Prom 19: 29.07.16 - David Bowie Prom

[EdgeleyRob]

I really enjoyed it - thought the three songs in the middle from Black Star were really moving - Paul Buchanan really did a great job. The John Cale version of 'Sorrow' and in particular 'Space Oddity' with the gospel choir a real high point. Marc Almond crap...but he's always been totally p*** in my opinion. Also didn't enjoy the French singer, whoever he was, but thought the musicians in the orchestra did a top job throughout.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts John.

[doversoul1]

Good summary of my opinion too - I quite liked Philippe Jaroussky's contribution though.

OG

I saw this this morning and wondered how he got involved (I nearly said mixed up ) in this.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/30/bowie-by-proms-review-progressiveness-for-progressiveness-sake

Here he is. Probably not the highlight of the evening for the Bowie stalwarts and not a brightest moment either for Jaroussky fans but at least I found the idea rather interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bI0HIzu73I

Especially as he recently performed in what I imagine to be a somewhat Bowiesh (or may be not) new opera.

https://bachtrack.com/review-saariaho-sellars-only-the-sound-remains-dutch-national-march-2016

Incidentally, the Guardian article includes this comment.

Bowie generally treated reverence with contempt, too: he’d probably have shivered at the idea of a night like tonight.

[BBMmk2]

It was an absolute debacle! Out of tune singers and the arrangements of the songs: awful!

[underthecountertenor]

Incidentally, the Guardian article includes this comment.

Bowie generally treated reverence with contempt, too: he’d probably have shivered at the idea of a night like tonight.

Reads like something the critic thought up before going to the concert, then decided to use it anyway, however unapposite. Whatever one may have thought of it, it was not in any way reverent, any more than Bowie's performance of, say, Alabama Song was reverent towards Weill.

[underthecountertenor]

It was an absolute debacle! Out of tune singers and the arrangements of the songs: awful!

By which you mean simply that you didn't like it.

[BBMmk2]

By which you mean simply that you didn't like it.

I'm a great Bowie fan, ever since Ziggy days but this was beyond a joke. The arrangements too, were not good, eiother1

[underthecountertenor]

I'm a great Bowie fan, ever since Ziggy days but this was beyond a joke. The arrangements too, were not good, eiother1

I didn't suggest that you weren't a Bowie fan. You are now merely restating that you didn't like it. I thought the arrangements and re-imaginings were, with one or two exceptions at most, terrific. You thought they 'were not good'. But you also appear to have decided that, because you thought they were not good, ergo they were not good. That's a bit presumptuous.

[Bryn]

So annoying that the Radio 3 coverage ("Every Prom live on Radio 3") cut out just a few seconds into John Cale's version of Valentine. The last 34 minutes of the concert itself were lost to Radio 3. The compressed dynamics and paucity of data of the R6M offering are just not up to the job. Shamed on Radio 3!

[underthecountertenor]

So annoying that the Radio 3 coverage ("Every Prom live on Radio 3") cut out just a few seconds into John Cale's version of Valentine. The last 34 minutes of the concert itself were lost to Radio 3. The compressed dynamics and paucity of data of the R6M offering are just not up to the job. Shamed on Radio 3!

Having been there, I very much hope that at some stage Radio 3 gets round to broadcasting the whole thing. Given that the BBC as a whole promoted this concert more than any other, it's ironic that Radio 3 chose to cut short the broadcast in the name of rigorous scheduling.

[Bryn]

Having been there, I very much hope that at some stage Radio 3 gets round to broadcasting the whole thing. Given that the BBC as a whole promoted this concert more than any other, it's ironic that Radio 3 chose to cut short the broadcast in the name of rigorous scheduling.

I am glad to say I can now take back at least some of the criticism of Radio 3. The iPlayer Radio 3 offering now extends to the beginning of the applause following the Cale et al version of Space Odidty, so only around the last 11 minutes or so of the concert is missing, in other words only the closing Josephine Stephenson version of After All remains to be tagged on. Oh, and the reprise of Let's Dance.

[Bryn]

I'm a great admirer of Bowie's music which is why I wouldn't go near this.

The Cale arrangements were something of a relief. Overall oil give it foive, but out of tane, not foive. The Almond flavouring was not to my taste.

[Daniel]

... I very much hope that at some stage Radio 3 gets round to broadcasting the whole thing. Given that the BBC as a whole promoted this concert more than any other, it's ironic that Radio 3 chose to cut short the broadcast in the name of rigorous scheduling.

I missed the first part of this Prom and haven't yet seen John Cale's contribution. I was very wary of what might be in store, and though some of it didn't do much for me, there were moments where its reach was amazing I thought.

I found Philippe Jaroussky's version of 'Always crashing the same car' (what a perfect analogy for life) very moving indeed, it had a Dowland like pithiness. The title song of 'Blackstar' is almost uncomfortable, it seems to touch on unmediated despair, and just hang there, and the duo of Anna Calvi and Amanda Palmer did that miraculously at times I thought. 'I Can't Give Everything Away' with Paul Buchanan I also found emotionally spellbinding.

A number of other fine moments too, and even if some of the arrangements didn't quite fly for me (though some certainly did) I found myself interested to hear them and curious to hear where they might lead. Like others here I really enjoyed the playing of stargaze. Very glad indeed this Prom took place I must say.

[doversoul1]

I'm a great admirer of Bowie's music which is why I wouldn't go near this.

Do you think in popular music after, say, The Beatles, performers and their music are the two halves of one creation? I was rather curious and having watched the highlight and thought the songs rather ordinary, listened to a few originals on youtube. Result: if I were a Bowie fan, I too would have been definitely kept away from this Prom, since how good the performance may be would have been irrelevant. It seems to me that this is one of the peculiarities of popular music.

This is, however, not a criticism of this prom. As has been repeatedly mentioned, the orchestra sounded very good. I suppose it all depends on what you expect from these non-classical, Tribute Proms. Or the question may be what the aim is.

[Serial_Apologist]

Reads like something the critic thought up before going to the concert, then decided to use it anyway, however unapposite. Whatever one may have thought of it, it was not in any way reverent, any more than Bowie's performance of, say, Alabama Song was reverent towards Weill.

I don't think Weill would have been particularly sympathetic towards ideas of "reverence" at the time he composed "Alabama Song".

[Serial_Apologist]

I didn't suggest that you weren't a Bowie fan. You are now merely restating that you didn't like it. I thought the arrangements and re-imaginings were, with one or two exceptions at most, terrific. You thought they 'were not good'. But you also appear to have decided that, because you thought they were not good, ergo they were not good. That's a bit presumptuous.

Pots and kettles.