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Post by PinkFloyd on Jun 29, 2007 20:46:41 GMT
...... has never been my cup of tea, I've never really been able to get into the groove until now the other day I bunged on Grieg Peer Gynt for a whirl and found myself really getting into it.
I happened to be looking out of the window and the time and became transfixed by the constantly changing cloud formations, rays of sun waltzing about over the hills and fields and the odd rain shower and rainbow.... all of a sudden there was meaning to the music, meaning I have never really understood when living in a city... the beauty of nature is inspirational enough to create this kind of music but listening to this kind of music and watching nature together is one hell of an experience.
I can see myself rapidly getting in to classical, has anyone got any recommendations for good pieces to listen to whilst watching nature do its thing? My collection consists of some depressing Rachmaninov stuff, the odd bit of Tchaikovsky, some Berlioz, a touch of Peer Gynt, a few Beethoven grooves, a sprinkling of saint saens and some Mahler.........
What I'm looking for is work by a British composer who got his inspiration from the land... you know, he put what he felt / saw to music.... IIRC Benjamin Britten took inspiration from his surroundings?
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Post by scott on Jun 30, 2007 13:56:35 GMT
My 8yr old son loves in the hall of the mountain king from the Pyr Gynt Its the wrong continent but Dvoracks New World Symphony was inspired by America and the second movement always reminds me of Hovis Bread adverts and my childhood on a wet winters evening in Manchester By the way Mike the Colloseum album is stunning it was a great tip...went a bit more soleful this week with Curtis Mayfield-Curtis Marvin Gaye-Whats going on and a parliment album whos name i have forgotton...The Curtis album is a blinder especially
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Nigel
Been here a while!
Watching over Gotham City keeping us safe
Posts: 2,064
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Post by Nigel on Jun 30, 2007 23:31:45 GMT
...... I happened to be looking out of the window and the time and became transfixed by the constantly changing cloud formations, rays of sun waltzing about over the hills and fields and the odd rain shower and rainbow.... all of a sudden there was meaning to the music, meaning I have never really understood when living in a city... the beauty of nature is inspirational enough to create this kind of music but listening to this kind of music and watching nature together is one hell of an experience. Wouldn't work for me then mate. I look out of the window & see heroin addicts frequenting the phone box across the road, waiting for their daily delivery. lol
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Post by tim on Jul 31, 2007 20:57:33 GMT
Sibelius is the composer who comes to mind. And in particular his Symphony 5. Inspired by the lake, woods, and rare landings of swans among other things. Of course he's not British, but if you aren't familiar with Sibelius' symphonies I think that's a good place to start. My favorite recording is with Osmo Vanska conducting the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. I also recommend Karajan's recording with the Berlin Philharmonic. Vanska gives a more dynamic, breathing interpretation- but both are excellent. If interested in reading about Sibelius, Alex Ross has an excellent article- "Apparition in the Woods"- about him here: www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/09/070709fa_fact_ross
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 31, 2007 22:37:19 GMT
Sibelius is the composer who comes to mind. And in particular his Symphony 5. Inspired by the lake, woods, and rare landings of swans among other things. Of course he's not British, but if you aren't familiar with Sibelius' symphonies I think that's a good place to start. My favorite recording is with Osmo Vanska conducting the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. I also recommend Karajan's recording with the Berlin Philharmonic. Vanska gives a more dynamic, breathing interpretation- but both are excellent. If interested in reading about Sibelius, Alex Ross has an excellent article- "Apparition in the Woods"- about him here: www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/09/070709fa_fact_rossCheers Tim I'll head off to ebay and search for some cheap Sibelius..... thanks for the recommendation man. Mike.
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Post by theadmans on Aug 1, 2007 14:51:19 GMT
I suppose Edward Elgar "Enigma Variations" or something by Vaughan Williams immediately spring to mind. If you want something more contemporary then the album "Once around the Sun" by Joby Talbot (ex Divine Comedy) but now Classic FM Composer in residence is pretty good. There's a track for every month of the year evoking the seasons. Although not classical I am an enormous fan of Virginia Astley's "From Gardens where we feel secure". www.virginiaastley.com/html/features.htm and click the link for "From Gardens..." This is a superb instrumental album with sound of English church bells, cuckoos, etc - I use it as my chillout album. Although relatively unknown in this country I believe Virginia was at one time quite big in Japan. You also can't go wrong with "The Return of the Durutti Column" the 1979 debut album by Vini Reilly's Durutti Column - one of the great masterpieces of contemporary English music (and again more widely appreciated in Japan?).
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Post by thestratmangler on Aug 1, 2007 21:38:34 GMT
If you listen to mainly popular music then I'd recommend listening to the works of JS Bach - you'll find some of the thematic devices he devised utilised by groups such as The Beatles and The Who.
The intro to Pinball Wizard hinges around a pedal tone on the note of B (ie the note of B is in all of the chordal changes in this part of the song).
Paul McCartney is particularly fond of counterpoint bass melodies - sometimes his bass parts are as important, if not more important than his vocal contribution.
I'm currently paying one of the many Jacques Loussier plays Bach albums, and I think the Composer would appreciate the magic that Loussier can breathe into the pieces on this recording.
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Post by fanboi on Aug 4, 2007 13:21:25 GMT
Interesting that, re Sibelius, not sure about the nature aspect of inspiration in a lot of classical music, but I do remember that the first time I listened to one of his symphonies, thinking that it sounded like I imagined Finland to be. On a rather different tack, I've not been an opera fan, haven't minded watching the full performance where the music is put in context but generally would not bother to listen to just the music. That said, I picked up an LP of Pavarotti at a garage sale recently and have found it really useful for tuning a tonearm/cartridge combination - on more common rock/pop stuff it is often (at least for me) more difficult to work out if the thing I am hearing as a resonance is a studio or recording problem or a replay problem - with the Pavarotti it seemed much easier to tweak and dial until it sounded right. Ended up, I rather like listening to it too - will be getting a deal more play I think, great value at $0.50 in mint condition - hardly a pop or click on it.
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Post by gns on Aug 7, 2007 0:13:05 GMT
I'm with Mike on this one - I know bugger all about classical, and only listen to it as it comes with the territory.
Peer Gynt? I thought. Grieg - that rings a tubular bell, I recalled.
I searched through my record collection and found my hardly played Deutsch Gramophone DDA vinyl copy.
A few years ago I couldn't stand it, but it was OK for demo'ing bass - the 5Hz tympanies (hope they're called that?) behind Hall of the Mountain King - you can get that low with Senn HD250 II linears, but not with the 600/650's I find.
Anyway, all this tweaking seems to have made the difference and I could put up with the pompous phrasing - "trrrrollleh" in female voices (the sleeve reckons they're singing the word Troll), and when it gets to the Hall of the Mountain King, I'm just blown away. Why can't my fave rock groups achieve this vinyl SQ?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Aug 7, 2007 21:09:52 GMT
Deutsch Gramophone rock Graham, always have done, My dad had a huge collection of DG classical LP's (and others) and I sold the lot off a while after he died back in 81...... I was a stupid bugger! If you want to experience some REAL sphincter rattling bass Graham then look no further than the mighty organ.... I've been into the likes of Phil Kelsall and Reginald dixon for years and NOTHING comes close to a good old organ when it comes down to making your toes curl up. have a listen to Nigel Ogden "the organist entertains" BBC radio 2 www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/organist/ I never miss it mate....
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Post by thestratmangler on Aug 7, 2007 22:17:06 GMT
Talking of organ music - Widor's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor is a very majestic piece.
My father played piano & organ for most of his life, and is largely responsible for my early musical upbringing and influence. There is nothing quite like the sheer physical presence and sound of a well fettled pipe organ - I used to hear one regularly before I got out of the religion thing in my late teens.
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Post by greg1 on Sept 4, 2007 22:06:02 GMT
Speaking of Grieg - I've just returned from the concert dedicated to the composer (the present year is the 100th anniversary of the composer's death; 1843-1907). It was performed in a small church in Ljubljana. We listened sonata for violin and piano, solos (soprano and piano - also 3 songs from Peer Gynt), Norvegian dances for piano and sonata for cello and piano (last piece - best performance IMO). Crowded but really nice!
Greg1
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