Track of the week

[Erian]

#4 Franz Schubert, Impromptu in F minor, Op 142/1 D935/1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1rCDLGcVhs

Played here by Alfred Brendel, who also plays this piece on the recording I have, although it's a different recording.

You have to play this very loudly, with eyes closed and head bowed, so that you can drown in the sound.

Schubert is one of my musical Gods. His music is always full of emotion and often hauntingly beautiful. It is always very human, and his soundworld is very distinctive. This piece has always spellbound me, so full of melodies and rhythms, sometimes expressing hope and joy, sometimes doubt and uncertainty, sometimes anger, sometimes sorrow, sometimes peace and acceptance.

Schubert died aged only 31, of syphilis. A year earlier, he had carried a torch at Beethoven's funeral. I get quite emotional thinking about what was lost because of their early deaths.

Incidentally, the Impromptu in G flat is more famous and many prefer it. It is also wonderful and perhaps more immediately accessible (and this youtube performance is stunning):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_z9oSn-eIM

[Vitki]

These are more up my street. Thanks.

I enjoyed both but prefer the F minor.

[Erian]

#5 Benjamin Britten, Saint Nicholas op 42

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUBWFvQaNuQ

This is a superb recording of the whole piece. If you can't listen to the whole piece, try from 47.22, where Britten incorporates an old English Hymn (God moves in mysterious ways) for the 9th and final part of the cantata, the death of Nicholas. There's another old hymn incorporated at about 25.20.

The work is personally affecting for all sorts of reasons. I have sung it twice in Durham Cathedral. The first time was with staff, children, and parents of Durham Chorister school. Arz was a day boy there, so that brings a set of fond memories. The cantata is written for children and amateur choir and one of its themes is the care of young children - three pickled boys.

All of it is sweetly written, with many tunes and contrasts. My personal favourite is the 8th part, His Piety and Marvelous Works. That starts at about 38.17 in the above recording, but you can also hear it here, with libretto for that part:

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/b ... s-cantata/

I find the first three lines, and the way Britten handles the music at that point deeply moving in ways that I find hard to describe. That particular musical setting evokes an autonomic response, but the words also have emotional meaning. I have been an atheist ever since I learned to think for myself, but there is something about total deep faith that I find very moving. Perhaps there is some insecure part of me that craves a genuine loving caring God.

Britten was a genius. There's lots of his music which is worth seeking out: A Simple Symphony, The Four Sea Interludes from his opera Peter Grimes, a Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, and so forth. But there's also quite a lot of his music that I find unrewarding, or perhaps too intellectual.

[Erian]

#6 Virginia Plain, by Roxy Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDULlMa8Hxc

First day at Uni, walked into the student's union and this was playing. It marks the end of one life and the beginning of another.

[Aleila]

I've been enjoying listening to these, Erian Interestingly my opinion on each so far has been either 'I quite like this actually' or 'This really isn't for me' with nowt inbetween! I think the Planxty track has been my favourite so far.

I missed two weeks so here's another double bill of modern nonsense

Karnivool - Themata
I only came across this recently but it has to be one of my favourite songs of its decade. The band is usually of a prog persuasion, but they adopt a more traditional structure for this and polish it to perfection. With some of the middle eastern / spiritual flavour that I seem to be so fond of

Mike Dawes - The Impossible
This popped up in my feed pretty soon after release and it's taken up permanent residence in my mind. I didn't realise one-man acoustic guitar instrumentals were a thing until this one hooked me from start to finish. One of my favourite songs of this decade

[Ramael]

Karnivool - Themata

Quote from a youtube comment: "Sounds like Tool and Dream Theater had a beautiful baby."
Yep, sounds about right.

I've listened to everything from this thread. Some pieces were not really to my taste, but I'm glad I got to hear them anyway. Quite enjoyed most of it.

[Emesis]

Nice thread!

Music is one of my biggest passions in life. I listen to just about any genre, so long as it is good.

I'd like to promote one of my all time favourite bands; Motorpsycho from Trondheim in Norway. Hard to define them in terms of style, but I'd say everything from progressive rock and borderline metal to alternative/indie and pop with hints of country and even jazz.

Motorpsycho - Watersound

Motorpsycho - The Nerve Tattoo

Motorpsycho - The One Who Went Away

[Kirby]

So I recently got back into the mood to listen to Mike Oldfield.
Far Above the Clouds is one of my favourites
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxdwnyfT0D4

[Erian]

#7 Symphony no. 5 in E minor op 64 by Peter Tchaikovsky

The link here is to the final movement, with a performance conducted by Valery Gergiev, to mind the greatest living conductor - and this performance is extraordinary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av0SFzcfRBE

This was the first record I ever bought. It cost around 10 shillings (50p now) from Woolworths in Maidenhead. It was a cheap re-release played by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. When I bought it, I didn't know whether I would like it or not, but it had started to dawn on me that it was classical music that I liked, not the pop that my friends raved about, and so this was my first entry into the classical world.

Whenever I hear it, I am instantly transported back to being an unhappy misfit 14-year old who really had no clue how the world worked in terms of social behaviour. It this music that made me decide to abandon trying to conform with my friends' interests, and to go my own way - happy, or not.

Tchaikovsky's music is unmistakeable. It's often a bit crass for purists. Every emotion is worn on the sleeves. Even so, this is one of the great symphonies, and I prefer it to the sixth symphony which the purists admire more. All of his music is tinged with motifs of fate, and sorrow, and pathos. I didn't know it at the time, but he was unhappily gay and unable to handle the implications. He had a totally disastrous marriage, ending essentially on the first night when he was unable to perform with his bride.

Even so, there are passages in his music - examples are the finales to Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, and the Manfred symphony - when the sorrow and angst segue reluctantly into hope, triumph, and glory. In this performance, you will note the change in mood at about 8.20, and then more stirringly at about 9.00. From there, listen to the handling of the brass - trumpets especially - and the repetition of the theme (from about 1.30) switching from sorrowful minor to triumphal major. Masterful, and hugely emotional.

[Erian]

#8 The Wild Goose, by Kate Rusby, from the album Sleepless

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Ytu2feXng

This link looks as though it has been ripped from the album. It is slightly the superior version, thanks to the bit of vocal harmony employed at times, but this next version is also very fine, and you can see Kate and her then husband John McCusker on fiddle and (I think) Andy Cutting on accordion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6tVU--Cbes

Her first few albums are beyond compare; wonderful singing in a rich Barnsley accent. The musicians on her albums and playing on her gigs are the cream of British folk, wonderful musicianship. I have seen her many times in concert. I even bought a B-flat whistle so that I could play along to some of her songs - she seems to favour singing in that low key. In later years, she broke up with her husband and her albums became profoundly Christian and less successful. All the early albums are gems, endlessly replayed and often very emotive.