jmc's classics
There was a documentary film made about Richard Straus. It was made by British film maker Ken Russell. I have not yet seen it. Richard Strauss' Family did not want it shown because it depicted Strauss a Nazi sympathizer. Russell's widow has a copy which will air in England on BBC.
The film also depicts Strauss as "pompous and vulgar" and not have a great personality. Evidently Strauss did have some Nazi sympathies. I hope to see this film sometime in the near future and make up my own mind. I like Strauss' Violin concerto (Opus#8) and his two early symphonies. As said I have no opinion of his most known work in America Thus Spoke Zarathustra which was used in the Stanley Kubric film 2001 a Space Odyssey. I have not seen that film. I am not in to science fiction. I hope that I can se that film. It is just one opinion on Strauss. There are other stories and anecdotes on Strauss. His father Franz (1822-1904) was also a composer. They are not related to Johan Strauss and that family. Wolfgang Mozart's father Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) was also a great composer. Mozart was also related to Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). I am not familiar with Weber's works. Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state. People who opposed the government were punished. We can not judge somebody because of these circumstances. I do like Strauss' music.
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I am not in to country Music. I think that a lot of the lyrics are depressing. I do like the old TV show Hee Haw. Much of Mahler's music is depressing.
The awards season is over. I did not pay much attention to it. The movies that get best picture are toe ones that nobody watches. I am not in to Korean culture but I am glad a foreign language film got the award.
On a recent Composers Date Book (February 11,2020) it described the bassoon as the "Clown of the Orchestra. The bassoon is a large wind instrument. It rimes with the word "Buffoon". from that word we get the term "Opera Buffa" which is a term word comic opera. The bassoon is also known as a "fagott"
The Bassoon developed in the 18th Century. It is a woodwind instrument. It looks like a long pipe. It has been used in some Jazz Music but not frequently. It is associated with orchestras. It is usually part of a marching band. There have been some chamber music written for the Bassoon. I like the sound of the Bassoon. There have been very little concertos or chamber music written for this instrument. however it does have a big part in many orchestra pieces. In the theme music for the CBS Radio Mystery Theater in the 70's and early 80's, it has a big part. It can be associated with music for Halloween and other macabre movies. Franz Kromer (1759-18310 wrote quartets for bassoon and strings. Mozart wrote a well known concerto for Bassoon (K191). There are several other concertos for bassoon but not in the last century. Vivaldi, Hummmel, Johan Christian Bach all wrote concertos for the Bassoon. Edward Elgar wrote a Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra (Opus#62). Elgar is mainly remembered for his Pomp and Circumstance march which is played at graduations. The bassoon sounds like a basso but plays the tenor part in the double reed section opposed with the oboe and English horn which are soprano and alto. The contra bassoon is a bigger bassoon which looks like a drain pipe. The predecessor to the bassoon is the dulcian which had one part. The bassoon has several parts including the reed. I like the sound of the bassoon. I have a copy of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto. It features Gunter Piesk o the bassoon with Herbert Von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic on the EMI label. I am not as familiar with the other bassoon concertos as of now. In my previous post I mentioned The Infancy of Christ "L' Enfance du Christ (Opus #25) by Hector Berlioz. It is about the flight of the Holy Family in to Egypt based on Matthew 2:13. I have a copy of it in French conducted by Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the RCA label from the 1960's. This piece was written in French. Berlioz was French.
Berlioz was not very religious but he was impressed by other religious music such as oratorios and masses etc. He is mainly remembered for his Symphony Fantastique (Opus #14). I have a copy of that work also conducted by Munch but with the Orchestra of Paris but on the EMI label. Munch was Alsatian-French. Alsace is an area of northeast France that was part of Germany before WWl and has both French and German influence. Albert Schweitzer was also from there. Munch was a noted interpreter of Berlioz. I took French in college but don't understand it. There needs to be made some good Enlgish language CDs of This work and Bach's Passion and Christmas oratorios. There are many English language versions of Handel's Messiah. The Enfance du Christ tells of the Holy Family's flight in to Egypt after Harrod killed all of the first born males in Jerusalem. It lasts about an hour. It also sounds like an opera. Berlioz wrote several operas and other choral works. It was said that "Opera in English is like baseball in Italian". The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl tonight. Kansas City is also home to the Kansas City Chorale. It is an American choral group that consists of 27 voices and is directed by Charles Bruffy. They do various types of Choral music. I have a copy of them singing Rachmaninov's Devine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom(Opus#31) on the Nimbus label. I recommend this version.
They have done American folk music and other contemporary American music. They were formed in 1982 by Conductor Johnathan Griffith as part of his Graduate work at University of Missouri Kansas City. Bruffy has been the conductor since 1988. They have collaborated with the Phoenix based Phoenix Choral and have made some joint recording together on the Chandos Label. They had previously recorded with the Nimbus Label. Both are British based companies. The Kansas City Choral has made 11 recordings to date. Several have been nominated for Grammy awards. Two did get a Grammy. One in in 2015 for Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil (Opus#37) and another in 2007 for Alexander Grechaninov's music. Grechaninov(1864-1956) is not to be confused with Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936). I am not familiar with Grechaninov. I have not yet heard them live. they have toured the country Their web page is: kcchorale.org where more information can be found. Rachmaninov is remembered for his Piano concertos and his Second Symphony. But he did write some good Russian Orthodox Church music. I hope that they in the near future do more choral recordings. An English version of Hector Berlioz's The Infancy of Christ (Opus#25) would be a good idea. |
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