Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyday (Part 1)

Danza Gaya: Madeleine Dring

This is a fun, charming and enjoyable piece. If you are looking for the promised oboe from the notes, you need to look outside of Spotify. While it's good, we have been hearing a lot of solo piano pieces and it's lovely to hear oboe with accompanying piano for a change. There is a good version on You Tube.
**

**
**
**
**
**
**
**

Managed to listen again and thought it was rather beautiful.

I wasn’t fussed on the Tailleferre or the Purcell. The dog has taken against the Mussorgsky and barks all the way through it so I will try again later when I find my headphones.

Khovanshchina: Dawn on the Moskva River: Mussorgsky

This is a colourful, atmospheric piece of music. Lots of twittering woodwind and sympathetic strings at the start. The oboe comes in with the theme, peaceful and expressive. There is a cloud on the horizon in the form of strident brass and percussion and angry strings. This soon passes by and peace is restored. The theme comes back, taken up by flutes and then solo clarinet and what a lovely conclusion on the French horn. A peaceful start to the day.

I love the version by L'Arpeggiata. It's still a beautiful piece of music.

Oh! Thanks TheTurn! I'll look it up. It sounds interesting!

If you're on Spotify, there is a playlist called classical meets jazz, or something similar, that is worth listening to if you fancy something different. It's a very cleverly done; classic pieces with a jazz twist.

For anyone who fancies something a little different (or indeed a compare and contrast exercise), L'Arpeggiata have recorded a version of this with improv clarinet, and jazz piano instead of the ground bass. I have the CD album, but I think the whole audio is available on YouTube. I think a few critics were horrified, but I like it.

Oedipus; Music For A While: Purcell

I was wondering if we were ever going to hear music by Purcell. His music is wonderful. This piece is gorgeous and has such a haunting quality. I love the version on Spotify; the voice is beautiful. I looked up the text as I wanted to know all the words.

Purcell died very young at thirty-six. It is rumoured that he came home late one night and his wife refused to let him in and he caught a chill. Or he may have caught tuberculosis. Poor man either way. Another great composer gone too soon!
**
**

I expected to like this, as I was reading up on Le Six, but it didn't grab me TBH. I listened to a few of Tailleferre's other pieces out of curiosity, and it seems that she uses dissonance pretty often - I fear I'm just not grown-up enough to enjoy her stuff!

Tailleferre: Valse Lente

This is such a clever, whimsical piece. I really like it. It seems to me that Tailleferre has turned the traditional waltz upside down here.

It starts in the usual way, but an increasing dissonance creeps in during the second phrase, more so in the third, where I think she uses chord progressions in fifths (that was against the rules in standard harmony). Then it breaks down and falters but picks itself up and tip toes off to conclude in an entirely new key.

The album on Spotify by the artist who plays this piece is worth listening to, by the way.

Also, Tailleferre sounds amazing, playing the piano and composing up to the age of ninety-one!

You are too nice

Yes, please keep going IsFuzzyBeagMise

Definitely keep going, Fuzzy!

I'm wondering if I'm getting a bit repetitive at this stage, but I'll keep going anyway because I'm enjoying myself

Today's Vivaldi is beautifully expressive, and he always has such strong melodies. Really liked this one, and will take some time to listen to the rest of the piece when it won't have to compete with the strains of the Mario theme music coming from the next room.

That pretty much sums mine up, Best.. Perhaps one day I'll contribute an informed technical comment, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it.

Mine is usually I like it/I don’t like it Biblio

Thanks Fuzzy, very useful information! And thanks for keeping the momentum on this thread - I do listen nearly every day but I sometimes find it hard to think of a comment.

Hi @BestIsWest! You're welcome!

The version on the cello is alright, but the original is sublime :)

I’m glad you said that @IsFuzzyBeagMise because I’ve just listened to the cello version and didn’t like it. Will look up some voice versions.

Stabat Mater R621: Vivaldi

For anyone on Spotify, the suggested version of this is an adaptation for cello. The original is for voice and strings.

This is really beautiful. Vivaldi at his finest. It's going to the favourites list, for sure.

I liked the Meredith Monk very much. I managed to find snippets of the fil on YouTube which were fascinating- would like to see the whole thing.

I have been catching up this afternoon after a few days away. The Wagner, the Handel and the Chopin were fairly meh - I can't remember them even a few hours later.
The Schubert Lied I enjoyed - I usually like his songs, and went with the Benjamin Appl version on the Radio 3 site. Am a little bit in love with him I think.

Ellis Island today I liked very much - very evocative. You can absolutely hear the water.

Ellis Island: Meredith Monk

I really like this piece. As I'm listening to it now, the rain is hammering against the windows keeping time with the music. Lovely. I think that the repetitive motif in the main theme is very reminiscent of Irish music. I don't know if that's the intention of the composer or if my ears are deceiving me, but it ties in with the long-standing relationship between Irish immigrants and Ellis Island.