'Difficult' choral music, opinions on

[paul duggan2]

I'm not quite sure I understand. In what sense ought I to be proud?

Well not at all probably, but why not put your name to them like Gabriel does?

[Simon]

Because I don't want my real name on an internet forum, that's all. I'd trust most people on here in general, but I don't expect my boss would be too happy about my views being plastered for all to see.

As far as I can tell - and I contribute to varying degrees to three forums, two public and one professional - most posters prefer to use screen-names.

Plus, I sometimes refer to my old school and the positions of some I met there; whilst I don't disparage them, I don't feel that they should be identifiable by all and sundry.

[Gabriel Jackson]

Depends what you mean by significance. Fame is no guarantee of either ability or insight. One doesn't need to know precisely who someone is to value their accumulated experience and wisdom.

Indeed, fame is not a guarantee of either ability or insight. But if you don't know who someone is, how can you assess their accumulated experience? Saying "I have been singing in choirs for 50 years" with no further explanation of which choirs, singing what, under whose direction etc. and expecting that statement, in itself, to confer some weight of expertise, is absurd.

[DracoM]

Indeed, fame is not a guarantee of either ability or insight. But if you don't know who someone is, how can you assess their accumulated experience? Saying "I have been singing in choirs for 50 years" with no further explanation of which choirs, singing what, under whose direction etc. and expecting that statement, in itself, to confer some weight of expertise, is absurd.

And with one lordly sweep, thus disappears something like 90% of the contributors to This Forum. Well, at least that should clear the field of the riff-raff.

[Gabriel Jackson]

And with one lordly sweep, thus disappears something like 90% of the contributors to This Forum. Well, at least that should clear the field of the riff-raff.

Ah, but 90% of contributors don't routinely assert things that aren't true, do they?

[doversoul1]

Originally Posted by Gabriel Jackson
I'm sure you have, but since we don't know who you are, that in itself doesn't tell us anything of any great significance.

If this is your view, why are you wasting your time on this Forum?

[Gabriel Jackson]

If this is your view, why are you wasting your time on this Forum?

Why are you wasting your time with this question?

[Anna]

Why are you wasting your time with this question?

She's probably like me, one of the 90% who are riff-raff!

[Gabriel Jackson]

Well, I hope that astonishingly brave treble gets a medal for that murderous series of solos in the Nunc. WHY would you want to go out of your way to make it near impossible to pitch from almost nothing with almost nothing going on round you to help? And LIVE?? Talk about nerve-wracking.

Perhaps Tippett thought it an arresting and worthwhile musical idea? And that trebles would be well able to sing that solo, which they are, as has just been demonstrated.

In terms of finding notes from almost nothing, the Nunc Dimittis actually begins with a D/E/F held cluster from the organ, clearly establishing a D minor tonality; this is followed by the ATB soloists holding a D/E/C# chord (again, clearly in D minor) before the treble soloist enters on the subdominant of D minor - G. Whilst that solo is tricky, and very exposed, it is actually very considerately written by Tippett in that it gives the treble soloist as much help as possible while preserving his very effective and striking inspiration for the piece.

[Gabriel Jackson]

She's probably like me, one of the 90% who are riff-raff!

That was very harsh of DracoM, wasn't it, calling so many people riff-raff?

[Anna]

That was very harsh of DracoM, wasn't it, calling so many people riff-raff?

I am taking no sides, neither shall I be caught dead in a surplice, nor ringing Sanctus Bells. Battle it out between yourselves. I just love CE on R3, your quarrels do not detract from that.

[Simon]

Saying "I have been singing in choirs for 50 years" with no further explanation of which choirs, singing what, under whose direction etc. and expecting that statement, in itself, to confer some weight of expertise, is absurd.

Only if you believe that after singing for 50 years one has learned nothing, experienced nothing, and accumulated no insight. Or if you believe that in all that time, the standard of music in said choirs has been so uniformly abysmal that any experience and knowledge gained has been worthless.

I'd find both of these a bit too much to accept, personally.

[Gabriel Jackson]

Only if you believe that after singing for 50 years one has learned nothing, experienced nothing, and accumulated no insight. Or if you believe that in all that time, the standard of music in said choirs has been so uniformly abysmal that any experience and knowledge gained has been worthless.

I'd find both of these a bit too much to accept, personally.

We don't know though, do we, whether those choirs are uniformly abysmal, or very good?

If I said "I have read a daily newspaper for forty years" as authority for some statement I was making, without declaring which paper, how could anyone assess what knowledge (and perhaps, even, understanding) I had gleaned from that newspaper. If it were from The Sun, for example, it would be very different from what might be learned from the Guardian.

[Simon]

I can't argue with that, Gabriel - though I'm sure you'd accept that after forty years even those who had read the Guardian might have (if only accidentally) grasped some concept based on common sense and reality...

[french frank]

I'm sure you'd accept that after forty years even those who had read the Guardian might have (if only accidentally) grasped some concept based on common sense and reality...

For personal reasons, I sincerely hope that to be the case ... (if only accidentally)