Posts Tagged ‘Classical’

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Edward Elgar – "Cello Concerto in E minor" (1919)

2011/03/06

Winter's grip holds firm and has left me sullen and weary this morning, not unlike this piece, "Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85" by Edward Elgar.

"The piece represented, for Elgar, the angst, despair, and disillusionment he felt after the end of the War, and an introspective look at death and mortality." …beautiful, no?

These recordings feature cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who really gave the piece what popularity it has, in the 1960s.

First Movement: Adagio – Moderato

Second Movement: Lento – Allegro molto

Third Movement: Adagio

Fourth Movement: Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio

Fourth Movement: (part 2 of the video)

Song Recommendations

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Click here for more info on Edward Elgar – "Cello Concerto in E minor".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

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Léon Boëllmann – "Suite Gothique – Toccata" (1895)

2010/10/30

A little Gothic organ on the eve of All Hallow's Eve seems appropriate.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

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Click here for more info on Léon Boëllmann – Suite Gothique – "Toccata" (The 4th Movement in C Minor).

The MP3 may be purchased here…

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Tina Guo – "Apres un Reve" (2009)

2010/09/29

It appears I will never be allowed to leave work again. Our main file server is a desktop computer, and I made the mistake of rebooting it because I had to move it. Now it simply says the following on a black screen when I try to start it up:

"strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"

Despite attempting many things thus far (including removing the RAID, replacing the battery, running diagnostics tests, booting from either of the hard drives) I have yet to find what the issue even is, let alone fix it!

I thought this song "Apres un Reve" (or "After a Dream" for those of you who took German or Spanish or whatever) by Tina Guo captures nicely the melancholy I feel as I sit waiting for one of the many diagnostics tests I am running to finish. I kind of get the feeling these tests may take hours, and still not tell me anything.

Oddly this next (bonus) song is also applicable to how I felt when it first happened and expresses my haste to try to fix the situation! Obviously based on Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight Of The Bumblebee", Tina Guo's "Queen Bee" is an awesome addendum & interpretation. (…and kinda hot!)

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

I also suggest the music genre:

Click here for more info on Tina Guo – Autumn Winds – "Apres un Reve".

The MP3 for "Apres un Reve" may be purchased here…

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Samuel Barber – "Adagio for Strings" (1938)

2010/09/22

This is possibly one of the most beautiful songs ever. It is certainly up there. It is serene and melancholy, yet thick and powerful. The first time I took not of it was in a scifi video game, "Homeworld", after the destruction of an entire planet. An appropriate choice for such an event! All the best classical eventually ends up as part of some soundtrack somewhere. I think it is good for everyone to have at least that exposure.

Originally it was composed by Samuel Barber for a string orchestra and is only the second movement of a larger piece, his "String Quartet, Op. 11". I tend to favor the choral renditions though.

Of course if you'd prefer something with a bit more of a beat (and electronic beat specifically), or a version you could dance to, there is William Orbit's version:

Some may like it better, others may consider it blasphemy. I consider it an interesting "cover".

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

I also suggest the music genre:

Click here for more info on Samuel Barber – "Adagio for Strings".

The MP3 (of a different choral version) may be purchased here…

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Ólafur Arnalds – "Ljósið" (2009)

2010/06/13

Since our car accident, I have been relieved. I feel I should be happier about it than I am though. I cannot seem to shake the melancholy thread of feeling just under the surface. Perhaps another week of passing the time will do wonders? Perhaps I should be listening to more music like Rick James' and less of this? Yet it soothes the soul, like a light rain after a long humid day.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

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Click here for more info on Ólafur Arnalds – Found Songs – "Ljósið".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

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Paul Hindemith – "Symphonic Metamorphosis" (1943)

2010/05/26

Movement 1 – Allegro:

Momement 2 – 'Turandot', Scherzo (Moderato/Lebhaft):

Momement 3 – Andantino:

Momement 4 – Marsch:

…as performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik Studio Recording, 1953.

I can feel it. My metamorphosis has begun. Parts of me struggle against a new way, others drive ahead into becoming the new me. A different me. A me that I think this song, also known as "Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber", is perfect for, though I have not listened to it for a long long time. In another life time I had played it as part of an orchestra, an orchestra I may try to join once again.

Hopefully my metamorphosis is not into a cockroach form of myself as in Kafka's work by a similar name. By the way, here is an interpretation of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" all you 'speech and debaters' out there will appreciate. (Any of you non-"speechees" should think of as a type of acting without any props, scenery, microphones, with time limitations and other constraints. It is a way for geeky performers to spend all their Saturday's during high school, in lieu of practicing [insert sport name here], playing [insert video game here], or doing other nefarious teenager-like activities, like sleeping in late.)

2009 NFL Nationals Duo Interpretation 2nd Place, Greta Besser & Adam Bouchareb, Lakeville North HS, MN, USA:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Song Recommendations

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Click here for more info on Paul Hindemith – "Symphonic Metamorphosis".

The MP3s of the version I have in my collection by The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, may be purchased here…

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Beethoven – "Ode to Joy" (1824)

2010/05/08

A distant family member died this past week and I attended his funeral this morning. It is sad. Yet it is good at the same time, knowing he had had health issues for years. Given the large attendance, he will certainly be missed by family and friends.

At the end of the ceremony a hymn, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" (words written by Henry van Dyke in 1907) was sung sounding much like this with the organ, and I thought it a fit ending to such a ceremony:

It reminded me of the original words by Friedrich Schiller (in 1785) and music composed by Beethoven as the fourth and final movement of his Ninth Symphony (finished in 1824), and thus, the song of the day it is.

To hear the movement from the start, as performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein, here you go:

Song Recommendations

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Click here for more info on Beethoven – Ninth Symphony – "Ode to Joy".

The CDs of Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing all 9 of Beethoven's Symphonies may be purchased here…

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