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

[MamaNewtNewt]

This thread is for the 50 bookers (or in fact anyone else who wants to join in!) who are reading Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyday by Clemency Burton-Hill.

The author has selected one piece of music for each day in the year, and includes a brief overview of the piece and the composer to provide some context. There's a playlist on Spotify and we can share links to each piece of music for those without access to Spotify.

I think most of us are planning on (roughly) sticking to the daily setup but feel free to read / listen ahead although the discussions are likely to stay around the music for the current date.

Thanks to @TheTurn0fTheScrew for bringing this book to our attention on the thread. Really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.

Morricone: Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso

This is a lovely, simple, heart-warming piece of music. The album from which this is taken on Spotify looks interesting. It's film themes played on the flute.

Doing a huge catch up and then going to get back into the habit of listening in the morning while I get ready. I’ve have listened to the list so far a few times and there’s definitely some that I wasn’t keen on at first that have grown on me.

Concerto for two violins in D minor BWV 1043 2 Largo ma non tanto by Johann Sebastian Bach - just beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the sections where the two instruments almost seemed to be in conversation. I could imagine Jane Austen characters dancing to this.

Flute Concerto in A minor 1mAllegro assai by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach - I like this one, especially the flute solos. I normally prefer a slower tempo but quite enjoyed how lively this one was.

Piano Quartet in E flat major* op 47 3 Andante cantabile by Robert Schumann* - this was ok. Seemed like background music to me, but I quite liked the ending.

Mélancolie by Francis Poulenc - not keen on this either. There seemed to be too many notes. The piano equivalent of the singers who warble, turning one note into twenty.

Theme from Schindler’s List by John Williams - This instantly made me shiver. The association with Schindler’s List makes this poignant but as a stand-alone piece of music it is also beautiful, haunting and melancholic.

The Spheres* from Sunrise Mass by Ola Gjeilo* - I really liked the intro to this and as I’ve said previously I’m a sucker for anything that I can imagine sitting in a church listening to. The choral section made my soul soar.

Handel in the Strand by Percy Grainger - This was ok. Had a bit of a Christmassy vibe for me.

Ein deutsches Requiem – A German Requiem 1mSelig sind, die da Leid tragen* – Blessed are they that mourn by Johannes Brahms* - this really captured not only the sadness of grief but the paralysing weariness that it can bring. I loved the choral sections too.

Sonata for two pianos in D major* K* Andante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - found this quite pleasant.

I wasn't that keen on today's, it had a bit of a superficial feel to it that took me out of the moment.

I haven’t seen Cinema Paradiso, always meant to. I feel like I’d have known this was a film score/theme even without the notes, it was very ‘filmic’ if that makes sense. I liked it.

I was also bored by the Mozart - so glad I am not alone.
The Cinema Paradiso was ok.

Another Mozart refusenik here.

I don't have a strong feeling about today's, but I should probably watch the film at some point.

bookmarking

Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel

I'm used to hearing this piece played on the radio, without knowing who the composer is.

It's lovely. It's like one long sigh. Very serene and calming. It's also a fitting piece of music as we are taking in the news of the invasion in Ukraine. It gives pause for thought.

I agree @IsFuzzyBeagMise, very calm and lovely, while thinking about today’s terrifying news.

I really liked this one. I liked the plinky style of the piano (I'm sure there's a more technical term) providing the rhythm with the beautiful searching strings over laid. I too found it relaxing.

I liked today’s too - I agree it was very serene and calming. My mind did wander quite a bit though, but I’m pretty sure it would have done anyway whatever the music.

I appreciate the fact it didn't try to overwhelm you.

I really liked today’s. I lay on the bedroom floor with the lights low and just let it wash over me. Nothing very demanding about it at all.

Saint-Saëns: The Swan

This is a very well-known piece of music. It's an iconic piece for the cello, which is so well suited in conveying the beauty and elegance of the swan.

The version on Spotify is too fast, in my opinion. It sounds rushed. A slower tempo is better. Swans don't run, they glide :)

Hello, I liked the swans today - I like the Carnival of the Animals and have used other parts of it in plays I have been involved in.

i thought yesterday's was lovely, but agree with Alias that perhaps there was a tiny touch of background music to it. Very pretty and relaxing though.

Like others, I know today's piece well, and I think it's beautiful. Even a couple of months of my younger child bashing it out for grade 4 oboe didn't ruin it for me . I listened to the Kanneh-Masons' version, which I was lucky enough to hear in person at the Proms this year, and I think they get it spot on.

Loved the swans although Carnival of the Animals always makes me think of music lessons in secondary school.

I think this might be the first one I've actually heard before. I liked it.

Max Richter: Vladimir's Blues

I really like this piece of music and I have started listening to 'The Blue Notebooks' on Spotify. It's a short collection of pieces featuring piano, organ, violin, voice and various sound effects; a very interesting combination. I like it a lot so far. It's very atmospheric; sometimes beautiful, sometimes unsettling.

Clemency's notes are very apt today. The timing is uncanny. This album was produced in 2003 in the run up to the allied invasion of Iraq and it was recorded a week after the mass protests took place.

This is another one I've actually heard before and I really liked it. Will definitely have to give the others a listen.

Catching up again
The Swan - Camille Saint-Saëns Lovely - I really enjoyed this.

Vladimir’s Blues Max Richter - gosh uncanny timing. Really enjoyed this piece also. Would be interested to hear the others.

Today’s piece String Quarte no. 2 in D major 3:Nocturne: Andante by Alexander Borodin

I’d love to know what half those terms mean in the titles ^
Anyway as I was trying to quickly catch up and then listen to today’s in the ten minutes I had free, I sort of sighed a bit when I saw not only was it strings but also over 7 mins when I was hoping for another 3 minute max piece! I’ve been saying that I’m not that fussed about many of the strings pieces (especially if only strings) and I don’t know, I just thought this would be boring somehow. The notes were certainly interesting though and Borodin does sound like an incredible man.

Anyway I found it beautiful, really really lovely and romantic. It made me want to fall in love again.

I don’t think my rushed catch up frame of mind did much justice to the three pieces I heard this morning and I’d like to go back to them all individually.

Vladimir’s blues - lovely, wished it was longer.

The Borodin is just beautiful, so romantic and made me quite emotional.

I’ve loved the last five pieces.

February's musical offerings have been lovely. I will have a long list of favourites :)

I love the Borodin. Romantic is the right word to describe it. I played it once before when I was a music student. I really should have appreciated the chance to have played such beautiful music more then.

I really enjoyed today's. I agree. February has been pretty great.

I’ve got a really soft spot for this Borodin quartet. I also love the fact that a whole Hollywood musical, 'Kismet', was based on Borodin's tunes, including this one ('And This Is My Beloved' was the song version of the quartet movement - this is the original 50s cast recording, wildly corny but kind of great!)

Btw Alias a nocturne is a night-piece, you can really hear that in the music, I think; it’s so beautifully hushed and magical. 'Andante' is just an indication of tempo, meaning it's played quite slowly.