What music can you not stick ?

[Pianorak]

Any kind of background music.

[Ferretfancy]

DracoM

When I first worked in Broadcasting House in 1957,staff had the right to leave their posts if they wished to attend the Daily Service in the Concert Hall every morning. The BBC Singers were in residence for this event, and as far as I remember very few of my colleagues took up the challenge!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The drumbeat jingles during traffic warnings, weather warnings, etc.
Come to think of it, anything that includes a drumkit. It's a bit like admiring the Taj Mahal when it's covered with scaffolding (or a Haydn or Mozart with an unscored and jangley harpsichord.

[Pipisme]

I don't like almost all of Bruckner, Carmina Burana, minimlism.

[Nick Armstrong]

As I concluded when mulling over the various replies to the thread I started a while back in a fit of anti-Tchaikovsky feeling (http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...lassical-music), and as mentioned above, this sort of thread doesn't have much point other than to drive home the obvious truth of the cliché that one person's meat is another's poison.

However I agree with Roehre...

If you dislike a thread and feel there is no point in it then why post in it ?

As there is a difference between considering a thread being pointless and disliking it.

... that there is a certain enjoyment (limited, but of the "getting-it-off-your-chest" variety) in slaying 'bêtes noires"

For now I won't go into Tchaikovsky, Liszt, opera of the Donizetti/Bellini type.

The thing I can't stick is the recent trend for most high quality nature documentary series (of the David Attenborough variety) to feature a wall-to-wall orchestral soundtrack, second rate mood / descriptive muzak which for me renders the programmes unwatchable - it trivialises, patronises, sentimentalises and intrudes....

Oh well, I'm basically grateful for anything which encourages me to watch less telly. But what a waste of all the unbelievable skill and dedication which goes into the research and filming of a number of the series in question.

[Ferretfancy]

Like most people, I'm irritated by excessively ponderous music on documentaries, especially since it is often synthesised. Even worse is the use of well known classical music in the most inappropriate context. A recent example is the use of the scherzo from Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream music as an introduction to a series about the English novel.
When I was mixing, I lost count of the number of times I tried to persuade production staff not to use the third movement of Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta whenever a space craft appeared on the screen. Some otherwise interesting programmes are spoilt by the fact that they become a game of spot the tune, and I think it's got a great deal worse. It's probably not unfair to add that very few documentary film makers know much about classical music, they would always prefer a track of rock music where possible, usually of the most banal kind.

One final gripe, why is it that every documentary now has to start with an extended preview of what is to come, and in the case of commercial networks, a reprise after every ad break ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It's probably not unfair to add that very few documentary film makers know much about classical music, they would always prefer a track of rock music where possible, usually of the most banal kind.

Sad but true, and it will get worse because the future producers will not have experienced classical music at school.

One final gripe, why is it that every documentary now has to start with an extended preview of what is to come, and in the case of commercial networks, a reprise after every ad break ?

I always think this is counterproductive. If I'm not impressed by the preview, I'm hardly likely to watch the series itself, even though this is generally far superior. One thing that does irritate me is the attention-seeking bit at the end, when the camera crew shows everyone how brave and clever they have been by making us watch it all again, but with them on it it this time. That's fine for a DVD "extra", but is inappropriate for the main programme.

[MrGongGong]

Sad but true, and it will get worse because the future producers will not have experienced classical music at school..

why do people (including some famous but ignorant musicians !) insist on perpetrating this myth ?
look at the content of GCSE music and then tell me that there is no classical music ?
go to a primary school and tell me that there is NEVER any ?
music is a wide subject and "Classical music" is part of it not ALL of it

[agingjb]

I do begin to wonder if there is any music that anyone actually enjoys.

And is the feeling of nausea reported by some people in reaction to music a form of synaesthesia?

[MrGongGong]

well everyone seems to love Xenakis

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

why do people (including some famous but ignorant musicians !) insist on perpetrating this myth ?
look at the content of GCSE music and then tell me that there is no classical music ?
go to a primary school and tell me that there is NEVER any ?
music is a wide subject and "Classical music" is part of it not ALL of it

Because it's not a myth, though neither is it a universal sin. As for GCSE music, that's one of the worst offenders. There may be a token amount of classical music, but that's all. And you can get a grade C without being able to read a note of music. Of course the Nouveau Musical Educational Establishment will say that it doesn't matter - literacy only matters in English, French, German, etc....

[MrGongGong]

I'm not saying that music education is perfect
but
heres the programme of study from the current GCSE syllabus (Edexcell) so we can see how "Classical" music is a "Token"amount ! (and the Indian music here is more "classical" than the Bernstien but thats another discussion !)

"
Western classical music 1600-1899
Music in the 20th century
Popular music in context
World music

Set works
G F Handel: Chorus: And The Glory of The Lord from Messiah, HWV 56
A Schoenberg: Peripetie from Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16
M Davis: All Blues from the album Kind of Blue
Capercaillie: Chuir M’Athair Mise Dhan Taigh Charraideach (Skye Waulking Song) from the album Nàdurra
W A Mozart:1st Movement from Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
L Bernstein: Something’s Coming from West Side Story
J Buckley: Grace from the album Grace
Rag Desh
Suggested listening:
• A Shankar: Rag Desh from the album Live at Carnegie Hall
• S D Dhandhada and H Dhandhada: Rag Desh from the album Mewar Re Mira
• B Wertheimer and S Gorn: Rag Desh Parts 1-3 from the album Priyagitah: The Nightingale
F Chopin: Prelude No 15 in D flat major, Op. 28
S Reich: 3rd Movement (fast) from Electric Counterpoint
Moby: Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? from the album Play
Koko: Yiri "

Music is an aural subject , "reading" is useful for some musics but not all musics
I do think that reading notation should be (and IS !) part of what people learn but lets not go back to the days I remember where I did O level music and didn't have to make ANY sound at all !!!

Musical literacy is not about reading notation but about understanding MUSIC (which includes notation) as a whole

whether its taught well or badly is another thing entirely

[Alain Maréchal]

We can hope that when listening to the J.Buckley, GCSE students also listen to the Corpus Christi Carol, like it, and decide to find out more about this Britten bloke.

[Suffolkcoastal]

All I can say is looking at that syllabus, I'm glad I don't have to do GCSE music as I'd have walked out even as a 15/16 year old.

[Paul Sherratt]

We can hope that when listening to the Britten bloke , GCSE students also listen to the Corpus Christi Carol, like it, and also decide to find out more about J. Buckley.