Was that REALLY worth ... ?

[Pabmusic]

...Sea Pictures are of their time and sound dated now, I suppose.

That's almost bound to happen because of the (rather mediocre) poetry - Sabbath Morning At Sea probably touches few hearts today - rather than the music itself. Just consider (as one example) the unison strings over four or five octaves in the first song, giving an uncanny feeling of the undertow of a tide; there are several 'genius' touches like this throughout the piece.

[Richard Tarleton]

I would go for an extreme timestretch version but not the jingly nonsense
Howard Skempton is a delightful man and I wouldnt have a word said against him

On the other hand


The Dream of G******** is an abomination

That's a relief Mr GG - in your #3 I was afraid you were about to say El Sombrero de Los Tres Picos, El Albaicín or something of that sort. I'm right with you there - or rather holding your coat while standing a few steps behind .

[Serial_Apologist]

Mahler never conducted Sea Pictures; he did the Enigma in New York in 1910 or 1911.

It's easy to forget that, for many composers, writing music was not atways a subjective aesthetic act, designed to reveal the composer's innermost feelings or philosophy.

Sea Pictures is a reasonable work (three of the movements are more than that) but it shows very clear signs of haste. It was a festival commission from Norwich, commissioned when Elgar was a reasonably well regarded provincial choral composer, but delivered after the Enigma had catapulted him to national (and indeed international) fame. Elgar had never written a work for a solo singer before (nor a large-scale work for any soloist) and it was given by the 6' 2" Clara Butt, who was dressed as a mermaid. However, its composition was rushed because Elgar was diverted by the Enigma (a personal project that he undertook very unexpectedly), which occupied the period November 1898 - February 1899; and later by the need to extend the Enigma finale following its first performance in June. The Norwich Festival was in November(?) 1899, by which time Elgar had started on the commission for Birmingham that was to become Gerontius.

Thanks for putting me right on that, Pabmusic.

[Pabmusic]

Thanks for putting me right on that, Pabmusic.

Don't you just wish there had been (reliable) recordings then.

[Serial_Apologist]

Don't you just wish there had been (reliable) recordings then.

Of that time? Well, in a way, yes.

[amateur51]

So don't bother to post on this thread. There are many other threads on Platform 3 of no relevance at all to classical music to choose to grace with your humour(?)

The fact that this topic has generated more than eighty replies in less than 24 hours would seem to indicate that this discussion is of interest to many. Please drop your clangers elsewhere, Mr GongGong.

HS

This thread is on Platform 3, the definition of which is 'The place to talk about anything'.


I blame the original poster - perhaps Talking About Music would have found it a better home?

[gradus]

Tchaik 5 and its tiresome last movement.
Mahler 8, ear-splittingly loud.
Wagner Lohengrin, b.....y boring.
Smetana Bartered Bride, see Lohengrin.
Bellini/Donizetti ditto mostly.

[teamsaint]

This thread is on Platform 3, the definition of which is 'The place to talk about anything'.


I blame the original poster - perhaps Talking About Music would have found it a better home?

so should the Country and Western thread be on Platform 3 , or talking about music? What if one year they have a "Country and Western " prom? where would that thread go?
On topic, but off genre, the great Johnny Cash had a few albums I bet he wished he left on the mixing desk !!

[ahinton]

Tchaik 5 and its tiresome last movement.
Mahler 8, ear-splittingly loud.
Wagner Lohengrin, b.....y boring.
Smetana Bartered Bride, see Lohengrin.
Bellini/Donizetti ditto mostly.

Blimey! All gradus and no ad Parnassum, it would seem...

[Bryn]

... the great Johnny Cash had a few albums I bet he wished he left on the mixing desk !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTmTobf9KSY

[MrGongGong]

Do messages #75 to 78 have ANY relevence at all to the subject of this thread?

Let's just stick to the topic and keep the comedy for another thread?

HS

FFS
Of course they do

here is your question

What are your "bête noires"?

and those posts are about the answer
if you wanted a list then ask for one

you also said this

But the thing is, Waldhorn, that it isn't typical Tchaikowsky and it does not compare with his other three suites in style.

Maybe WAM might indeed wish that he himself had written it - it is certainly a charming work.

I would say the same about Max Reger's "Variations and Fugue on a Theme of (a)Bach, (b) Mozart, or (c)Beethoven

Some very clever orchestration, but the Provenance is suspect.

To which one might equally ask the question

ANY relevence at all to the subject of this thread?

I'm sure you can find a "100 favourite classics" on CFM and "100 most hated pieces" somewhere else ............