Goosebump moments

[Mr Pee]

Sieglinde's 'O hehrstes Wunder', Walkure Act 3 sung & acted incomparably by the great Waltraud Meier. An unforgettable tear-jerker lasting little more than 30secs.

Which has reminded me of another moment from the Ring- during Waltraute's narration in Gotterdammerung, when she sings of Wotan sitting sadly in Vallhalla, and the orchestra play a quiet, brief reminder of the "Farewell" motif from Walkure. Almost unbearably poignant.

[Tapiola]

Which has reminded me of another moment from the Ring- during Waltraute's narration in Gotterdammerung, when she sings of Wotan sitting sadly in Vallhalla, and the orchestra play a quiet, brief reminder of the "Farewell" motif from Walkure. Almost unbearably poignant.

Mr Pee, you have reminded me of another. How could I forget the Walsung motif, in all its guises? Its appearance during the Siegfried Death March is, to borrow your phrase, "almost unbearably poignant".

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes, mein Host, it's been a while (and congrats on your new role here). I'll be good. Promise.

Just remembered another Janacek moment: the climax of the last piece of Book 2 of On An Overgrown Path. It always reminds me - in an anachronistic way - of the story of J, near the end of his life, searching for the young boy in the woods. Spinetingling.

Another new one on me

(Lot of Wagnerians about all of a sudden, ain't there? )

[gradus]

Closing scene of Salome.
At times within:
Heddle Nash in Gerontius, Sanctus Fortis
Lucia Popp, Ach ich fuls, Magic Flute
Wintersturme/Du bist der Lenz, Die Walkure
Transformation scene Parsifal Act 1
Auf ein Burg, Schumann
Greig pf conc second movt
Schumann pf conc last movt
Eroica
Dies Natalis
Agnus Dei, B Minor Mass
Lemminkainen's Return (Must be the Beecham recording)
Rachmaninov Vespers
and so on .....

[Roehre]

For me it's a fragment in the Credo of Beethoven's Missa solemnis, the fugue on Et vitam venturi seculi (beginning quietly at bar 373 - Allegro con moto), especially the "outburst" at bar 398 and from there to bar 432 (grave), followed by the quiet ending of this movement..

[salymap]

Yes agree about Heddle Nash in Gerontius..
Last of Strauss' Four Last Songs
Parts of that Mozart for winds and keyboard, K.452
And again,pinching someone's choice, Piano Concerto no 17, Mozart, the last movement.
Elgar The Music Makers - 'And the singer shall sing no more'.
Lots more but ....enough

[Mr Pee]

(Lot of Wagnerians about all of a sudden, ain't there? )

Probably because when it comes to goose-bump moments, Wagner was a bit of an expert!!

[teamsaint]

The closing bars of Dvorak's cello concerto - the first time I experienced this was watching Paul Tortelier playing it.

Start as you mean to go on.

One for me...The moment at the very end of "The Sea " By Frank Bridge, where, (I imagine) the sun breaks through.....

[Barbirollians]

That bit about two and a half minutes from the end of the Larghetto of Elgar 2 ..

[Tapiola]

Probably because when it comes to goose-bump moments, Wagner was a bit of an expert!!

Well, lascivious old Richard was not averse to a bit of bumping, or goosing...

[Nick Armstrong]

Well, lascivious old Richard was not averse to a bit of bumping, or goosing...

[Petrushka]

Probably because when it comes to goose-bump moments, Wagner was a bit of an expert!!

The Ring has many such goosebump moments and Walküre has a good proportion of them.

Difficult to pin down my favourites out of so many but there are some that I would call senior goosebump moments, ones that are really out there in a class apart. Among those where my timbers are well and truly shivered are:

Elgar Symphony No 1 the last movement where the opening stalking theme is miraculously transformed (itself another transformation of the 'motto') into a full-throated string melody. A glorious moment but not all interpreters do it justice. Solti and Barbirolli amongst those who do.

Wagner: Die Walküre Act 3 the thrilling orchestral outburst between Brünnhilde's last words and Wotan's Farewell. This is a goosebump moment to end all goosebump moments - this would be my first choice.

Wagner: Die Walküre Act 3 again. The oboe phrase that just precedes Brünnhilde's War es so schmälich.

Mahler: The end of both parts of the 8th Symphony.

Elgar: Symphony No 2 last movement where the theme emerges in all its pomp (you know where I mean surely!). Many skate over this but Barbirolli, Boult and Handley bring this off to magnificent effect.

Strauss: the horns in full cry in 'At the Summit' in Eine Alpensinfonie (the Bruch VC theme).

Shostakovich: the final moments of the 'Leningrad' Symphony.

Bruckner: the end of the first movement of the 9th Symphony.

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis, the tenors outburst of Et resurrexit in the Credo.

[Nick Armstrong]

Elgar Symphony No 1 the last movement where the opening stalking theme is miraculously transformed (itself another transformation of the 'motto') into a full-throated string melody. A glorious moment but not all interpreters do it justice. Solti and Barbirolli amongst those who do.

Oh yes - as per my #4 above. Boult/LPO pretty fine there too (Must get my Solti off the shelf this weekend and grab some goosebumps )

[silvestrione]

The second subject in the last movement of Beethoven's C sharp minor String Quartet.

The lyrical trumpet tune two-thirds of the way through the otherwise hard driven harsh third movement of Mahler 9.

The oboe's gradual lead-in to the return of the main subject in 1st movement of Mozart Piano Conc 27.

And especially as played the other night by OAE under Rattle, the second subjects coming back in the minor in the first and last movements of Mozart Sym 40 in G minor.

Which reminds me of one of the most goose-bumpiest of all, the sudden appearance in the major of the sad tune in the middle of last movement of Schubert's G Major Piano Sonata

[Nick Armstrong]

(I've moved this to "Talking about Music" as this v interesting topic is wider than "CD Review", I think)