10. lutoslawki- Symphony No.3
Thirty minutes of meandering digressions are underpinned with a unity as solid as ice in this the corner stone of Lutoslawski's output. Don't listen for the tunes though, listen to the sound. It has a kaleidoscopic coloration that invokes the playfulness of Robins in a snowscene and trumpet blasts picturing dozens of mice being scattered. Low throated cellos remind you it is actually winter. The finale reminds me of corniced ice cascading into a waterfall! A fine introduction to 20th century music.
9. Debussy- The snow is dancing.
Debussy was a master of imagery and this piece is no exception. Not only does it depict falling swirling snowflakes but it also captures the mood that it evokes. Those intricate and delicate rhythm textures take you back to when you were a child, you just had to go out and play in the snow and you never got cold! The sonic atmosphere is bathed in melancholy yet all is over at a breath over three minutes!
8.Delius- Sleigh Ride
Just picture big woolly snow flakes gradually burying a rural scene, then superimpose an old fashioned winter journey on top of that- the result is Delius's sleigh Ride. The piece goes boldly forward in sweeps as you are carried down the hills, yet it still somehow retains a dreamy atmosphere. The flute provides the melody pictorial of moonlit snow covered vistas to add to the already established joy in your mind's eye.
7. Chopin- 'Raindrop' Prelude.
Nothing epitomises pouring rain like Chopin's Raindrop prelude, total genius and way ahead of it's time. Tenor notes patter underneath under almost every bar in this piece yet it still retains a warmth, this gives you the feeling of sitting around a roaring fire with the rain lashing against the windows outside! The mood changes significantly in the central section with rumblings from the bass, picturing gathering clouds and the likelihood of thunder ripping through the sky!
6. Debussy- La Mer (!)
You might associate these three symphonic sketches with Summer but nothing could be more wintery than the percussion of mountainlike waves pounding a rocky shoreline hurling surf way up into the air! The playfulness of the waves, the throbbing motion of the water and unpredictability of the sea are bought out with superbly calculated effects in the first and third movements. I couldn't not include it.
5. Shostakovich- Symphony no.15. Adagio.
In the bleak midwinter! The Cello steals the show with it's deep lyrically haunting solo passages. Every bar is rich in meaning, oozing with Shostakovian musical expression. Away from the Cellos the rest of the adagio is as bleak as a treeless Hebridean landscape, deep shadows and plenty of meaningful pauses. Good miserable stuff!
4. Ligeti- Lontano
This piece always reminds me of setting out on a walk in winter while it's still dark. What an eerie sound! Sloping musical passages weave in and out of each other until they all converge on the same ethereal landscape. The result is a breathtaking effect. It is impossible to hear all the details at once even with a 'trained ear', a bit like listening to a car engine! And this piece is a well oiled machine.
3. Tchaikovsky- The Snow Maiden
This work has suffered from years of neglect yet it is cut out of the same cloth as his three ballet suites that Tchaikovsky is most famous for. What wonderful evocative music, it goes from being as gentle as falling snow one minute to cutting as the north wind the next! Rich in melodies and wonderfully orchestrated but that shouldn't surprise us Tchaikovsky was a master tunesmith in everything that he wrote.
2. Schubert- Symphony no.4
In the outer sections, after a few calm moments the main theme is punched out like a horse breaking out of it's stable! Hairpin crescendos rise and fall with magical Schubertian intervals, the inclusion of trumpets ensure a crisp delivery. A pastoral clarinet solo is a stand out feature in the slow movement while the third movement adds a little perkiness to the occasion, all couched in the graceful minor keys of winter.
1. Vaughan Williams- Symphony Antarctica
This music is so vivid and other-worldly it hardly needs a commentary! From your own arm chair you can taste brutal wilderness and feel savage gales! The aforementioned qualities are accentuated by shimmering strings, wordless soprano and a female chorus. Upward striding themes gravitate towards optimism but at the last hurdle the music just collapses as if through exhaustion, however the wordless chorus has the final word :)
You might also like : markmusicspring.blogspot.co.uk
markmusicsummer.blogspot.co.uk
markmusicautumn.blogspot.co.uk
mark-music10.blogspot.co.uk
Would love to here comments from musical blog fans (m.b.f's).
One love, Markles.
Thirty minutes of meandering digressions are underpinned with a unity as solid as ice in this the corner stone of Lutoslawski's output. Don't listen for the tunes though, listen to the sound. It has a kaleidoscopic coloration that invokes the playfulness of Robins in a snowscene and trumpet blasts picturing dozens of mice being scattered. Low throated cellos remind you it is actually winter. The finale reminds me of corniced ice cascading into a waterfall! A fine introduction to 20th century music.
9. Debussy- The snow is dancing.
Debussy was a master of imagery and this piece is no exception. Not only does it depict falling swirling snowflakes but it also captures the mood that it evokes. Those intricate and delicate rhythm textures take you back to when you were a child, you just had to go out and play in the snow and you never got cold! The sonic atmosphere is bathed in melancholy yet all is over at a breath over three minutes!
8.Delius- Sleigh Ride
Just picture big woolly snow flakes gradually burying a rural scene, then superimpose an old fashioned winter journey on top of that- the result is Delius's sleigh Ride. The piece goes boldly forward in sweeps as you are carried down the hills, yet it still somehow retains a dreamy atmosphere. The flute provides the melody pictorial of moonlit snow covered vistas to add to the already established joy in your mind's eye.
7. Chopin- 'Raindrop' Prelude.
Nothing epitomises pouring rain like Chopin's Raindrop prelude, total genius and way ahead of it's time. Tenor notes patter underneath under almost every bar in this piece yet it still retains a warmth, this gives you the feeling of sitting around a roaring fire with the rain lashing against the windows outside! The mood changes significantly in the central section with rumblings from the bass, picturing gathering clouds and the likelihood of thunder ripping through the sky!
6. Debussy- La Mer (!)
You might associate these three symphonic sketches with Summer but nothing could be more wintery than the percussion of mountainlike waves pounding a rocky shoreline hurling surf way up into the air! The playfulness of the waves, the throbbing motion of the water and unpredictability of the sea are bought out with superbly calculated effects in the first and third movements. I couldn't not include it.
5. Shostakovich- Symphony no.15. Adagio.
In the bleak midwinter! The Cello steals the show with it's deep lyrically haunting solo passages. Every bar is rich in meaning, oozing with Shostakovian musical expression. Away from the Cellos the rest of the adagio is as bleak as a treeless Hebridean landscape, deep shadows and plenty of meaningful pauses. Good miserable stuff!
4. Ligeti- Lontano
This piece always reminds me of setting out on a walk in winter while it's still dark. What an eerie sound! Sloping musical passages weave in and out of each other until they all converge on the same ethereal landscape. The result is a breathtaking effect. It is impossible to hear all the details at once even with a 'trained ear', a bit like listening to a car engine! And this piece is a well oiled machine.
3. Tchaikovsky- The Snow Maiden
This work has suffered from years of neglect yet it is cut out of the same cloth as his three ballet suites that Tchaikovsky is most famous for. What wonderful evocative music, it goes from being as gentle as falling snow one minute to cutting as the north wind the next! Rich in melodies and wonderfully orchestrated but that shouldn't surprise us Tchaikovsky was a master tunesmith in everything that he wrote.
2. Schubert- Symphony no.4
In the outer sections, after a few calm moments the main theme is punched out like a horse breaking out of it's stable! Hairpin crescendos rise and fall with magical Schubertian intervals, the inclusion of trumpets ensure a crisp delivery. A pastoral clarinet solo is a stand out feature in the slow movement while the third movement adds a little perkiness to the occasion, all couched in the graceful minor keys of winter.
1. Vaughan Williams- Symphony Antarctica
This music is so vivid and other-worldly it hardly needs a commentary! From your own arm chair you can taste brutal wilderness and feel savage gales! The aforementioned qualities are accentuated by shimmering strings, wordless soprano and a female chorus. Upward striding themes gravitate towards optimism but at the last hurdle the music just collapses as if through exhaustion, however the wordless chorus has the final word :)
You might also like : markmusicspring.blogspot.co.uk
markmusicsummer.blogspot.co.uk
markmusicautumn.blogspot.co.uk
mark-music10.blogspot.co.uk
Would love to here comments from musical blog fans (m.b.f's).
One love, Markles.
Trying to cut a com(pli)ment short: Fine idea; fine presentation; very poetic introductions.
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