Surprise pour démarrer la journée et découverte aussi ! Je ne t'avais pas vu dans ce rôle cher Richard et ne connaissais pas du tout cette oeuvre. Étonnant et quelque peu déroutant au début. Quelle interprétation ! Cela te va à merveille ! Bravo à tous
I READ WITH ATTENTION AND MUCH INTEREST ALL YOUR REACTIONS I M KEEN ON 20 TH CENTURY MUSIC AND WORK WITH CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS; CERTAINLY WE AS PERFORMERS FEEL SUCH A FREEDOM IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS KIND OF PIECE AND I REALLY KEEP IN MIND AS A GREAT EXPERIENCE PERFORMING IN THIS PRODUCTION
Thank you for sharing. I only wish the subtitles were in English, as much of the language is really hard to follow. To try and make sense of what I’m hearing, I find myself translating back from the French, but that is too confusing and leaves me even more in the dark. Such a shame!
The actual music is played rather well and the singers can tackle range and pitch accurately, being accustomed to quasi- 2nd Viennese School language -- in this instance from was amusingly called 'The Manchester School'. This is early Birtwistle dating from when he was still 12 tone in habits. He and Maxwell Davies as well as Pruslin and other remarkable musicians toured the British university circuit as 'The Pierrot Players' before changing the name to 'The Fires of London'. Even in this early work we can hear what made him a great British composer, notably exact use of instruments for their actual sounds, his trademark ostinati which appeared in better pieces as he developed and refined dramatic tension outside of operas. Most of his music has an architecture of delicately balanced large structures of sounds which are not exact but not quite solid. The effect is tension and causing attention to be concentrated either draws one in or not. If it does then the music is some of the greatest of the late 20th century/early 21st. If not then Birstwistle might not ever on a person's list because he did not compromise but refined without becoming unnecessarily complicated. The scale and dramatic effect of his music was at odds with his general personality of ease and directness without frills. He rejected fame and was of the most modest men I ever knew, with typical English irony and playground humour. I wish I could praise the production here but really cannot because it tries to add to the nihilistic drama inherent in the writing by being ugly and flashy for the sake of it. Would one make van Gogh's sunflowers more yellow and throbbing with strobe lights? NO. Even in an epic work such as 'Mask of Orpheus' Harrison Birtwistle was never gaudy where he was involved in performances and I doubt that he would have liked this production style one little bit. One can, of course, simply listen and not watch and I suggest this remedy.
Two words: UTTERLY HORRENDOUS! This is not opera, this is not music. This is just a bunch of people screaming ANYTHING that comes to their minds and noise. Music and singing touches your heart and soul. This horror only gives people anxiety and feel stressed. I'd call this NOISE, certainly NOT opera.
Fortunately the 20th century is over and this kind of music is obsolete. Younger composers are returning to consonance, tonality (defined broadly) and writing music that is beautiful and spiritual. Birtwhisle is an anachronism from the dark age in the 20th century where dissonance, atonality, serialism, and abstractionism dominated classical music. He is a lot like Baroque composer William Boyce, who was still composing Baroque music in the 1770s.
+Roland Buck I could not disagree with you more. I listened to and learned everything about baroque, classical and romantic music as a child, and by the age of seventeen I was tired of it -- and I still am. Then at age sixteen I discovered Arnold Schoenberg, and my life changed -- very much for the better. Not a week goes by when I do not make a new musical discovery, and none of those are eighteenth or nineteenth century composers. I am very grateful that, like Schoenberg did, many composers today are carrying on the great tradition.
+lendallpitts Apparently you hear something in that music that I do not, just as I hear things in baroque, classical, and romantic music that you do not. Especially Baroque, which, along with High Renaissance, is my favorite music. And I do not doubt that Schoenberg and his followers must have heard and hear something in it that they find pleasing. Perhaps it is tonality itself that people like you do not care for. That would be an interesting hypothesis to test empirically. That is fine, let each person listen to what they like. But the majority of younger composers are indeed turning away from atonality, serialism, and music that is astringent and abstract and are, indeed, once again, composing music that is consonant and tonal (in the broad sense of having a tonal center, rather than in the narrow major-minor sense) with powerful, beautiful melodies. In the 21st century people like you will be in the minority.
The future of music is always built on what came before, so even if there is a move away from atonality for now, it will be revisited in the future. I look forward to hearing the composers of tomorrow who borrow or steal from Birtwistle.
+obelix703 It will be a long, long time before composers will want to return to that blind alley again if ever. For a long time he will be seen as an example of how bad classical music got in the second half of the 20th century and taught to music students as what to avoid doing. If there is ever a return to interest in it, it will be long after our lifetimes.
+Roland Buck I don't agree that it's a blind alley. I'm not a huge Birtwistle fan, but there are a lot of very interesting ideas in his music that are worth exploring.
Harrison Birtwistle died on April 18, 2022. I watched this interesting production the next day.
That is a totally amazing performance and production of a seriously under-appreciated work. Maximum respect to all involved.
we spent 7 weeks for rehearsals in Vienna and we performed 9 times with great a great success and satisfaction :)
utterly superb!
Absolutely bloody marvellous! Music, performance and staging alike!
THX DEAR
Surprise pour démarrer la journée et découverte aussi ! Je ne t'avais pas vu dans ce rôle cher Richard et ne connaissais pas du tout cette oeuvre. Étonnant et quelque peu déroutant au début. Quelle interprétation ! Cela te va à merveille ! Bravo à tous
J avais jamais songé à écouter Punch and Judy au reveil :)))
What an amazing performance!
HAPPY YOU COULD ENJOY IT
Excelente música qué tan poco conocemos de los grandes compositores contemporáneos.
thanks for sharing:)
RIP Harrison Birtwistle 🙏
gracias amigo
the doctor arias please?
❤❤❤❤
sodelicious...........
Where can i read the libretto of Stephen Pruslin?
I READ WITH ATTENTION AND MUCH INTEREST ALL YOUR REACTIONS
I M KEEN ON 20 TH CENTURY MUSIC AND WORK WITH CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS;
CERTAINLY WE AS PERFORMERS FEEL SUCH A FREEDOM IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS KIND OF PIECE
AND I REALLY KEEP IN MIND AS A GREAT EXPERIENCE PERFORMING IN THIS PRODUCTION
Thank you for sharing. I only wish the subtitles were in English, as much of the language is really hard to follow. To try and make sense of what I’m hearing, I find myself translating back from the French, but that is too confusing and leaves me even more in the dark. Such a shame!
The actual music is played rather well and the singers can tackle range and pitch accurately, being accustomed to quasi- 2nd Viennese School language -- in this instance from was amusingly called 'The Manchester School'.
This is early Birtwistle dating from when he was still 12 tone in habits. He and Maxwell Davies as well as Pruslin and other remarkable musicians toured the British university circuit as 'The Pierrot Players' before changing the name to 'The Fires of London'.
Even in this early work we can hear what made him a great British composer, notably exact use of instruments for their actual sounds, his trademark ostinati which appeared in better pieces as he developed and refined dramatic tension outside of operas. Most of his music has an architecture of delicately balanced large structures of sounds which are not exact but not quite solid. The effect is tension and causing attention to be concentrated either draws one in or not. If it does then the music is some of the greatest of the late 20th century/early 21st.
If not then Birstwistle might not ever on a person's list because he did not compromise but refined without becoming unnecessarily complicated. The scale and dramatic effect of his music was at odds with his general personality of ease and directness without frills. He rejected fame and was of the most modest men I ever knew, with typical English irony and playground humour.
I wish I could praise the production here but really cannot because it tries to add to the nihilistic drama inherent in the writing by being ugly and flashy for the sake of it. Would one make van Gogh's sunflowers more yellow and throbbing with strobe lights? NO.
Even in an epic work such as 'Mask of Orpheus' Harrison Birtwistle was never gaudy where he was involved in performances and I doubt that he would have liked this production style one little bit.
One can, of course, simply listen and not watch and I suggest this remedy.
Holy shit, this slaps.
The emperor's new clothes?
Two words: UTTERLY HORRENDOUS! This is not opera, this is not music. This is just a bunch of people screaming ANYTHING that comes to their minds and noise. Music and singing touches your heart and soul. This horror only gives people anxiety and feel stressed. I'd call this NOISE, certainly NOT opera.
Fortunately the 20th century is over and this kind of music is obsolete. Younger composers are returning to consonance, tonality (defined broadly) and writing music that is beautiful and spiritual. Birtwhisle is an anachronism from the dark age in the 20th century where dissonance, atonality, serialism, and abstractionism dominated classical music. He is a lot like Baroque composer William Boyce, who was still composing Baroque music in the 1770s.
+Roland Buck I could not disagree with you more. I listened to and learned everything about baroque, classical and romantic music as a child, and by the age of seventeen I was tired of it -- and I still am. Then at age sixteen I discovered Arnold Schoenberg, and my life changed -- very much for the better. Not a week goes by when I do not make a new musical discovery, and none of those are eighteenth or nineteenth century composers. I am very grateful that, like Schoenberg did, many composers today are carrying on the great tradition.
+lendallpitts Apparently you hear something in that music that I do not, just as I hear things in baroque, classical, and romantic music that you do not. Especially Baroque, which, along with High Renaissance, is my favorite music. And I do not doubt that Schoenberg and his followers must have heard and hear something in it that they find pleasing. Perhaps it is tonality itself that people like you do not care for. That would be an interesting hypothesis to test empirically. That is fine, let each person listen to what they like. But the majority of younger composers are indeed turning away from atonality, serialism, and music that is astringent and abstract and are, indeed, once again, composing music that is consonant and tonal (in the broad sense of having a tonal center, rather than in the narrow major-minor sense) with powerful, beautiful melodies. In the 21st century people like you will be in the minority.
The future of music is always built on what came before, so even if there is a move away from atonality for now, it will be revisited in the future. I look forward to hearing the composers of tomorrow who borrow or steal from Birtwistle.
+obelix703 It will be a long, long time before composers will want to return to that blind alley again if ever. For a long time he will be seen as an example of how bad classical music got in the second half of the 20th century and taught to music students as what to avoid doing. If there is ever a return to interest in it, it will be long after our lifetimes.
+Roland Buck I don't agree that it's a blind alley. I'm not a huge Birtwistle fan, but there are a lot of very interesting ideas in his music that are worth exploring.
It is labelled a "tragical comedy" or "comical tragedy" It was neither.
More like an "obscure cacophony" or "cacophonous obscurity"