new to classical

agentbad · Post by **agentbad** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 12:45 am

most of what ive heard has come from soundtracks and just some random clicks downloading music. im trying to find more music that has real passion and soul to it. im really into chorus stuff for example the chorus version of samual barber's Adagio For Strings. the last of the mohican soundtrack is another one that pops in my head. i also like very hard hitting classical, something that rips your heart out and still you want more. any suggestions would be awesome.

thanks,
agentbad

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:50 am

im really into chorus stuff... i also like very hard hitting classical, something that rips your heart out and still you want more. any suggestions would be awesome.

Hi agentbad,

I guess you're new here. So am I.

Tchaikovsky is always a good composer to start with for any classical newbie. For starters, I would suggest you sample these:

6th symphony
1812 overture
1st Piano Concerto
Violin Concerto in D major
Swan Lake (ballet music)--get the excerpts, if possible.

These works will rip your heart out and keep you coming back for more--guarantee!

As for choral works...

Beethoven's 9th Symphony is famous for its glorious last choral movement.

Franz Joseph Haydn's oratorio, "The Creation" or "Die Schopfung" (in German), has some great choral moments.

Mozart's "Requiem" (completed by someone else)

Bach's "Matthew Passion".

And of course, there's the perennial favorite, Handel's "Messiah".

Happy sampling!

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:08 am

Welcome to you both. Gary's suggestions sound good to me. He may have given you a bit much to start off with, but he is on the mark with his choices.

Ralph · Post by **Ralph** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:26 am

Welcome guys!!! Hope you stick around and join a very eclectic crowd of musiclovers.

Try

Tschaikovsky, Symphony No. 5
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
Tschaikovsky, 1812 Overture
Mahler, Symphony No. 1

That's enough for now.

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:42 pm

Welcome, Gary and Agent. Hope you let us in on your enthusiasms early and often.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Orff's Carmina Burana and Verdi's Requiem.

agentbad · Post by **agentbad** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:47 pm

whoa that's a lot of music. thanks a lot for getting me started i just didn't know where to look until now. ill let you know how it goes.

thanks again,
agentbad

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:50 pm

agentbad wrote:whoa that's a lot of music. thanks a lot for getting me started i just didn't know where to look until now. ill let you know how it goes.

thanks again,
agentbad

I think you can safely leave out The Creation and the St. Matthew Passion for now. Good luck.

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:06 pm

Hey, thanks for the warm reception!

Yeah, I really should have included Orff's (in)famous Carmina Burana--at least, "Oh Fortuna"--shouldn't I? Unforgivable!

Agentbad, you may recognize Carmina Burana's "Oh Fortuna" from the movie, Excalibur.

Yeah, the Matthew Passion may be a little much for now, so leave that one out.

Harvested Sorrow · Post by **Harvested Sorrow** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:23 pm

I'm probably going to get shot to hell for this...but, since you asked for something hard hitting, I'd like to refer you to Stravinksy's Rite of Spring. It's rather...savage, by classical standards.

EDIT:

I also reccomend Gustav Holst's Mars, Bringer of War

janewilko · Post by **janewilko** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:54 pm

I find early music pleasant to listen to. Sometimes I can't be bothered with orchestral stuff. I especially like early songs by Arne, Purcell and Handel etc. They are very easy to listen to. Emma Kirkby is very pleasing on the ear. Especially singing Handel opera.

agentbad · Post by **agentbad** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 2:27 am

i recognize o fortuna in everything it seems like. just last night conan o'brian used it in a skit about dick chaney not getting a great welcome when he went to see new orleans. it flashed to an old 50's movie of a guy dressed up as the devil running around on stage and o fortuna playing in the back ground. got a huge laugh out of it.

so far the ones i like the most are:
o fortuna
adagio for strings
predator theme
last of the mohicans theme

im really looking for some intense stuff. i like sad passionate songs with intense overtones or just all out intense with great build ups.

PJME · Post by **PJME** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 6:47 am

Well, if you like great build ups :
Ottorino Respighi : Pini di Roma, Feste Romane, Vetrate di chiesa, Belkis,regina di Saba. Glittering scores for large orchestra. Taken in small doses, they can have an overwhelming effect
Francisco Mignone: on a recent BIS -disc : Maracatu de chico rey, Symphonia tropical ,4 Brazilian churches-suite etc. More exotic than Respighi; but the horns bray, the percussion rattles and snaps and it is all good, loud fun.
Gabriel Pierné: this french composer is somewhat overlooked, but definitely knew how to use a large orchestra. with a little bit of luck you can find a cheap french EMI disc with "Paysages franciscain" (Landscapes from the Italy of Saint Francis) - not as exuberant as Respighi, but colorfull, warm intoxicating music.
You seem to like filmmusic: Miklos Rozsa is more or less the father of every epic score. BenHur ,Thief of Bagdad....you can't go wrong for sheer magnificence.Rozsa recorded a very large suite from BenHur (with chorus, organ, bells, deep tam tam...)in the 1980'ies - for Decca. well worth looking for.
Gian Carlo Menotti : Apocalypse for orchestra (Respighi meets Rozsa...)
Aram Katsjaturian: symphony nr 2 (The bell) and nr 3 (Poem - with 18 extra trumpets and organ) - wonderful,totally wrong bombastic music - but he goes all the way, at least!
Dimitri Tiomkin: Lost Horizon - suite. Another wonderful exotic score .
And don't forget that Carl Orff wrote apart from Carmina Burana, Catulli carmina (mostly a capella - 4 pianos and percussion in the beginning and end sections) and Triomfo di Aphrodite - perhaps the most interesting of the 3 works (soli, chorus and large orchestra).

Cyril Ignatius · Post by **Cyril Ignatius** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 2:01 pm

Several people mentioned Orff's Carmina Burana, and I would strongly agree. For choral music, I would also recommend Rachmaninov's Vesper's Mass, Bruckner's Motets, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, and the Requiems of Faure and Rutter.

agentbad · Post by **agentbad** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:51 am

my new fav is by clint mansell who did the music for requiem for a dream with the kronos quartet. it's from the lord of the rings the 2 tours trailor song and there is an official version on the soundtrack itself that is a little longer. freakin amazing!

rogch · Post by **rogch** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:34 am

Several Tchaikovsky works have been recommended here. If you like those, you will probably like some other Russian composers as well. Rachmaninov's second piano concerto and Rimsky-Korsakovs Scheherazade for example.

Beethoven's symphonies of course have some great build-ups. But i am not sure if the ninth is the best to start with. But you can get good recordings of all nine of them very cheap in a box from Brilliant Classics.

You will probably like some of Bach's organ music (who doesn't) but i don't know them too well myself, can somebody else point out some good works to start with?

Teresa B · Post by **Teresa B** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:41 am

Welcome!

I have one thing to say:

Mozart, Mozart, Mozart!

All the best, Teresa

trazom · Post by **trazom** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:18 am

[quote="Teresa B"]Welcome!

I have one thing to say:

Mozart, Mozart, Mozart!

All the best, Teresa[/quote]

I 2nd that!!!

Jack Kelso · Post by **Jack Kelso** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 2:12 am

Anyone who enjoys "great build-ups" should go to Bruckner, especially the Fourth Symphony, which is quite accessible, has wonderful melodies, terrific orchestration and chorale-like brass.

Jack

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