That One Special Piece

[ahinton]

To judge from the lengths of some of your own works, I would think that choosing one would be a good way to shorten the amount of wasted time on said island prior to rescue!

Which ones did you have in mind? Anyway, I doubt that any castaway other than la Schwarzkopf would choose one of her own out of eight of her own and, in any case, I was unaware of any guarantee of such rescue in the first place!

As it is, I should point out that I've only written one piece of what might be considered unusually great length and, as it's recorded on three CDs, it would be just my luck if any castaway who might choose it be told that it would have to count as three out of his/her eight choices...(!)...

[Beef Oven!]

Which ones did you have in mind?

[jayne lee wilson]

My first CD player, a top of the range Sony, (I'd just received a very large and unexpected tax rebate!), had a facility where one could programme different lengths of time between tracks. At first, I thought it was a gimmick but it did come in very handy sometimes. My current CD player, a Quad 'Elite' doesn't even have a shuffle facility!

...Just noticed these comments... you can of course use track programming to stop where you want. This can seem like too much work before pressing play, but check to see if your player allows you to program the single track-in-progress - try pressing "program" while it's playing. If so, it will simply stop at its conclusion. TEAC-types certainly allow this, Philips ones (as used in Marantz etc) generally not.... Haven't had a Sony around for a while....

At one time some smaller British & US brands saw shuffle as far too vulgar for the serious listener! . But Japanese models (Marantz etc) usually have a full feature set.

Some Computer Music Players allow choice about silences between tracks, and include shuffle, eg. JRiver.... this can be great fun, as JRMC will choose from your whole library - Name That Tune!
(OK - technical interlude over...)

[ahinton]

Please exaplain the joke, at least for the benefit of yours truly who is either too close to the subject matter or too dense to understand it or both

[Beef Oven!]

Please exaplain the joke, at least for the benefit of yours truly who is either too close to the subject matter or too dense to understand it or both

[Stanley Stewart]

Serendipity and New Year's Eve listening brought forth an annual joy on hearing, yet again, an EMI Studio DRM recording, 1990, of Handel's Love in Bath suite with The Gods Go A'Begging as bonus material: RPO/Thos Beecham, rec at Abbey Road and Kingsway Hall at various dates in the last three years of the 50s with the addition of the Serenade, from The Great Elopement in 1951 as the closing track in a CD with a running time of 75' 12".

Robin Golding's liner notes an articulate guide over five pages.

"...These arrangements all bear the inimitable Beecham stamp. Not for him any attempt at slavish imitation of 18th-century orchestral colouring: on the contrary, there is nothing that he enjoyed more than taking advantage of the full resources of the modern symphony orchestra. In this he did no more than he was convinced that Handel would have done, had the opportunity presented itself; for, as he wrote characteristically in his autobiography, A Mingled Chime, 'There is a heretical belief in many quarters that 18th-century composers were frail and delicate creatures who liked tenuity of sound and should be treated today with tender concern. This is against all historical evidence, particularly in the cases of Handel and Mozart, both of whom revelled in resounding splendour of tone, as we know well from the complaints of the former and the correspondence of the latter.' The result, then, is intended as a compliment to Handel, and by no means as an attempt to go one-better than him. All the same, it would be mistaken to suppose that much more than the spirit and and melodic fluency of Handel's music is preserved in such a score as Love in Bath: A good proportion of it, let's face it, is pure Beecham - and very delightful it is too..."

I first heard this music at a DR run-through in a repertory production, 1964, of Sheridan's, The Rivals, I played Bob Acres. We had a permanent setting with a Bath backcloth and our movement group did separate rehearsals so that they stylishly set the furniture or props to a background selected from the Love in Bath suite and were often given 'rounds' for their enterprise and characterisation. I sat out-front for the opening scene and the opening score of The Pump Room provided a spine-tingling sensation, although I had wait a further 30 years before I swooned when spotting the CD release in the racks! It doesn't seem to be available now but I've done a CD-R as I write as a back-up copy.

[Nick Armstrong]

I countered by opining ...

Oh the banter!!!!

[ahinton]

Oh the banter!!!!

Oh, the Calibanter!

[BBMmk2]

Oh, the Calibanter!

Where does one go on from here! :)

[pastoralguy]

...Just noticed these comments... you can of course use track programming to stop where you want. This can seem like too much work before pressing play, but check to see if your player allows you to program the single track-in-progress - try pressing "program" while it's playing. If so, it will simply stop at its conclusion. TEAC-types certainly allow this, Philips ones (as used in Marantz etc) generally not.... Haven't had a Sony around for a while....

At one time some smaller British & US brands saw shuffle as far too vulgar for the serious listener! . But Japanese models (Marantz etc) usually have a full feature set.

Some Computer Music Players allow choice about silences between tracks, and include shuffle, eg. JRiver.... this can be great fun, as JRMC will choose from your whole library - Name That Tune!
(OK - technical interlude over...)

I have a 'Store' and 'Repeat' facility on my Quad player but those are the only real 'extras'. Of course, I'd hardly use shuffle but someone suggested I try it on my recently found Ivor Cutler discs.

[antongould]

Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould (later version) .... never had a problem with the space between the variations ....

[cloughie]

Where does one go on from here! :)

Brassed off?

[cloughie]

I have a 'Store' and 'Repeat' facility on my Quad player but those are the only real 'extras'. Of course, I'd hardly use shuffle but someone suggested I try it on my recently found Ivor Cutler discs.

Do you want to play the music or the b.... Equipment?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

shuffle [/I]as far too vulgar for the serious listener! . But Japanese models (Marantz etc) usually have a full feature set.

Shuffle is indeed vulgar, suitable only for Radio 3 mornings.

[NatBalance]

It's now near 60 of the Beethoven and 40 of the Mahler and both have been a major part of my life since I was 16/17.

Cripes, that's dedication. I didn't know there was that many of each.

Haven't got to listening to ALL the Mahler yet but I know he is rather special. The ending of his 9th is really something, which I ended up listening to because of Edgley (below), an ending like Neptune to which nothing can follow, but I don't think Edgely meant Mahler's 9th.

Of course, to choose something that is long gives you a lot more for your money, so to speak. I could then choose the whole Planets suite. Can they choose whole symphonies in DID? I think they can. In that case they are getting a lot more music than those who just choose, say eight pop songs. I should perhaps ask which movement would you choose from the Mahler, Beethoven symphonies, to which you will reply with horror "Sacrilage! You cannot separate them! The very idea, shame on you".

Now then:-

There is a piece of music that is mysterious,mystical even sinister,scary and disturbing.
It is also peaceful,calming,magical,revelatory,powerful and challenging.
What I'm trying to say is it has everything.
It's about the world and all life (as Mahler ? said a Symphony should be).
The last 3 or 4 minutes are the answer to all the questions that come before,as those final E Major chords resonate in my brain I think yes Ralph,you're right,that's what life is all about,and I'm calm.

Bit of a ramble but I can't explain it any better,it is the answer to everything!

Symphony No 9

Great reply, but which composer are you referring to? I presume you mean Ralph Vaughan Williams. Being a fan of Holst I think it comes with the territory that you will also be a fan of VW (someone's bound to disagree with that). Great stuff, Vaughan Williams is a superb composer and I do really like his 9th and the last 3 or 4 minutes to which you refer (I think) and you're perhaps not into visuals to go alongside the music but I like 'em, and this one's says it for me:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0OnqctJ9A8

I really like VW's 4th symphony aswell, and what he said about it "Don't know whether I like it, but it's what I meant". Brilliant! I know exactly what he means, it's bonkers music, but I sure am glad he composed it. Fantastic ending, a certain part of which makes me feel like a great big ugly monster is climbing out of a hole to get at me.

Seeing this thread I thought, oh that's impossible... but Edge's very personal post reminded me.... a music which is almost too painful to listen to. To face the truth it is offering up to me. And I'm drawn back, moth to the flame, to burn in its arms again, and understand. And often, I wish I didn't know the searing truth it reveals....

Suk: Asrael Symphony.



...The Price of Love - is Grief.

Excellent Jayne, this is just what I am looking for. I look forward to listening to this piece, a new one on me.