Harrison Birtwistle 80

[AmpH]

I will be giving my main system a good workout by playing ' Earth Dances ' tomorrow. One of my favourite orchestral pieces.

[Beef Oven!]

I will be giving my main system a good workout by playing ' Earth Dances ' tomorrow. One of my favourite orchestral pieces.

One of my fave HB pieces, too.

Bought it on a 'single' length Collins release on budget price, yonks ago!

[AmpH]

One of my fave HB pieces, too.

Bought it on a 'single' length Collins release on budget price, yonks ago!

That will be the BBC Phil / Eotvos recording then. I have the live Boulez recording on a Decca disc c/w The Triumph of Time.

[Beef Oven!]

That will be the BBC Phil / Eotvos recording then. I have the live Boulez recording on a Decca disc c/w The Triumph of Time.

Indeed, that's the one. I've not heard the Boulez.

[jayne lee wilson]

That will be the BBC Phil / Eotvos recording then. I have the live Boulez recording on a Decca disc c/w The Triumph of Time.

Actually the BBCSO, with Eotvos at the 1991 Proms...

That Boulez Earth Dances is the same one as c/w Theseus Game on DG 20/21 - which is a pity really as Theseus is a marvellous piece with a sort of endless melody passed between wind soloists against the compelling string sound that HB developed post Endless Parade & Still Movement. Like too many other pieces Theseus tends to get a bit overlooked when record companies couple together the more photogenic titles!

Earth Dances was also recorded by Dohnanyi in Cleveland (1995) - it's on the British Music Decca set. This and the Boulez certainly have a sharper, more immediate impact than the Eotvos - both are definitely worth getting if you like the piece.

Pianoman - Moth Requiem is amazing isn't it? That sonority at the start! But my favourite on that CD is On the Sheer Threshold of The Night... I waited years for a recording of that, the most sheerly beautiful of the shorter Orpheus pieces... and one of the all time great titles too.

[teamsaint]

Wonderful thread and contributions.

Started my day with Moth Requiem. I want to hear more. Now.

almost perfect for the "music for a summer day" thread. Music for a Summer night?

[Quarky]

Wonderful thread and contributions.

Started my day with Moth Requiem. I want to hear more. Now.

almost perfect for the "music for a summer day" thread. Music for a Summer night?

Hadn't realised how much I have come to depend on iPlayer for musical input! It was working this morning, and listening to Tom Service with Harrison has made my day! Assuming iPlayer doesn't go off again later in the day.

[Pianoman]

.

Pianoman - Moth Requiem is amazing isn't it? That sonority at the start! But my favourite on that CD is On the Sheer Threshold of The Night... I waited years for a recording of that, the most sheerly beautiful of the shorter Orpheus pieces... and one of the all time great titles too.

Amazing is the word indeed - the old wizard conjuring up aural magic. Agree about the other piece too - wonder, can I get my choir to have a go at that...mmm?

[Orphical]

Yes, and isn't it a pity that Gawain was not on iPlayer. I was at the Barbican for the performance and would have loved to listen again but no joy unfortunately. And when, oh when will a company take on The Mask of Orpheus!!?? We were so close with the Holland Festival.

[Bryn]

Yes, and isn't it a pity that Gawain was not on iPlayer.

It most certainly was on the iPlayer. PM me for proof, all 478MB of it in 'HD Sound' (c. 320kbps AAC_LC).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Yes, and isn't it a pity that Gawain was not on iPlayer. I was at the Barbican for the performance and would have loved to listen again but no joy unfortunately.

It arrived late, but is there now for another three weeks, Orphi:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04960nz

And when, oh when will a company take on The Mask of Orpheus!!?? We were so close with the Holland Festival.

- one of the finest achievements of the post-War stage.

[Richard Barrett]

My loss, I'm sure.

You got that right at least.

No doubt readers with whom I'm personally acquainted will have heard this story before: some years ago I was on the phone to my mother, who asked me whether I'd heard of someone called Harrison Birtwistle. Yes of course, I said, why do you ask. She told me she'd been watching Last Night of the Proms on the TV when his piece Panic was played. I asked her what she thought of it, to which the answer was "well, it was quite bad, but not as bad as what you do."

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

- mothers, eh?

(Mind you, she shows a firm grasp of the principles of Music History ... )

[Orphical]

Thanks guys!

[ahinton]

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