Bryars, Gavin (b 1943)

[Conchis]

I'd be interested in what other forumites think of this composer.

He seems to be largely known for one piece, which I like but I've recently sampled some of his collaborations with the likes of Julian Lloyd Webber and Charlie Haden, which I found very rewarding.

[Bryn]

I first heard Gavin's work back in the late '60s, starting with "Jesus' Blood" and "The Sinking of the Titanic" the latter he having primed me on at some length at a party some months prior to its London premiere. Favourites of mine are "The Squirrel and the Ricketty-racketty Bridge" and "Private Music".

[MrGongGong]

This is good IMV

[Pulcinella]

The only Bryars CD in my collection is this one, given as a present some years ago:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Requiem/Bryars-Cadman-Gavin/B00000HXJ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1485853561&sr=1-1&keywords=Bryars+cadman+requiem

Called Cadman Requiem, it also contains
Adnan Songbook
and
Epilogue from Wonderlawn

Must play it again to see what I think of it.

[Mark S]

Not so much taken with his more recent output, but Hommages on Disques du Crepescule is recommended. Also his version of Irma, on Obscure Records, which I don't think has been favoured with a CD reissue. For better or worse, GB annoyed Tom Philips in his sleeve notes for Irma. I sometimes feel that you can grasp all that is in one of his prices just by reading the sleeve notes, which leaves me feeling a bit dissatisfied.

[Pulcinella]

The only Bryars CD in my collection is this one, given as a present some years ago:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Requiem/Bryars-Cadman-Gavin/B00000HXJ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1485853561&sr=1-1&keywords=Bryars+cadman+requiem

Called Cadman Requiem, it also contains
Adnan Songbook
and
Epilogue from Wonderlawn

Must play it again to see what I think of it.

I did so, and feel that it's not a CD to keep on the shelf never to be played again.
So, it's free to a good home if anyone wants to PM me.

[Dave2002]

That "Jesus" thing is dire, IMO. Here is a list of many of his works - http://www.gavinbryars.com/Pages/disc_fr.html

I recall that some of his more recent choral music is OK - maybe the recordings with the Latvian choir.

[Richard Barrett]

That "Jesus" thing is dire

I find it very moving.

I'm also fond of A Man in a Room, Gambling for spoken voice and string quartet. Other than that I don't know anything about his work subsequent to that on the Hommages disc, most (all?) of which I originally heard in a memorable concert of Bryars and White at the ICA. When was that, Bryn? 1981 or so I think.

[Bryn]

I find it very moving.

I'm also fond of A Man in a Room, Gambling for spoken voice and string quartet. Other than that I don't know anything about his work subsequent to that on the Hommages disc, most (all?) of which I originally heard in a memorable concert of Bryars and White at the ICA. When was that, Bryn? 1981 or so I think.

Not absolutely sure, but I think 1981 would be the likely year. I only have the original LP version of Hommages. Have just ordered a "Used: Very Good" copy of the CD with its 2 'bonus' pieces.

[FRJames]

A decent 80th birthday tribute to Gavin Bryars from Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone (6 Music):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001pzsw

[Bryn]

A decent 80th birthday tribute to Gavin Bryars from Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone (6 Music):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001pzsw

Thanks for that. I would certainly have missed it, otherwise. A good selection,too. Fond memories of his bending my ear at a vodka party in Wimbledon, about a new piece he was researching called The Sinking of the Titanic. He went into considerable detail about the way the pitches of the various instruments might have changed with the rising of the water,as the ship went down. A couple of years later (not "months", as I earlier recalled), I attended its premiere. That of the original version of Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (with film), also made a big impression on me. The Wikipedia item on him is somewhat misleading. He was nnt so much influenced by what Michael Nyman later termed "minimalism", as in at the ground floor. I might give Dr Ox an outing, this evening.

[Beresford]

I enjoy his 1993/2005 CD called "Chambre d'ecoute" (Listening Rooms), a sort of installation in a 8 rooms of a French Chateau, one piece in each room, using 3 musicians (no strings) from his ensemble, together with thoughtful contributions from the local keen but very basic brass band (La fanfare d'Oiron). On CD it's a lovely calm piece. I hear his music as very good humoured, in a somewhat melancholic way, often related to sad events. Eg. "And So Ended Kant's Travelling In This World".