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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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bibliomania · 19/12/2022 17:11

Carlos - you can't fault Our Clem's range of references. Unexpected and enjoyable.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 19/12/2022 14:28

Tarrega I found bland, but I did like that it reminded of the theme to Bagpuss
JC Bach was lovely - I agree that it feels warm and tender.
I quite liked the Shostakovich - the flute parts create incredible furious energy. I'd be keen to hear the rest of the symphony.
Taverner I LOVE The Lamb. It's on my Christmas playlist. I'd not clocked before that there are only seven notes. The harmonies are both rich and mournful. Although the overall feeling is sombre I think there's a warm peace to it that feels right at Christmas. I love The Coventry Carol and I think it has similar vibes.
Carlos There were a few versions of this on spotify, and I preferred the very 1970s piano/orchestra version to the original Moog heavy recording. The original is dark and brooding, the piano version is jazzy and a little daft.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 19/12/2022 10:03

Theme from A Clockwork Orange: Wendy Carlos.

I really enjoyed this piece; it brought a smile to my face today. It's jazzy and cool and I love the piano in it.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 18/12/2022 16:03

bibliomania · 18/12/2022 11:07

doesn't raise any Christmas cheer

I agree with that, Fuzzy!. I expected to like it more, but didn't warm to it - it didn't feel like a warm piece.

Definitely not, Biblio. It suggests sadness to me. Clemency doesn't go too much into ho ho ho :)

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AliasGrape · 18/12/2022 11:57

Shostakovich Agree that the historical context was helpful. It felt like an angry piece and that makes sense.

Tavener yes it was a very somber piece. I didn’t like it initially but gave it a couple of goes whilst once again sorting laundry, and I did appreciate it more on subsequent listens, don’t think I’ll ever love it though.

bibliomania · 18/12/2022 11:07

doesn't raise any Christmas cheer

I agree with that, Fuzzy!. I expected to like it more, but didn't warm to it - it didn't feel like a warm piece.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 18/12/2022 08:33

The Lamb: John Tavener.

This is a melancholic carol, which has an eerie, haunting quality to it owing to its sparse, dissonant harmonies. It doesn't raise any Christmas cheer, but I like it all the same for its simplicity and I find it very moving. I hadn't realised that it's composed of only seven notes. It also has an interesting time signature or several time signatures. It's more complex than meets the eye.

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bibliomania · 17/12/2022 14:46

Very helpful to get the historical context. Not a cheery little Christmas number, understandably.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 17/12/2022 09:45

Symphony no. 10 in E Minor, Op 93, 2nd Movement, Allegro: Dimitri Shostakovich.

I wasn't looking forward to listening to this; I was sure I wasn't going to like it. Well, I was wrong; I think this excerpt is brilliant. I would listen to more! I think this piece has a mad, wild energy and is very angry in tone, which makes sense in the historical context. I thought this was excellent and I will go back to listen to the complete work sometime.

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AliasGrape · 16/12/2022 16:01

I enjoyed today’s JC Bach but I’m not sure it’s life changing for me.

bibliomania · 16/12/2022 13:40

Never knew there were multiple musical Bachs. Today's was pleasant without blowing me away.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 16/12/2022 10:45

Es ist nun aus mit meinem Leben: Johann Cristoph Bach.

I like this cantata (I think this is a cantata?). I think it's rather comforting in spite of its bleak title (now that my life is ended).

I'm not quite feeling the wow factor that Clemency experienced, but I would listen to more music like this. I felt a bit sorry for this lesser known Bach and how some of Johann Cristoph's pieces were attributed to Johann Sebastian. The Bach clan were numerous and many had Johann in their names too. J.S. Bach had a son called Johann Cristoph Friedrich, confusingly!

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AliasGrape · 15/12/2022 15:02

The Tarrega was very nice what there was of it. It felt a bit incomplete to me somehow though.

bibliomania · 15/12/2022 10:57

Agreed, Fuzzy, the Tarrega is a very likeable piece.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 15/12/2022 10:18

Lágrima: Francisco Tarrega.

A lovely, gentle piece of music. You can nearly feel the homesickness of the composer in the middle section when it's in the minor key. I like the contrast between the major and minor sections and the return of the major one in A-B-A form. The album from which this is taken looks good. Must listen to it later on.

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AliasGrape · 14/12/2022 23:52

I thought the Mouton was gorgeous.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 14/12/2022 17:49

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 14/12/2022 17:47

The Corelli I already have on my Christmas playlist. It's bright and festive despite the minor key, and just a great easy listen.

The Mouton was not for me although I admire the complexity and cleverness of the layering. But I am thrilled that it has moved IsFuzzyBeagMise and bibliomania - the best music really does have the power to change how we feel Smile

Doesn't it just 😊

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TheTurn0fTheScrew · 14/12/2022 17:47

The Corelli I already have on my Christmas playlist. It's bright and festive despite the minor key, and just a great easy listen.

The Mouton was not for me although I admire the complexity and cleverness of the layering. But I am thrilled that it has moved IsFuzzyBeagMise and bibliomania - the best music really does have the power to change how we feel Smile

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 14/12/2022 12:55

bibliomania · 14/12/2022 11:40

Wow, I loved the Mouton.. I put it on the background and then had to stop and lie down to listen to it, and remember the world still has so much beauty. I could feel a change in my heart rate.

Aw, fabulous 💓

Great name. Jean Mouton.

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bibliomania · 14/12/2022 11:40

Wow, I loved the Mouton.. I put it on the background and then had to stop and lie down to listen to it, and remember the world still has so much beauty. I could feel a change in my heart rate.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 14/12/2022 11:21

Nesciens Mater Virgo Virgum: Jean Mouton.

I love this. I could listen to it on a loop. I think I can hear the voices going around in a canon, now that I've read about it. I was thinking before I read the notes how the music seems quite dense, but that it's not cluttered. All the parts seem to fit into each other beautifully. It really is lovely, restful and soothing.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 13/12/2022 22:35

AliasGrape · 13/12/2022 22:26

Loved the Corelli - a lovely, undemanding piece that felt really warm.

Definitely!

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AliasGrape · 13/12/2022 22:26

Loved the Corelli - a lovely, undemanding piece that felt really warm.

AliasGrape · 13/12/2022 12:53

I know exactly what you mean biblio - I actually read it last year and just felt really irritated with him, but I started late and read in a huge chunk so thought I’d see if daily small doses would improve things. Not really but I’m committed again now haha. There’s the odd nice recipe I plan to try and never do, and some nice photos. But mostly I hate the idea that you’re doing Christmas wrong if you don’t have £80 candles, decorate fallen branches from your huge and well stocked garden with vintage glass decorations sourced from the Nuremberg markets themselves before stocking your ‘larder’ with artisanal figs from the picturesque greengrocers which just happens to be on the corner of your street. Some of us live in a mid terrace in Stockport and shop at Lidl Nigel, but we manage.

Awful derail sorry! I’ll listen to today’s piece shortly.

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 13/12/2022 11:35

I loved the Corelli. It's lovely and mellow in the slower ssections with an uplifting middle section. I liked Clemency's description of it. I could imagine a group of friends coming together to play it as it isn't challenging from a technical point of view. It wouldn't take too much effort and it's enjoyable.

That made me laugh about the Christmas Chronicles, Alias :) I'm just finishing books on the readalongs. I can't cope with anything new at the moment.

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