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Year of Wonder: Classical Music For Every Day (Part Two)

505 replies

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 18/07/2022 09:18

Year of Wonder (Part One)

New thread to accompany the book Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton Hill.

All welcome to join in.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 12/08/2022 09:39

In A Landscape: John Cage

I really like this piece; it has grown on me. I find it very calming to listen to. It was composed for a dancer, but it's great music to read to or to meditate to, if you are inclined. Gentle, reflective and meandering, but the six-note motif keeps it grounded throughout. I think the piece may not have a key signature, which gives it a timeless feel.

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bibliomania · 11/08/2022 18:57

Ha to Mr Bean!

I've heard this one many times as my university always has it at graduations (I'm normally doing something lowly such as showing people to their seats). Never knew what it was called. It's good.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 11/08/2022 10:26

I listened to the Chopin Project album yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Wonderful music. I'll listen to it again.

Locus Iste: Anton Bruckner

For some reason the theme tune for Mr. Bean came to mind when I heard this first though it isn't that similar, maybe just the first bar 😊

It is lovely, calming and restful (now that I have banished Mr. Bean from my mind!)

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BestIsWest · 10/08/2022 11:01

I’ve spent the morning listening to more Arnalds. What beautiful music.

BestIsWest · 10/08/2022 10:47

Glazunov I really like this though it does put me in mind of a 1930s score from a black and white movie where the heroine suffers unrequited love for the leading man. Lots of sighing, I was hoping that by the end he’d see what she was made of and passionately declare his love for her but it wasn’t to be.

Wistful is the word I’m looking for I think.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 10/08/2022 09:10

I didn't get a chance to listen to the Chopin Project album yesterday. I'm looking forward to it!

Violin Concerto in A Minor Op 82, Andante: Glazunov.

I have listened to this piece a few times to get to know it. It's fine, but there are violin concertos that I like a lot more that engage me from the opening bar. This one leaves me feeling a bit neutral.

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AliasGrape · 09/08/2022 22:17

The Arnalds is beautiful, just gorgeous.

bibliomania · 09/08/2022 20:14

The Arnalds is so good! Really, this project has brought me so much unexpected pleasure.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 09/08/2022 20:10

Love the Arnalds. The Chopin Project album is brilliant, although I don't know anything about the original pieces that inspired it. The string quartet Verses on there is breathtaking. Planning to go and see him on tour in September.

Welshwabbit · 09/08/2022 14:47

I am catching up but just needed to say - why had I never heard the Bach Chaconne before??? Both the piano and the original are absolutely majestic.

BestIsWest · 09/08/2022 14:00

I loved the Arnalds too. Wonderful.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 09/08/2022 09:57

Eyes Shut-Nocturne in C Minor: Ólafur Arnalds after Frédéric Chopin.

I think this is wonderful. I love the reworking of this nocturne. It's very sensitively done. The strings just give it a new frame. It's a bit like restoring an old photograph. A favourite for this month for sure.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 09/08/2022 09:51

bibliomania · 08/08/2022 18:18

Surprised at how much I liked the Reich. - it seems to say that something wonderful is coming.

Great description!

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AliasGrape · 08/08/2022 20:46

I preferred the second half of the Alberga when it started sounding like a folk song but still not really a stand out for me.

The Tallis was lovely, I really do enjoy the choral pieces and this was very soothing and I felt it was gently lapping at my frazzled brain!

Reich Just loved this. Felt modern and classic at the same time.

BestIsWest · 08/08/2022 19:00

I thought the Saint-Saëns was nice too. Nothing spectacular but I like the simplicity of it.

Ride Through, again enjoyable but won’t become a favourite.

The Tallis is beautiful but like many of the choral pieces just bores me, sorry.

Reich - I loved Electric Counterpoint and went on to listen to some of his other stuff. I love this too.

bibliomania · 08/08/2022 18:18

Surprised at how much I liked the Reich. - it seems to say that something wonderful is coming.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 08/08/2022 17:50

I enjoyed the Reich much more than I expected to. To my ears there is far more development of the melody and accompaniment than in Electric Counterpoint, while still retaining a minimalist feel. The drops into the minor key stop it from becoming too saccharine.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 08/08/2022 09:44

Duet for two Solo Violins and String Orchestra: Steve Reich.

We had 'Electric Counterpoint' by Steve Reich early on in the playlist and it's good to have another piece by him.

This is a bright, lively piece of music. I find it uplifting. I have an image in mind of birds in flight against a summer sky. It's enjoyable overall and I like the decisive ending too.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 07/08/2022 10:25

Yes, it's quite understated I think.

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TheTurn0fTheScrew · 07/08/2022 10:03

I thought this very calming, but it didn't blow me away. Mood music more than something to stop me in my tracks.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 07/08/2022 09:51

*had !!

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 07/08/2022 09:41

If Ye Love Me: Thomas Tallis

This is lovely. I like it when the playlist has a religious choral piece on a Sunday. The notes are interesting on Tallis. He certainly has some challenges to contend with.

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TheTurn0fTheScrew · 06/08/2022 21:29

This was quite striking, wasn't it? I'm not sure it will be a favourite, but I did that thing where you listen again straight away to work out was what going on. Although the cello sounded amazing I agree that I preferred the Brahms.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 06/08/2022 20:02

Ride Through: Eleanor Alberga.

This is an interesting piece of music as it seems to start out as a modern twentieth* *century piece and turn into a folk song. It's not going to be a favourite with me. While I always love to listen to the cello, I much prefer the Brahms from earlier.

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TheTurn0fTheScrew · 05/08/2022 11:05

AliasGrape · 05/08/2022 09:03

I enjoyed the Saint-Saëns - it wasn’t hugely memorable but it was very enjoyable in the moment.

Yup, exactly that Grin.

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