Quote from: Brian on August 25, 2021, 09:30:04 AM
Mignone: Maracatu de Chico Rei
Run to the store/streaming service immediately! It's like if Respighi's Pines of Rome had a choir singing nonsense verse and also all of the music was samba dancing. Irresistible.
Quote from: Brian on August 25, 2021, 10:19:09 AM
If you haven't heard this piece:Run to the store/streaming service immediately! It's like if Respighi's Pines of Rome had a choir singing nonsense verse and also all of the music was samba dancing. Irresistible.
Did a quick sampling on YT and it's indeed something else. Right up my alley, thanks a lot - will give a proper listening very soon.
What other Mignone works should I try? I think I have his piano concertos but never listened to them.
TD: anything by the greater or lesser dance music composers, such as the Strausses in Vienna or Emile Waldteufel in Paris is ""pure, unadulterated joy".
Quote from: vandermolen on August 25, 2021, 09:40:49 AM
Yes John - 'Portsmouth Point' was a truly inspired choice.
Yes, also, I much prefer works which express a sense of doom-laden catastrophe, which is probably why I rarely listen to Dvorak (great composer though he was - I love the final moments of his Cello Concerto). Hopeless defiance is something which always appeals to me (the ending of Stanley Bate's 4th Symphony comes to mind as does the ending of Gliere's 'Ilya Murometz' Symphony).
Sometimes I just like to wallow in the bleakest, most blackest music I can and see if I can find beauty within and, depending on the composer, often times I can like Penderecki or even our old pal Pettersson. I find that something that is joyous is the toughest emotion to pull off convincingly, which is why when I hear a composer like Shostakovich express some kind of joy, I raise my eyebrow. It just somehow doesn't feel right to me. :)
A challenge to stop at 22, really (even at one to a composer) ...
22. Monteverdi Toccata from L'Orfeo
https://www.youtube.com/v/mjpFi9bn1do
21. D. Scarlatti, Sonata in D, K. 492
https://www.youtube.com/v/CJuVa5_ScfE
20. Berlioz Apothéose from Op. 15
https://www.youtube.com/v/_1B6TC3f6n0
19. Albéniz Rondeña
https://www.youtube.com/v/iceURwOrzAc
18. Mendelssohn Allegro from the D Major String Symphony
https://www.youtube.com/v/LMUKiG_VI0M
17. Messiaen, Louange à l'Immortalité de Jésus
https://www.youtube.com/v/iGu8MwPObyw
16. Bartók. Fifth Quartet Scherzo
https://www.youtube.com/v/LQ-h4fILm8Q
15. Billings/Schuman, Be Glad Then, America
https://www.youtube.com/v/xiu3Ak0KlUw
14. Schoenberg, March from the Serenade, Op. 24
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZBn8vpKiORE
13. Hindemith, Konzertmusik, Op. 50, Part I
https://www.youtube.com/v/bKKjmwQc_NY
12. Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers
https://www.youtube.com/v/YPw3efunBXw
11. Stravinsky, Finale of the Firebird
https://www.youtube.com/v/mJ7YrmCNtZ4
10. Shostakovich Prelude & Fugue in D from the Op. 87
https://www.youtube.com/v/f6XB5iuLws
9. LvB Finale of the Op. 68
https://www.youtube.com/v/Oh5GkQOATCw
8. "Wolferl" Menuetto from the K. 543
https://www.youtube.com/v/1MYMrUd7r2U
7. Handel Hornpipe from the F Major Water Music Suite
https://www.youtube.com/v/MfTMr7YQNyk
6. Chopin Prelude in G from the Op. 28
https://www.youtube.com/v/vpakgTxe9Zc
5. Bach Prelude from the E Major Violin Partita
https://www.youtube.com/v/QyRBAvmUHcg
4. Bortnyansky Glory to God in the Highest
https://www.youtube.com/v/nrvA6PMBv2A
3. Prokofiev Precipitato from the Seventh Piano Sonata, Op. 83
https://www.youtube.com/v/5rfle8wSwJM
2. Mennin Canzona
https://www.youtube.com/v/jictlsGlEks
1. "Papa" Presto from the Eb Quartet, Op. 33 № 2
https://www.youtube.com/v/LDkWBzH6dkE
Bonus: Birthday Boy Lenny. On the Town, Times Square 1944
https://www.youtube.com/v/G7UlCYj0El0
I suppose I earn the designation of post to elicit the least interest in the thread.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 26, 2021, 09:36:56 AM
I suppose I earn the designation of post to elicit the least interest in the thread.
Well, when I saw it last night, I thought "shoot, I ought to plan a whole day of listening around this post."
Quote from: Brian on August 26, 2021, 11:27:40 AM
Well, when I saw it last night, I thought "shoot, I ought to plan a whole day of listening around this post."
Hah! :)
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 26, 2021, 09:36:56 AM
I suppose I earn the designation of post to elicit the least interest in the thread.
Well you didn't have any Pettersson on your list, and you know that he is the most joyful composer that ever lived. His music is like painting rainbows and unicorns.
Quote from: DavidW on August 26, 2021, 02:49:16 PM
Well you didn't have any Pettersson on your list, and you know that he is the most joyful composer that ever lived. His music is like painting rainbows and unicorns.
Balloons! You forgot the balloons!
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3
How could anyone forget this beauty?
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 28, 2021, 07:43:22 PM
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3
How could anyone forget this beauty?
I couldn't! An amazing work. The third movement,
Allegretto un poco, always reminded me of Janáček. Also, if that finale doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will!
Quote from: Mirror Image on August 28, 2021, 08:34:52 PM
I couldn't! An amazing work. The third movement, Allegretto un poco, always reminded me of Janáček. Also, if that finale doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will!
I see your point about the Janacek connection. Nobody can resist its charms.
Ravel: 'Mother Goose Suite' which I just heard on the radio. I should have included it in my original list.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 26, 2021, 09:36:56 AM
I suppose I earn the designation of post to elicit the least interest in the thread.
GREAT CHOICES ALL!!! I often praise the old Readers Digest box sets - some great programming angenuinely fine performances. They did a whole series of 3-disc "Mood" boxes - Calm/Mystery/Tranquil/Dreams etc. One was "Jubilation" and it includes some crackers
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/60cAAOSwnHZYjYcX/s-l1600.jpg)
Quote from: Roasted Swan on September 09, 2021, 06:51:19 AM
GREAT CHOICES ALL!!! I often praise the old Readers Digest box sets - some great programming angenuinely fine performances. They did a whole series of 3-disc "Mood" boxes - Calm/Mystery/Tranquil/Dreams etc. One was "Jubilation" and it includes some crackers
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/60cAAOSwnHZYjYcX/s-l1600.jpg)
Thanks!
Being quite sincere and honest, I don't think any composer could beat Dvorak as the king of joyful and tuneful composers. That combination is not to be found in the musical history that often. Maybe on par with Haydn, I'd say. His life wasn't that tragic (Dvorak), and that does resemble the music. It's a mix of them, along with truly sense of rusticism, depth and Slavonic longing, mastery and ease to create perfect melodies that make the ear fall in love with it.
One of the greatest examples ever of a joyful work (in my book): Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. :)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 09, 2021, 04:27:25 PM
Being quite sincere and honest, I don't think any composer could beat Dvorak as the king of joyful and tuneful composers. That combination is not to be found in the musical history that often. Maybe on par with Haydn, I'd say.
Here's my quite sincere and honest reply.
If you mean composers whose music is
mostly cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful (with numerous but occasional, temporary, brief outbursts of melancholy, anger or despair), the list is very long. Otomh and in no particular order, Vivaldi, Cimarosa, D. Scarlatti, Boccherini, Mozart, Myslivecek, Krommer, Dittersdorf, Kozeluch, Pleyel, Rossini, Paganini, Hummel, Weber, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, Henri Herz, Sigismond Thalberg, Liszt in his virtuoso-pre-Weimar-years, Saint-Saens, Lalo, Gouvy, the Lachner bros, Onslow, Raff, Julius Roentgen, Glazunov, Grieg, Svendsen, Halvorsen, Bortkiewicz, Milhaud, Jean Francaix, Poulenc, Gershwin, Granados, Turina, Rodrigo, Albeniz, Scott Joplin, Ernesto Nazareth, Pablo de Sarasate etc etc etc --- I'm sure the list could be expanded forever and ever, with a particular nod to Classicism, imho THE most cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful era in the whole history of "classical" music.
If you mean
composers who never ever in their whole life wrote a single sad, dark, bleak and depressing work, I'm sorry to say that Haydn and Dvorak are not among them --- exhibit A: Stabat Mater (both), Requiem (Dvorak), The Seven Last Words of Christ (Haydn). Yet, there are many composers who never ever in their whole life wrote a single sad, dark, bleak and depressing work; otomh and in no particular order: the Strauss family, Joseph Lanner, Jacques Offenbach, Juventino Rosas, Emile Waldteufel, Franz Lehar, Imre Kalman, Gilbert & Sullivan etc etc etc.
Now, why here on GMG composers of exclusively cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful music are generally held in much less esteem, and are much less commented upon, than composers of exclusively sad, dark, bleak and depressing music is another, albeit related, discussion.
Quote from: Florestan on September 11, 2021, 11:43:08 AM
Here's my quite sincere and honest reply.
If you mean composers whose music is mostly cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful (with numerous but occasional, temporary, brief outbursts of melancholy, anger or despair), the list is very long. Otomh and in no particular order, Vivaldi, Cimarosa, D. Scarlatti, Boccherini, Mozart, Myslivecek, Krommer, Dittersdorf, Kozeluch, Pleyel, Rossini, Paganini, Hummel, Weber, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, Henri Herz, Sigismond Thalberg, Liszt in his virtuoso-pre-Weimar-years, Saint-Saens, Lalo, Gouvy, the Lachner bros, Onslow, Raff, Julius Roentgen, Glazunov, Grieg, Svendsen, Halvorsen, Bortkiewicz, Milhaud, Jean Francaix, Poulenc, Gershwin, Granados, Turina, Rodrigo, Albeniz, Scott Joplin, Ernesto Nazareth, Pablo de Sarasate etc etc etc --- I'm sure the list could be expanded forever and ever, with a particular nod to Classicism, imho THE most cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful era in the whole history of "classical" music.
If you mean composers who never ever in their whole life wrote a single sad, dark, bleak and depressing work, I'm sorry to say that Haydn and Dvorak are not among them --- exhibit A: Stabat Mater (both), Requiem (Dvorak), The Seven Last Words of Christ (Haydn). Yet, there are many composers who never ever in their whole life wrote a single sad, dark, bleak and depressing work; otomh and in no particular order: the Strauss family, Joseph Lanner, Jacques Offenbach, Juventino Rosas, Emile Waldteufel, Franz Lehar, Imre Kalman, Gilbert & Sullivan etc etc etc.
Now, why here on GMG composers of exclusively cheerful, joyful, sunny, life-affirming and tuneful music are generally held in much less esteem, and are much less commented upon, than composers of exclusively sad, dark, bleak and depressing music is another, albeit related, discussion.
Oh, yes. I get your points. It's impossible to avoid any composer could not feel sadness, melancholy, more poignant lyricism in their lives. That makes us human entities.
BTW, some important and kind of "obvious" candidates I forgot about. Silly me!
Quote from: kyjo on August 24, 2021, 07:24:35 PM
Alfvén: Symphony no. 3
Anderson, Leroy: Piano Concerto in C major
Braga Santos: Symphony no. 4
Brahms: Serenade no. 1
Dubois: Quintette for oboe, violin, viola, cello, and piano
Dvořák: Symphony no. 8
Martinů: Symphony no. 1
Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 17
Poulenc: Cello Sonata
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto no. 1
List #2, because one can never have too much joy in their life! :D
Alnaes: Piano Concerto
Arensky: the 5 Suites for two pianos
Falla:
El sombrero de tres picos (particularly for the
Danza final)
Glazunov: Symphony no. 5
Kalinnikov: Symphony no. 2
Lloyd: Symphony no. 6
Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata no. 2
Peterson-Berger:
Törnrosasagan (The Story of the Sleeping Beauty)Respighi:
Ancient Airs and DancesSuk: Symphony no. 1 in E major
How can I not say Holst' Jupiter: Bringer of Jolity?
Torke's Bright Blue Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF4QBX0Ku88
Bernstein's Candide Overture
Handel: Royal Fireworks
Copeland's Rodeo (especially Hoe Down)
Rossini tends to be joyful to me
Lots of stuff from Mozart