What are you listening to now?

[Chris]

Thanks Quijote, it is indeed great, and nice to give it some attention, since Cantata BWV 140 is always hogging the spotlight at this time of year!

[pauleens]

Listening to The new Christmas Classics - "Christ's Birth Carols"

PROGRESS GABRIEL AKPABIO - Christ's Birth Carols: lyrics and songs | Deezer

[Quijote]

I'm going through a Bruckner phase at the moment and the older I get the more I have come to appreciate how great he was - his music certainly does require repeated hearings as first impressions are not reliable and the sheer scale of the symphonies demand full concentration over a long time.

Here's the wonderful 3rd movt from the 8th. If I had to pick just 3 minutes to introduce someone to the music I'd recommend starting roughly 20'15 through 23'15

Ah, another convert to Bruckner - welcome aboard!
Here's my suggestion to switch on newbies to Bruckner's style (from the 1st movement of his 4th Symphony, the "Romantic"):

[Quijote]

And another clip from his 9th Symphony (in D minor, no less!), the powerful coda from the 1st movement:

[Quijote]

Let's compare Bruckner's coda with Beethoven's:

https://youtu.be/VKxX2EJozxo?t=873

[Megan]

https://youtu.be/ZkieMysVaDQ

[Peter]

Ah, another convert to Bruckner - welcome aboard!
Here's my suggestion to switch on newbies to Bruckner's style (from the 1st movement of his 4th Symphony, the "Romantic"):

Not sure which bit of the 4th you mean, this is the whole thing? Actually the 4th is one of my least favourite Bruckner symphonies, I think the finale is especially weak. The 5th is a huge step forward and I think he really masters his art from then on.

[Peter]

https://youtu.be/ZkieMysVaDQ

Lovely, thank you for this morning treat!

[Quijote]

Not sure which bit of the 4th you mean, this is the whole thing? Actually the 4th is one of my least favourite Bruckner symphonies, I think the finale is especially weak. The 5th is a huge step forward and I think he really masters his art from then on.

I meant the dramatic section leading up to the magnificent "chorale" (7.34" to 10.31"):

https://youtu.be/rCvOXwgOvOo?t=453

[Peter]

I meant the dramatic section leading up to the magnificent "chorale" (7.34" to 10.31"):

https://youtu.be/rCvOXwgOvOo?t=453

Yes very impressive and the first movement I think is more successful than the others in this symphony, or maybe I need to take my own advice and revisit this symphony - fine recording too!

[Quijote]

Yes very impressive and the first movement I think is more successful than the others in this symphony, or maybe I need to take my own advice and revisit this symphony - fine recording too!

Don't fully agree with your assessment - I think the 2nd and 3rd movements are wonderful, the 4th movement less so, though conductor Celibidache's version convinced composer and musicologist Robert Simpson (check him out on Google). Anyway, the extracts I posted are passages to convince newbies and I'm glad that your admiration for Bruckner is increasing.

[Quijote]

https://youtu.be/ZkieMysVaDQ

Beautiful. Not for nothing that Beethoven admired Handel, albeit on his deathbed. Never too late!

[Sorrano]

Don't fully agree with your assessment - I think the 2nd and 3rd movements are wonderful, the 4th movement less so, though conductor Celibidache's version convinced composer and musicologist Robert Simpson (check him out on Google). Anyway, the extracts I posted are passages to convince newbies and I'm glad that your admiration for Bruckner is increasing.

Wonderful passage! I'd forgotten how much I do like the Karajan recordings of the Bruckner Symphonies. The 2nd movement always reminds me of the Schubert 9th slow movement and I've wondered if there were any conscious relationships in Bruckner's mind.

[Peter]

Don't fully agree with your assessment - I think the 2nd and 3rd movements are wonderful, the 4th movement less so, though conductor Celibidache's version convinced composer and musicologist Robert Simpson (check him out on Google). Anyway, the extracts I posted are passages to convince newbies and I'm glad that your admiration for Bruckner is increasing.

Yes I know of Simpson but not his music. I just don't think the 2nd movt matches the greatness of any of the slow movements from the succeeding symphonies.

[Quijote]

Thanks Quijote, it is indeed great, and nice to give it some attention, since Cantata BWV 140 is always hogging the spotlight at this time of year!

So, here's the full cantata (BWV 132, "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn!") for your delectation, including of the course the magnificent bass aria posted above: