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"Classical" Music
With these long threads about metal and punk music, I can't but hope at at least some of you listen to the kinds of music I enjoy. ^_~
Of course, I don't refer to true "Classical" music, of which I actually have a mild to strong dislike, but to what the average person calls "Classical," similar to how "metal" or "techno" are the lay terms for their genres.
This is one of my favorite fugues. I'll admit openly that I enjoy it largely for nostalgia, but this was the fugue that got me into fugues.
nCDJjfON08E
Now this one is a much more impressive fugue. Technically, it's amazing. Part of the reason I'm so drawn to them is the complex polyphony that largely disappeared from music (worldwide) over a century ago. This one exemplifies everything I enjoy about fugues, and it's a good starting point for someone trying to find their way in the genre.
eSSLfKCXc_4
Now, part of the reason people seem to ignore fugues is that they're only familiar with the old ones written by Bach. Of course, these should be the starting point for anyone, else you'll lack the perspective to understand what has been done with the style since. Still, modern uses should be mentioned, and modern uses can't be discussed without noting Ãstor Piazzolla. Listen to this: there's a lot of fugue going on in there. I also really enjoy the clever dissonance.
ZAE7XnLJjSQ
Fugue was also incredibly important in the formation of 12-tone composition a la Schoenberg. Schoenberg is the fucking man, though his music seems to be too hardcore for most people. Experimental is the word.
YWQAw7XSkDY
Of course, it's not all just fugues all the way down. Speaking of Piazzolla, his Oblivion is a god-damned masterpiece. It's not some virtuso-threshfest like a lot of concertos and lead-quartets: it's just expertly constructed, technically perfect, and wonderfully expressive. This piece proves to me that technical perfection need not come at the cost of expressiveness or emotion. Granted, it's not impressively technical or difficult, but virtuoso pieces are almost a different genre. This is one of my favorite songs.
daFjellvltY
Now, if you understand what's good about that piece, then you'll immediately fall in love with one of my favorite composers: Rachmaninov. It surprises me how relatively obscure he is in most circles. Just listen to The Bells of Moscow. Good pacing and strong melody, even if it's entirely monophonic.
0Wddtne7KSs
Rachmaninov did write his share of virtuoso pieces. This is one of my favorites. Concertos are basically just masturbatory pieces for expert performers to show off with an entire orchestra backing them up.
gpk_3-RJdN0
Granted, as much as I love the piano, the oboe is a much more impressive instrument in a concerto. It has much more capacity for expressiveness, and requires powerful, painful control of the double-reed. (Playing it feels in many ways like playing a horn). The delicate and crisp sound rings strong and clear even in extremely complex technical stretches of music. Just listen to that guy wail.
PGzOJBeig_k
Of course, I also like more "popular" music along these lines. Mars: Bringer of War is amazing to see performed. I'll admit, however, that I really feel Holst dropped the ball with respect to the rest of "The Planets." They're largely slow, boring, and uninspired. He must have used up all of his creativity with Mars.
F4oDDmoWf1M
Of course, I don't refer to true "Classical" music, of which I actually have a mild to strong dislike, but to what the average person calls "Classical," similar to how "metal" or "techno" are the lay terms for their genres.
This is one of my favorite fugues. I'll admit openly that I enjoy it largely for nostalgia, but this was the fugue that got me into fugues.
nCDJjfON08E
Now this one is a much more impressive fugue. Technically, it's amazing. Part of the reason I'm so drawn to them is the complex polyphony that largely disappeared from music (worldwide) over a century ago. This one exemplifies everything I enjoy about fugues, and it's a good starting point for someone trying to find their way in the genre.
eSSLfKCXc_4
Now, part of the reason people seem to ignore fugues is that they're only familiar with the old ones written by Bach. Of course, these should be the starting point for anyone, else you'll lack the perspective to understand what has been done with the style since. Still, modern uses should be mentioned, and modern uses can't be discussed without noting Ãstor Piazzolla. Listen to this: there's a lot of fugue going on in there. I also really enjoy the clever dissonance.
ZAE7XnLJjSQ
Fugue was also incredibly important in the formation of 12-tone composition a la Schoenberg. Schoenberg is the fucking man, though his music seems to be too hardcore for most people. Experimental is the word.
YWQAw7XSkDY
Of course, it's not all just fugues all the way down. Speaking of Piazzolla, his Oblivion is a god-damned masterpiece. It's not some virtuso-threshfest like a lot of concertos and lead-quartets: it's just expertly constructed, technically perfect, and wonderfully expressive. This piece proves to me that technical perfection need not come at the cost of expressiveness or emotion. Granted, it's not impressively technical or difficult, but virtuoso pieces are almost a different genre. This is one of my favorite songs.
daFjellvltY
Now, if you understand what's good about that piece, then you'll immediately fall in love with one of my favorite composers: Rachmaninov. It surprises me how relatively obscure he is in most circles. Just listen to The Bells of Moscow. Good pacing and strong melody, even if it's entirely monophonic.
0Wddtne7KSs
Rachmaninov did write his share of virtuoso pieces. This is one of my favorites. Concertos are basically just masturbatory pieces for expert performers to show off with an entire orchestra backing them up.
gpk_3-RJdN0
Granted, as much as I love the piano, the oboe is a much more impressive instrument in a concerto. It has much more capacity for expressiveness, and requires powerful, painful control of the double-reed. (Playing it feels in many ways like playing a horn). The delicate and crisp sound rings strong and clear even in extremely complex technical stretches of music. Just listen to that guy wail.
PGzOJBeig_k
Of course, I also like more "popular" music along these lines. Mars: Bringer of War is amazing to see performed. I'll admit, however, that I really feel Holst dropped the ball with respect to the rest of "The Planets." They're largely slow, boring, and uninspired. He must have used up all of his creativity with Mars.
F4oDDmoWf1M
Comments
Seriously, though, Mogwai sounds super generic. In the seven or eight songs I tried, I heard nothing at all interesting, and I would be hard pressed to pick them out from a dozen or so similar-sounding bands.
Lately I've really taken a liking to the modernism movement and especially the works of John Adams. This is Meister Eckhardt and Quackie, the final movement of Adams' Harmonielehre. The slow building to a powerful resolution is what makes this piece so amazing.
Smetana's Má vlast is one of the most beautiful compositions I've heard. Die Moldau is an extraordinary piece which really inspires.
I also love opera. Der Hölle Rache is quite possibly the best aria in existence.
This is my favorite fugue and piece of music.
Part 2
I don't think I can really add much to the genius in the above two videos.
Some more of Glenn Gould, in he famous 1981 re-recording of the Goldberg Variations. (That is only 1-7 of 32)
Another great fugue from the Art of Fugue by Bach. This one is a little more accessible than the first I posted.
Finally, here is a video of me playing some Bach. I really don't like my interpretation, it was too rushed in places, but I only had been playing a little more than a year at that point. It's surprising how good you think you sound only to realize you are terrible when recorded.
Bach was the greatest composer to ever live in my opinion. He brought the greatest style of music to its peak and such genius of counterpoint was never again attained. I do understand if you don't like this music, it is quite an acquired taste. I have probably listened to these above pieces 200 times or more, and I enjoy them more with each listen.
I'm sure you know about Glenn Gould, Rym, right?
Other favorites include Dvorak's New World Symphony, and the first Peer Gynt suite by Edvard Grieg. Watching "Death of Aase" performed live is chilling.
Rym, have you ever read GEB? It deals a lot with Bach and fugues in general.
Also, all the youtubes play the first two seconds and freeze. Too many embeds?
I think Der Holle Rache is overdone. Too many wanna-be sopranos try and perform that piece and fail miserably. You've got to be a world-class singer to get that one right.
If anyone likes contemporary choral music, check out Eric Whitacre. Amazing a cappella stuff with a true American Modernist tilt. His site www.ericwhitacre.com has all of his recorded works on an mp3 player. My favorite of his pieces is "Sleep." It was originally written to be used with a Robert Frost text before Frost's estate pulled the rights.
Edit: Rym, you better click that link. Even if you hate the song, I'm absolutely certain you'll enjoy the video.
First off is one of my favorite pieces - the Devil's Trill Sonata by Guiseppe Tartini. The lore behind it goes that Tartini heard the Devil play this song in his dreams, and tried to recreate it upon waking. A very beautiful and technically demanding violin piece, performed by Perlman in these videos.
Part One:
Part Two:
Next up: Tchaikovsky. Swan Lake is win, as well as the Souvenir de Florence pieces. The energy, grandeur, and elegance of his music is impressive.
Swan Lake, "Lake in Moonlight":
Swan Lake, Waltz:
Souvenir de Florence, 1st Movement (All four are on Youtube, I seriously recommend listening to all of them, they're fantastic.)
While I haven't listened to much opera, there's a whole lot to love about the "Mad Song" from Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Dolce Suono. You may already recognize it as the Diva's song from The Fifth Element, or from the opera scene in Gankutsuou. Very haunting!
Vanessa-Mae is also worthy of a mention. While trained as a classical violin player, she also has her own techno-acoustic fusion thing going on. Because Rym likes fugues, here's Bach's Toccata and Fugue. Sounds pretty normal at the beginning; just keep watching and wait til it kicks up a notch.
She also attacked Vivaldi's Four Seasons with "Storm:"
That's all I feel like putting up for now.
Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique (shows what opium can do for composers). Movement 5 is "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath" and is full of amazing imagery.
Another good one is Mozart's Dies Irae from his Requiem. Big choir, big orchestra, lots of timpani.
There are a number of other works that could fit the "evil" sounding designation. Most Requiems have the Dies Irae in them (and that's old school Catholicism right there), contemporary works about war like "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" isn't evil as much as it is challenging to listen to and it pulls the horror of nuclear war out into the forefront. Be more specific and I'll find a few more examples.
Percussion definitely isn't the place to be in an orchestra. We poor drummers sit in the wings and either keep time for everyone or add an accent every minute or so, living for the moment we get to let lose and play something interesting or, at the very least, really loud. Every once in a while we get to play a march or a drum-happy Irish tune, but outside of that an orchestral percussionist must be very fond of counting.
It makes me want to throw up that the Clair De Lune was used in Twilight.