#Bach Orchestral Suite

[mikrokosmos]

J.S. Bach - Orchestral Suite no.3 in D Major, BWV 1068 (c.1730)

I want to say I was listening to this one in my rocking chair next to my books on music. Or with wine and cheese at someone's party. No, I put this on while I washed the dishes. I thought I'd share my old post on this same piece but realized that I'd never written about this suite. And I don't have anything profound or introspective to say about it. It made taking down this mountain if dirty dishes feel like a grand accomplishment. It's a reminder that this music was written for the audience to enjoy. It doesn't have to be treated like music theory homework. That being said, I do like looking at the history of the orchestral suite, which would develop into the symphony. What can we hear from Bach's Proto-Symphony no.3? The Orchestral Suite was a carryover from France's Ouvertures. It would start with a slow section to draw in the audience, and then a lively counterpunctual exercise. After the "heavier" opening movement, the rest of the pieces are light dances, galanteries (minuets, bourrées, courantes, sarabandes, gavottes, allemandes, gigues, etc.). Because the German political elite had a taste for French art, they would have music played during their banquets and parties. Bach had no real interest in this kind of music (which would be a decent income source) because he was already dedicated to writing church music. But what few he did leave behind (we only have four Orchestral Suites attributed to him) sounds like great party music. The Suite in D Major is scored for 3 trumpets, timpani, oboes, violins, viola, basso continuo, giving it a louder sound than the others. The Ouverture starts with the slower grand statement announced by the trumpets and timpani. As you'd expect from Bach, this opens into a counterpunctual explorations of the melodies that developed out of the opening, but with the vibrancy of Vivaldi's fast paced concertos. The ending section cuts back and ends with a more subdued coda. The Air of this suite has stuck in our culture through films and TV, popular for its beautiful melodies. I remember first hearing it in the most ironic example I know; played during the library scene in Seven (or "Se7en") from the 1995 film. The ugliness and depraved misanthropy in the film is contrasted for a moment by the idealized "beautiful music" by an idealized "Great Composer". I thought it was showing the spectrum of human minds, that the "greatest" Baroque composer comes from the same human family as a lunatic serial killer using the Christian "Seven Deadly Sins" for gruesome punishments against his victims. Listening to it now I think it's fascinating that someone could have been touched or moved by the gorgeous Aria without words Bach wrote for whatever party or occasion, and she would have no idea that the same music would be heard again as so many of these festival pieces were back then. The latter dances show off the trumpets to make each one boisterous and lively. Two Gavottes with heavy emphasis on the beat, an upbeat Bourrée, and ending on the always fun and swaying Gigue. Of these dances I think I love Bach's gigues the most because they're always densely woven with his long waves of counterpoint across each instrument to create a dance that makes me think of old pub drinking songs or sailors dancing and drinking at sea. Another reminder that this music is supposed to be fun and enjoyable for anyone, and you can turn your own living room into an 18th century court for fun.

Movements:

Ouverture

Air

Gavotte I/II

Bourrée

Gigue

[gillianthecat]

a very soothing video from my biology lecture (audio not necessary, but it enhances the experience)

[kitschke]

AOTD 10/19: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 (Arr. Papalin for Recorder Ensemble) - Johann Sebastian Bach

did feel a little like i was in a fairy forest. recorders just have that quality

[cuddlytogas]

it's possible I made an extended playlist to give context to the classical (non-technically speaking) music in OFMD, with the pieces listed in historical/chronological order, and in the context of their full pieces (mostly - I'm not literally going to put entire operas on there, but symphonies and concertos have mostly been finished)

and it's possible that that playlist is ten hours long

and it's possible you can find it on spotify right now, and that below the cut is the full chronology

(edit: corrections welcome btw!!!! i am by no means a music historian, nor have any higher level music education, just a lifelong association and interest <3 if you know better than me, PLEASE let me know so it can be more accurate!)

N: most of the Vivaldi pieces don't really have any dates I could find, so they're just sort of scattered through the first few decades of the 18th century. and yes, technically the opening Corelli isn't in there, but I think putting another La Folia in is important for the context of s2!

1700 - Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op 5 No 12 "La Follia"

1703-6 - George Frederic Handel, Keyboard Suite No 4 in D Minor, HWV 437

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416

1711 - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No 11 in D Minor for Two Violins and Cello RV 565

1715 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in G Major TWV 41:G1

1718-20 - Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor Op 8

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in F Major, K 107

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Oboe Concerto in C, RV 452

1720s? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, RV 531

1727 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156

1725-35 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba in A Minor TWV 52:a1

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in G Minor, RV 576

1730 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major, BWV 1068

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Piccolo Concerto in A Minor, RV 445

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 63, 'La Follia'

1738 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Harpsichord Concerto No 4 in A Major, BWV 1055

1738-9 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E Major, K 380

1741 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

1747 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Musical Offering, BWV 1079

1747-8 - George Frederic Handel, Concerto in F Major, No 16, HWV 305a

1773 - Mozart, Symphony No 25 in G Minor, K 183

1782 - Mozart, String Quartet No 14 in G Major, K 387

1795 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 2 in A Major, Op 2 No 2

1792 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 3 in C Major, Op 2 No 3

1780 - Mozart, Symphony No 34 in C Major, K 338

1786 - Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (excerpts)

1810? - Beethoven, Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59: Für Elise

1811-12 - Beethoven, Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92

1826 - Franz Schubert, Ständchen (Serenade) "Horch, horch, die Lerch!" D 889

1827 - Franz Schubert, 4 Impromptus, Op 90, D 899

1833-4 - Felix Mendelssohn, Lieder Ohne Worte, Book 2, Op 30

1835 - Frédéric Chopin, 12 Études, Op 25 (excerpts)

1838 - Robert Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op 15 (excerpts)

1838 - Franz Liszt, arr., 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S 558, No 9

1842 - Frédéric Chopin, Waltz No 12 in F Minor, Op 70, No 2

1871 - August Wilhelmj, arr., Air on a G String

1874 - Giuseppi Verdi, Messa da Requiem (excerpts)

1878 - Antonín Dvořák, String Sextet in A Major Op 48

1888-91 - Claude Debussy, Two Arabesques, L 66

1890 - Claude Debussy, Rêverie, L 68

1888, 89, 90 - Erik Satie, Trois Gymnopédies, Gnossienne No 5, Trois Gnossiennes

[doshmanziari]

Two (relatively) recent and worthwhile considerations of FromSoftware soundtracks

As I mentioned a few months ago, I supplemented and republished an older essay on the music of Demon's Souls, the Dark Souls series, and Elden Ring, which you can read here. And I figure it's worth bringing up again, since I'm recommending two videos on the same general subject for a mini-post here.

To begin: Loopine, one of whose videos I've linked before, came out with a video, entitled "How Elden Ring Surpassed the Dark Souls OST", arguing that Elden Ring's clearer and deeper sound design puts it above Dark Souls 3's score. I find Loopine's analysis according to production unusual, appreciable, and clearly articulated; and, contrary to most media criticism solely being the self expelling thoughts, Loopine also conducts a small-scale experiment with other people regarding musical recognition — an experiment that, were it to be applied on a large scale, could yield very interesting results. Even so, the final thought I continue to have here is that the scores to Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 are so comparable in their aggressive roteness (or rote aggressiveness?) that sound design can't possibly make that large of a difference.

Let me kinda diverge for a moment to remark on the trend Loopine mentions of "REAL CLASSICAL GAME COMPOSER CONDUCTOR REACTS TO DARK SOULS/ELDEN RING MUSIC" videos, just to say: first, how weird that videogame culture at large continues to suffer from this sort of media envy, awaiting the representatives of "real" art-forms to recognize an Undertale theme, or whatever. There seems to be the presumption that a certain kind of professional occupation necessarily yields novel insights; and that such professional appreciation somehow enforces an objective qualitative status upon the art. Did Bach admire the work of Vivaldi? Sure. Does that mean that I have to "admit" that Vivaldi's music is great? Uh... no. But, more than that, I find these videos confusing, given their emphasis on the quality of effectiveness — because a large part of my critical argument is that most tracks for the Dark Souls sequels and Elden Ring are highly ineffective.

A possible reason for this stark divergence of opinion is that, perhaps, most of the people featured on these videos haven't spent much time with the games, and so they miss the more particular details; and they also do not examine the soundtracks as a whole, both internally and according to FromSoftware's relevant catalogue, and lose sight of a bigger picture which reveals the tracks' interchangeable identities. On its own, Yuka Kitamura's theme for Lady Maria might seem extraordinary, and specially suited to that confrontation; when played right after the two-dozen others like it from Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring... well.

From here, then, I'm going to recommend Crunchy's comparison of the original Demon's Souls soundtrack to the remake's. Being almost 3.5 hours long, and having no script prepared, it is, in a sense, the opposite to Loopine's. The length is not necessarily to the comparison's benefit. I think the video's maker would admit that, eventually, it becomes difficult to sustain the fresh particularities of criticisms made earlier on, because the offenses are fairly consistent. Since I left a comment on the video, I'm going to just quote that comment here:

This is a good musical analysis. Most of the comparative critiques I've come across couch the difference in terms of "taste", meaning that they tend to miss the contextual dimension. I think that it can be argued that the remake's music even fails on its own terms: the elaborateness of the reimaginings suggests that you're battling highly complex bosses with multiple phases, and that's not the case at all. With some of these tracks, I feel like half of the respective boss fight might have gone by during the intro. Given the general orchestral approach, I have the impression that the composer was probably drawing on Bloodborne's OST as the standard, since that was the last FromSoftware title prior to the remake which utilized an actual orchestra for pretty much its entire score; but, of course, Bloodborne's OST is communicating something very different from the world of Demon's Souls. Shrieking, slamming, grotesquely dark horror is definitively out of line, just as the needless graphical elaborations turn a brutal and austere world into a series of decked-out theme parks. I continue to be confused by most of FromSoftware's musical decisions for these games. For instance: why hire Motoi Sakuraba as your composer for Dark Souls? Nothing about Sakuraba's résumé recommends him as a composer of any sort of orchestral music. Was he just an affordable, "reliable" option? [Crunchy provided his own response to this: "I think Sakuraba was hired mainly because he had a relationship with Bandai, who published DS1."] How so much of a game like Elden Ring can be particularly crafted, while 85% of the music is a bundle of atmospheric non-events and "epic" slop, is baffling. Miyazaki's role here seems strangely incompetent, and out of line with the image of the man who pushes these teams to exceed aesthetically generic impulses.

(Parenthetically, I'd call readers' attention to Crunchy's videos on Elden Ring. I've explored just a few, but each stands among the most interesting and informed analyses of the game's esoterica I've come across so far) — OK. That's all for now. Bye!

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I am by far your superior, but my notorious modesty prevents me from saying so.

- Erik Satie

To his contemporaries and peers Erik Satie was something of an enigma. Just a few of his quirks included claiming he only ate white foods, carrying a hammer wherever he went, founding his own religion, eating 150 oysters in one sitting, and writing a piece with the instruction to repeat 840 times! As a composer, Satie paved the way for the avant-garde in music and became a very influential figure in the classical music of the 20th century whose works still sound fresh today.

Born into a poor and difficult childhood in the Normandy harbour town of Honfleur on 17 May 1866, Satie would always be an outsider. The Paris Conservatoire to which he was enrolled by his stepmother, herself a pianist, became for him “a sort of local penitentiary” during his teens; he left with no qualifications and a reputation for being lazy. He signed up for military service in 1886 and dropped out within the same year. Immersing himself in the bohemian life of Montmartre, he became linked with the popular music scene and eked out a living as an accompanist, playing at the Chat Noir cabaret. Always on the periphery, and forever out of money, he later downgraded from the cramped room in which he lived to the less fashionable Parisian suburb of Arcueil, where he holed up in isolation and squalor – no visitors set foot in the room during the near-30 years he lived there.

Much has been made of the eccentricities of this flâneur, who was always seen in a grey velvet suit, and yet underlying Satie’s music is his serious desire to create something new. You can hear it in his popular piano pieces: the haunting scales and rhythms of the Trois Gnossiennes written under the spell of Romanian folk music, and the meditative world of Gymnopédies, where, as in a cubist painting, motifs are “seen” from all sides. At a time when French composers were looking to escape the shadows of Wagner’s epic Romanticism, the French composer’s stripped-back mechanical sound, inspired by the humble barrel organ, offered a radically simple approach.

Satie preferred originality to the mundane. The composer of the famous Gymnopedies, could never be accused of having an uninteresting personality. For one, his outgoing fashion statements always caused a stir. During his Montmartre years, he had 12 identical velvet corduroy suits hanging in his wardrobe, which earned him the nickname ‘The Velvet Gentleman’, and in his socialist years, he donned a bowler hat and carried an umbrella.

Debussy helped to draw public attention to Satie, orchestrating two of his Gymnopédies, yet Satie had to wait until much later in life to attain celebrity status. While still earning a living writing salon dances and popular cabaret songs, and after suffering a creative crisis, he enrolled himself at the Schola Cantorum in Paris at the age of 39. Rather than finding him validation, his studies seem to have fuelled his hatred of convention - it’s with more than a hint of bitterness that he claims to put “everything I know about Boredom” into the Bach chorale of his masterful Sports et Divertissements piano pieces. But notoriety led to a succès de scandale and when it came it came with a bang in Parade, his surreal, one-act circus ballet for Diaghilev. Into the orchestral score, which featured jazz and cabaret tunes, were thrown typewriters, sirens and a pistol - just the kind of noises a wartime audience would normally pay not to hear. With its rigid cubist costumes by Picasso - which restricted Massine’s choreography - and a promotional push from Cocteau, it was provocative enough to secure Satie’s position at the vanguard of modernism.

Yet Satie was continually frustrated in his attempts to be accepted as an artist in high society France - his failure to establish himself at the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts, to which Debussy had won a scholarship, only compounded his resentment. Was this treatment by the cultural elite fair? Certainly his determination to antagonise his audience in his late ballets did little to endear him to the critics, but the fierce criticism he received in Paris was also a sign of things to come. Pierre Boulez would later poke fun at Satie’s lack of craft, while composer Jean Barraqué - another proponent of 12-tone music - would deride Satie as “an accomplished musical illiterate … who found that his friendship with Debussy was an unhoped-for opportunity to loiter in the corridors of history”.

Satie is perhaps, to this day, the most audacious and original composer when it comes to naming his works e.g. Gnossiennes and Gymnopédies. With Satie you will not see symphonies, concertos or opus numbers. Satie possessed a wicked sense of humour and his mockery, both of himself and others, became an inspiration for many of his irony-tinged works. His Sonatine bureaucratique is a spoof of Muzio Clementi’s Sonatina Op. 36 and contained many witticisms in the score. For example, he writes Vivache (vache being French for cow) instead of the original Italian tempo marking Vivace.

Whether in the collage-like miniature piano parodies he wrote during the World War I, his creation of a theatre format that has endured over the years, or in his collaboration with Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso y Sergei Diaghilev, there is a liveliness of imagination and a hunger for innovation that made Erik Satie In the torch bearer of the vanguard in his work. Satie would influence so many so strongly that years later some of his closest friends became radical artists, for example. ManRay, the sculptor Constantin Brâncusi, and Marcel Duchamp, or a much younger group of Paris-based composers like Les Six.

Satie, a known drinker of absinthe, and apparently every other alcohol available, died of cirrhosis at the age of 59 in Arcueil, France in July 1925. But his compositions, especially those deceptively simple-sounding solo piano works, find life today through recitals, concerts, and great movie scores. Although he died in poverty with little success to his name, today Erik Satie is acknowledged as a founder of 20th-century modernism, who changed the face of music.

Personally I do find Satie's music enriching, But I also find that his calculated wackiness is culturally apt. Pieces like ‘3 Pieces in the Shape of a Pear’, ‘Flabby Preludes for a Dog’ and ‘Desiccated Embryos’ rewardingly deflate Wagnerism's excesses in a characteristically French way.

[lady-of-oorid]

[reg1ment]

the boston crusaders have announced their show for 2024, glitch!

music featured under the cut:

Shaker Loops: Jon Anderson/John Adams

G-Spot Tornado: Frank Zappa

Orchestral Suite No.2: J.S. Bach

Take-Five: Dave Brubeck

True Colors: Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg/ Saunder Choi

State of Independence: Jon Anderson

Worm Hole: Ryan George, Colin McNutt, Iain Moyer, Mike Zellers

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Sunday, 11-24-24, 7pm Pacific

'Evenin' all, Mr. Baggins here with your Sunday Serenade, some music to soothe your achin' nerves and help ease us all into a good night, as we head into the new week. I thought we'd start this week's program off with Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48. Neville Marriner and The Academy do the honors.

Let's stay with Marriner and the ASMF, and hear their 1968 recording of Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E-minor, Op. 20.

Now let's travel back to 1953, for this historic first LP recording of Beethoven's Concerto No. 3 in C minor, by a young Rudolf Serkin with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia,

Now let's hear Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, in E-flat, Op. 55, the "Eroica" or Heroic Symphony, with Lenny and The Vienna from his "Old Lion" years...even better than his earlier recording with the NYPO!

Now let's hear a little Bach, this time his Orchestral Suite No. 1, BWV 1066, played by Marriner and The Academy. Simply divine!

Now let's hear from Rudolf Serkin and Eugene Ormandy with The Philadelphia Orchestra again, this time with their sparkling performance of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in D-minor, Op. 40, of Felix Mendelssohn.

Here is another of Leopold Stokowski's transcriptions of famous pieces, this one his Tannhauser Overture and Venusberg Music, with massive orchestra and chorus, recorded for RCA Living Stereo in 1961. While I don't get into Wagner a great deal, this is the ultimate performance of this piece, and the ultimate recording, as well!

Now here is Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in a rare recording from 1946, of an absolutely gorgeous aria from Mozart's opera "Il Rey Pastore", K 208, "L'amero saro costante." Schwarzkopf's instrument was so young and fresh at this point, this recording as well as others made at the same time ("Martern aller arten", which I will post next) are amazing documents of her musicianship even in her early years.

And here from the same group of recordings, is "Martern Aller Arten" from Mozart's "The Abduction From The Seraglio". 1946.

And with that lovely and triumphant piece our Sunday Serenade draws to a close. I do hope you've enjoyed the selections for this evening, and maybe even heard something new to your ear. This is Mr. Baggins signing off for tonight. I'll return at 8am Pacific with Morning Coffee Music.

Until then, dream sweet dreams, babies, dream sweet dreams.

Baggins out.

[edge-oftheworld]

orchestral teeth/twl/nitsw/ /lom/goy/lonely heart

draft 2 of the first two movements is up <3

hope you enjoy!! there's a bit of layering of parts that may or may not clash in some places (don't mind the end of the first movement)

enjoy a lot of cello melody (bc luke's voice), unpolished danceableness, a bunch of key changes in teeth (because i'm trying to mimc 4 versions of that song in 2 different keys) and me trying to convince you ghost of you is on calm so that the violas get a solo in calum's verse :)

link to movement 3's first draft and older versions of these

inspired by (other than 5sos):

-the moldau by bedrich smetana -little threepenny opera suite by weill -wine, women and song by strauss -viola concerto in g by telemann -viola concerto in c minor by jc bach

no timestamps sorry. each movement blurs the 3 songs together you just gotta hear it through. anyway go listen to the inspo too if you feel like more classical music!

this is a demo made using musescore, not recorded with live instruments (yet)

[gasparodasalo]

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Orchestral Suite No. 1 for 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo in C-Major, BWV 1066, I. Ouverture. Performed by Siegbert Rampe/Nova Stravaganza on period instruments.

[fairyhaos]

Hi Yena! How are you?? Can I have some orchestral music recs please? I've been wanting to get listen to more classic music, but I have no idea where to start. I hope your exams (and revision!) goes well!!

hi oh my god!!!!!! id love to give you orchestral recs!!!!!! it really depends on ur music taste tbh but classical music is sooo so versatile so im gonna go thru a list of semi popular pieces and just give a few words-vibe explanation of them too

Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 - 20th cent dramatic romance movie soundtrack (specifically focused in the 3rd mvt)

Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite - exhilarating storytelling with dramatic climax

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - the epitome of 18th century stuffy wigs and aristocratic balls

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor - the dark theme of the anti-hero in a vigilante/dystopian movie

Beethoven Spring Sonata - if the imagery of petals floating down a fast-flowing stream was fit into a melody

Elgar Salut d'Amor - cream silk and pink ribbons in pigtails

Beethoven Romance No. 2 - swiss royalty ballroom dancing music. specifically switzerland, for reasons unknown to my brain

Monti Czardas - if spanish yearning was a violin piece

Dvorak Serenade for Strings in E Major - imagine the colour dark yellow spinning around super fast amongst the falling autumn leaves

if anyone wants more orchestral music recs then I'm always happy to provide!!!!! just send in an ask w the vibes of music that you'll want and im do my best to find something 😎

[jardaworksgallery]

Music I like - from my vinyl collection -

Great Czech classical music - Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta - (Jiří Bělohlávek conducts the Czech Philharmonic)

The Sinfonietta is an orchestral composition by Leoš Janáček, which was first performed to the Prague audience on 26 June 1926 under the baton of Václav Talich at the same time as the Glagolitic Mass.

Leoš Janáček (3 July1854– 12 August1928) was a Czech composer of classical music. Although he belonged to the generation of Czech modern music, his style was characterized by considerable individuality and originality. His unusual melody, based on the folk music of Moravian regions, especially Slovácko and Lachia, became appreciated. He has made a name for himself worldwide with operas, including the most frequently performed Jenůfa, performed as Jenůfa. His orchestral-vocal works Glagolitic Mass, Sinfonietta, Rhapsody Taras Bulba and chamber works, especially string quartets, have also received world acclaim.

The first movement of the Sinfonietta was re-written by the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer into the song Knife-Edge and recorded for their debut album.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer (abbreviated ELP) was an English rock supergroup. She was very popular in the 1970s, selling 40 million albums. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, harmonica, whistles, producer[2]), and Carl Palmer (drums, percussion). Founded in 1970, this rock trio played an important role in the formation of progressive or symphonic rock.

In addition to their own compositions, such as the Tarkus suite, they also arranged classical originals by Bartók, Janáček, Bach, Ginastera, Copland, Gulda, Sullivan, Orff and Tchaikovsky.

In 2010, the band was reunited and played a gig at the High Voltage Festival in London. A recording of the concert was later released on the album High Voltage.

Source: Czech Wikipedia

[discworldwitches]

Music ask game #6?

6. A song that makes you think of a family member?

this one reminds me of my omi (and my mom)! she would always play classical music in the morning as she was getting up and getting ready. i have a playlist of the songs that she would play :’)

thank you!

[mishalikessoundsandcolours]

One of my classmates has been getting into classical music recently, so I'm thinking if I could introduce him to the Atom Heart Mother Suite (I mean it's not classical, but orchestral instruments are used and it's very epic overall) and then maybe get him to listen to Pink Floyd somehow. I don't know, I just think that there's a chance that some classical music lovers (especially ones who like Bach and Tchaikovsky, like my classmate) might have the potential to like progressive rock. I dunno why, I just feel like they might. Also I just need someone in my class to yap about Pink Floyd with (my other classmate who's also our band's drummer likes them, but I don't think she's as obsessed with them as I am)

This idea actually came to me after I heard that guy saying that he loves the organ and immediately thought about Autumn '68 from The Endless River album, maybe I could actually show this one to him first since it's short but also very nice

[fiammee]

Hello, how are you? Hope the playing session in the last week was good!

So, for the question for this weekend since I got to listen to Jon's composition... What are you top 5 of his solo compositions and why?

Heyyyy my dear and welcome❤️ finally finished school, waiting for the final exam :)

Actually I didnt get to play on last sunday bc our teacher got sick like 30 mins before the show😭😭 hopefully hes good now and tomorrow we might play again, crazy story😵‍💫

Lets start (its always so difficult to do a good placing but lets try🥲):

5) Before I Forget

A good mix of pure rock 'n' roll, ballads and english folk/medieval music. Also his arrangement of the Bach Toccata and Fugue "Bach onto this" with Cozy Powell on drums (fantastic work of his) is so nice to listen to.

4) Gemini Suite

The "sequel" of the Concerto, with each movement based on a different member of the deeps. You can clearly see his interest in the zodiac (Gemini being his sign, and every musician that participated had their sign and birthday too!). This work stands out from the previous one obv bc Its orchestral, but also because you can feel that his music is mostly not melodic or follows an harmony, but it's "organized noise", bizarre jingles, sound effects (like percussion parts) and sound walls that are so fascinating and unconventional to me. Also his collaboration on the 3rd movement with Yvonne Elliman (really nice singer, you should check her work!). My favourite movements are Piano, Drums and Organs.

3) Sarabande

Another tribute of his love to Bach and Baroque dances (every piece maintains the name of the specific dance) where he kept the original time signatures but experimented more with the electric-acoustic interaction between instruments. Sarabande (track) is hypnotic and captivating, and Gigue has a beautiful continuous piano part that sets the rythm :)

2) Boom Of The Tingling Strings

One of his later and first orchestral-only works. If I remember correctly he got this title from a poem about a childs experience with being under a grand piano, and the thing that stands out for him is that "unexpectedly violent" sound, recalling his childhood (so cute☺️). He wrote a piano part so complex compared to his skills that got played only by a concert pianist (Nelson Goerner), so I consider this work to be also one of his most challenging, both in technique and expression; very atmospheric piece, with melancholic inspirations from the 900' revolutionary composers (take this personal view with a grain of salt: im no professional in judging correctly this kind of music😭 but the piano solo part in the middle of Allegro Giusto reminds me of the Prokofiev's War Sonatas, more precisely the 6° in A Major: again this was composed during the middle of a the 2° world war and the sovietic dictatorship, and the music perfectly shows the chaos that took place in people's minds: I've got the same "out of place" feeling with Jons music and its mindblowing for me). Altough I wrote an essay here its still too little to describe this incredible piano concerto 😌

1) Concerto For Group And Orchestra

I want to put the Concerto still on no. 1 bc of the huge impact it had both musically and socially aswell. A first approach of combining popular and élite music in 1969, a revolutionary period where the younger generations wanted to change the old post-war sistem that moved everything, so the union of young-old was visionary enough. He made this work with a strict deadline and in basically no time, probably going burnout after burnout: but he still managed to kick asses and showed his early genius to the world, making Ritchie mad enough (I bet to this very day) ❤️❤️❤️

This was a bit long, ooops🤣 but you gave me the right occasion to talk about it in a free manner, so thanksss dear💋 (I know that I have to still make a review abt your fic gal, I wish to find the proper time soon😭)