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.

Cherryana I don't have a connection to anyone famous, so I would definitely relish any link to Jacqueline Du Pré. She was a fabulous musician. My second name is Jacqueline. That's as close as I can get to her :)

I love a bit of chamber music so I'm happy with this. That's interesting in the notes about the piano, that previously, the violin and cello would have been inferior to the piano, whereas they are all equal partners here. I hadn't realised that. A very competent piece of music.

Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major

I’m sorry but I thought this was a bit dull and I was bored by it.

Another big catch up for me due to crazy busyness at work.

String Quartet no 2 in D major 3 Nocturne Andante by Alexander Borodin I liked this and enjoyed reading about the composer who managed to combine music, science and feminism. What a guy.

Symphony no. 2 in E flat major op 63 2 Larghetto by Edward Elgar one I had heard before but probably never listened to properly. I loved it, I really do think he wrote his soul. And it was beautiful.

Petite messe solennelle 1 Kyrie by Gioachino Rossini I didn’t mind this, it might be one that grows on me.

Ar hyd y Nos All through the Night Traditional Welsh. Maybe it was just the version I listened to but I hated this. Saccharine and over produced.

Missa prolationum 1 Kyrie Eleison I by Johannes Ockeghem yet again this transported me to a medieval church. I loved it.

Carmen Suite no 1 3 Intermezzo by Georges Bizet I’m not a fan of opera in general so my heart sank a bit when I saw this, but I really enjoyed it. I found the accompanying story really added a poignancy.

Concerto for two trumpets in C major RV 537 1 Allegro by Antonio Vivaldi I didn’t mind the tune of this but I didn’t like the trumpets, they just sound so thin and patchy to me. I’m really not keen on brass instruments. I enjoyed the bits without trumpets though.

Symphony no. 1 in D major op 25 (Classical’) 1 Allegro by Sergei Prokofiev Oh I really liked this. A bit unusual but in a good way

Piano Trio no 5 in D major op 70 no 1 (Ghost) 1 Allegro vivace e con brio by Ludwig van Beethoven I quite liked the changes of tempo in this one. It kind of keeps you on your toes, almost like he’s making sure you are still paying attention.

Piano Concerto in G major 2 Adagio assai by Maurice Ravel. I didn’t mind it I guess but it didn't grab me. Not sure I get why CBH found it so life changing but to each their own.

I have listened to this piece (Ravel) twice now, but I'm still not connecting with it either. I'll try again later!

I think we all hated the version of Ar Hyd Y Nos on the Spotify playlist if that was the one you listened to @MamaNewtNewt.

@BestIsWest it was! Just catching up on everyone's comments so will try the alternative version. I think the Spotify version was just awful.

@MamaNewtNewt there's a lovely Bryn Terfel one on Spotify too I think. Much better than the one on the playlist which sounded like a John Lewis-ified Christmas ad version. Except not that good.

I enjoyed yesterday's Beethoven. I listened to it outside on a cold, crisp morning, and the "brio" definitely put a spring in my step.

I really, really liked the Ravel today. I liked how the piano was used to accompany the flute and oboe in the pair of soaring solos. It felt quite unconventional for a concerto, not at all what I expected.

@BestIsWest and @IsFuzzyBeagMise thanks for playing my game!! I think a relative in a strings section and sharing a name - gives you dibs!!

Have to say todays was one of my least favourites. I found it a bit drab.

@Cherryana you're welcome! I hadn't thought of it before, but I like it!

Don't know about today's. It might be a grower, especially that bit where the wind instruments come in.

O dolce mio tesoro by Carlo Gesualdo

Not my cup of tea. I get that his choice of harmonies would be revolutionary for the time, but I didn't especially enjoy it.

It's a no from me. It's such a sweet title, that I thought I would be listening to something tender and soothing. It has an unsettling effect with the discordant harmonies. It's interesting, but not likeable and the composer sounds like a very nasty piece of work.

I am very behind and fell off the thread. I haven’t had chance to catch up yet, but I really want to. Hopefully tomorrow is the day - I might just join in from tomorrow and then catch up on the missed ones as and when.

@AliasGrape

I am very behind and fell off the thread. I haven’t had chance to catch up yet, but I really want to. Hopefully tomorrow is the day - I might just join in from tomorrow and then catch up on the missed ones as and when.

Yes do! You shouldn't have to worry about listening every day!

@AliasGrape my other half also has Year of Wonder on his Kindle, but just listens when he remembers. No catch-ups, just enjoying the day's selection. I am sure if I miss a few I'll do the same.

Violin Concerto, Op. 14: II. Andante by Samuel Barber
If anyone has had a few days off, IMVHO today is a very good day to pick things back up. I love this concerto. I have the first movement on my current playlist, but am grateful to Burton-Hill for reminding me that the second is equally lovely - warm and rich and wistful. Big bonus points for the gorgeous oboe solo, the melody of which the violin later picks up.

I don't use the playlist so don't know which recording is on their, but would totally recommend the Hilary Hahn recording available on YouTube.

Yesterday's - I don't mind a madrigal, although this won't be one of my favourites. As always, the notes enhanced the experience.

I wonder if I'm Too Late now ?

Not at all! Jump in!

Did not like that madrigal at all.

I do like the Barber though. I find string pieces do stir the emotions.

Mini catch-up. Loved the Ravel, loved the Barber. Not keen on the Gesualdo, although I think that was partially the voices on the Spotify list recording.

I loved the Barber violin concerto (2nd movement) from start to finish. I don't know this piece at all or Samuel Barber either. My knowledge of twentieth century composers is a bit sketchy.

I'm listening to the first movement at the moment. It's interesting. It's like a hybrid of the romantic and modern. Big sweeping lyrical melodies but with a modern feel when it comes to harmony. I can sense the influence of Bruch and Sibelius. I'll definitely listen and get to know this concerto.

Well I did do.a big catch up despite saying I wasn't going to - won't record my thoughts on each individual piece here except to say I really liked the Bizet and Ravel pieces. The Bizet from Carmen was just lovely and sunny, and looking back at comments it seems the Ravel wasn't well liked - maybe I had a better version as I don't use the Spotify playlist? Or maybe it was just fairly undemanding listening which fits with what I need right now, my brain is a bit frazzled.

Today's Barber was lovely, rich and uplifting without being 'fussy'.

Zigeunerweisen Pablo de Sarasate

There’s no getting away from the fact that the violin just doesn’t do it for me in the same way as, say, the piano does. There’s times when it sounds incredibly beautiful but sometimes - even played by the best, I just don’t think it sounds that pleasant! It’s clearly a me problem.

That said, I did enjoy this piece. It was quite varied I thought, I liked the contrasts. There was a section that sounded like a bit of a hoedown 😂 And other parts that were really moving.