Robert Simpson/Bruckner quote

[Alison]

A big favour to ask

Would anyone be able to quote the bit from Simpson's book on Bruckner where he says (something like) it's not necessary to be able to describe all the muscle movements involved in a smile to know the effect of a smile?

It would just happen to be very useful for a talk I'm giving on a completely unrelated subject!!

Can't find my copy of that excellent book right now ...

[Roslynmuse]

I have the book at my side; any clue as to where in the book it might be?

[P. G. Tipps]

A big favour to ask

Would anyone be able to quote the bit from Simpson's book on Bruckner where he says (something like) it's not necessary to be able to describe all the muscle movements involved in a smile to know the effect of a smile?

It would just happen to be very useful for a talk I'm giving on a completely unrelated subject!!

Can't find my copy of that excellent book right now ...

Certainly, Alison! I've just referred to my now rather old moth-eaten copy!

The quote is on P.171 (Chapter IX) devoted to the the 7th Symphony.

Here is the relevant passage:

'The vast mental, neural and muscular complexities that underlie a smile have not yet been analysed; but everyone understands a smile, and without these complexities (which are decidedly not mechanics in the crude sense of the term) no smile could exist.'

I agree, one of the best books about Bruckner!

Hope that helps and your talk goes well!

[Roslynmuse]

Well done, PGT! I was only up to page 101! But your page-numbering is different to mine - the quote is on p 143 of my old and foxed copy! (1967)

[pastoralguy]

Certainly, Alison! I've just referred to my now rather old moth-eaten copy!

The quote is on P.171 (Chapter IX) devoted to the the 7th Symphony.

Here is the relevant passage:

'The vast mental, neutral and muscular complexities that underlie a smile have not yet been analysed; but everyone understands a smile, and without these complexities (which are decidedly not mechanics in the crude sense of the term) no smile could exist.'

I agree, one of the best books about Bruckner!

Hope that helps and your talk goes well!

Well done, Sir.

[Flay]

'The vast mental, neutral and muscular complexities

Should that be neural?

[P. G. Tipps]

Well done, PGT! I was only up to page 101! But your page-numbering is different to mine - the quote is on p 143 of my old and foxed copy! (1967)

Pure luck, of course, Roslyn!

I have the paperback version of 1992 so not THAT old. My late father (bless him!) had the original 1967 book like yourself so I was familiar with it long before I actually bought the later edition for myself in Manchester.

[P. G. Tipps]

Should that be neural?

I had an awful feeling such typos would be discovered eventually!

Well spotted Flay and N.B. Alison!

[Flay]

And thanks to all for bringing up this subject. I found a delightful snippet from RS describing his first encounter with Bruckner:

http://youtu.be/Ys90UXfPzWg

And that took me to the last 6 minutes of his 5th under Günter Wand which was just enough to encourage me to really listen to this work, which I have neglected for some years

http://youtu.be/QW8UCqR1l3c

[Alison]

Thanks so much PGT and Roslyn.

Good spot Flay!

It's a good point Simpson makes.

[Alison]

You found that very quickly PGT, not a short book by any means!

I couldn't recall the symphony involved.

[Alison]

As a greedy supplementary question

I have been wondering which part of the Seventh prompted this particular observation?

[P. G. Tipps]

Simpson is referring to the Seventh as a whole. He talks about the 'nobility' of the work and is attempting to explore the 'subtleties' behind it. However he also reminds us that the layperson (such as yours truly!) only recognises and appreciates the end-product and doesn't have to know about all or any of those subtleties. Hence the analogy with a smile ... we can all recognise it without knowing anything at all about 'the mental, neural(!) and muscular complexities that underlie a smile'.

This is so very true if somewhat uncontroversial. One can stare and wonder at the beauty of a great cathedral without knowing anything at all about the mental and physical effort and skills that went into creating the building?

I love Simpson's simple and "chummy" approach to things ... the link to his little talk on first discovering Bruckner, which Flay kindly provided, is an absolute classic!