SEG92@GENESEO.BITNET (the Talking Drum) (02/04/90)
Gavin--
I think that the Perky part in Faure's Requiem must be Pie Jesu, although
I'm not too sure . . . Soprano solo, right? Maybe it's Sanctus? Again, not
sure, I'll have to check my recording. So the rest of it is gloomy? So what?
I think it's probably one of the most beautiful pieces of music written and has
been my favorite since I sang it as a Tenor in high school in 1983. I'm a big
fan of requiems . . . they're so beautiful and sad . . . there's a Japanese
word for it: "mono no aware"--the enhancement of the beauty of life when you
realize it's going to end. My recording also has the Chichester Psalms by
Bernstein . . . interesting, to say the least. Anybody heard of them?
How is Bach's Requiem compared to Faure's?
Billy, Don't be a Hero is 20 years old?!?!?!?
-TDGAVIN@HNYMPI52.BITNET (Gavin Burnage) (02/05/90)
> I think that the Perky part in Faure's Requiem must be Pie Jesu, although >I'm not too sure . . . Soprano solo, right? Maybe it's Sanctus? Again, not > Yes. The Sanctus. That's it. I checked it last night. The tenors and basses come charging in together in a big way half way through. Very peaceful, very moving. The Pie is dished out straight after, and it's okay too, though it's the still the Sanctus which whumps the musical solar plexus for me. >My recording also has the Chichester Psalms by >Bernstein . . . interesting, to say the least. Anybody heard of them? Not me. It would be nice to know, even though the word `interesting' worries me slightly. Anyway please go ahead and broaden my ignorance on the matter. What are they? What do they sound like? Are they worth getting? > How is Bach's Requiem compared to Faure's? Did Bach write requiems? I don't know. Mozart wrote a nifty one by all accounts. Anyway, after discussing the subject with People Who Know I ended up singing a bit (when I say `bit' I think I mean `chorale') from Bach's Christmas Oratorio stuff -- `Shine forth O beauteous heavenly light' (pardon my German). It's got lots of cool runs in the bass part and is generally fun to sing. I don't really know much about big choral works like this, but the bits and pieces i do get to hear/sing I love: wee Bach bits mostly -- `Liebster Jesu', `Alles is an Gottes Segen', and what i think is the well known `Passion Chorale' -- `O sacred head sore wounded'. Also just before Christmas I cracked briefly on Handel's Messiah, which again has memorable bass bits all over the place, but especially a solo one `The people that walked in darkness'. If I don't watch out I'm going to end doing something really wierd and counter-intuitive (4 me) like liking opera. no no please anything but that > Billy, Don't be a Hero is 20 years old?!?!?!? > -TD Well maybe not, but I reckon Pinky and Perky are. The frisbee in question belongs to a friend, you understand, not to me... However if anyone should want a copy of this memorably awful waste of good plastic and cardboard, get in touch before it's recycled into a set of matching coathangers Gavin
SEG92@GENESEO.BITNET (the Talking Drum) (02/06/90)
Chichester Psalms are weird. The coolest one is called Adonai, adonai, which
is strange (but beautiful). There is another one (2) that sounds like the
march of the Killer Ducks (believe me, it is out there, like pluto), and the
other one (the first) is rather bouncy and still rather odd.
Bach wrote Requiem (singular) if I am correct. I only heard it once and it
was really heavy and morbid and at that moment I wasn't so I didn't pay much
attention.
I miss singing in chorale pieces but I don't miss obnoxious Choir
directors (the least popular people on the planet)
(sorry if any of you are) (Choir directors, I mean)
--tDUNCPJS@UNC.BITNET (Peter J. Schledorn) (02/06/90)
About the Requiem: Along with Mozart's (which is fantastic), there are two others to try. The Verdi Requiem is wonderful--the Dies Irae movement will blow you out of the room, as will much of the rest. The German Requiem by Brahms is not a Mass setting, but a setting of passages from the Bible. The range of expression in this work is amazing-- Brahms covers all the ambiguous emotions of pain/hope/acceptance that go with the contemplation of death. That, and the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, are this heathen's favorite religious music. There is a recording of the Brahms conducted by Ernest Ansermet from the 1960's which is a model performance of this work--don't know whether it is still available, but I hope so. Best, Peter.