harrison birtwistle

sorry bitch :-)

for those who don't know, its 18 tracks, half of which are lyrics, or paul celan's poems set to music for ensemble and string quartet, and the other half are string quartet interludes.

And its a good idea if you're not keen on just songs in that yucky soprano delivery, or an alb full of pieces for string quartet ain't yr bag.

The pieces for quartet were pretty good but overall the whole thing wasn't grabbing me on first listen and I was wondering why, until the final poem, which was sung in english (and i think only one other was with the rest being sung in german): now i know what a non-english speaking rock/rap/er...fan feels.

I like the words (which are printed on the booklet) quite a bit, the flow and the imagery could be something to get into.

see you next year!

(I'm not quite sure I understand your comment about the language of the text -- do you mean you would have enjoyed it more if the whole thing had been in a language you know? What's confusing me is that the piece can be performed in either English or German, and the only recording I know about -- the Nash Ensemble's -- is in English. One song has both singing and speaking, with the former done in the prevailing language and the latter done in the opposite. It sounds like you have the reverse of this: a mostly-German recording?)

I think one of the things that makes this piece such a remarkable achievement is how Birtwistle's music mirrors both the power and the subtlety of Celan's poems. I can't help if you're put off by the singing style; that's an obstacle for lots of people, and it's one I respect. (I've never really found my way into a lot of Arab and Hindu music because the singing style doesn't appeal to me.)

Anyway, if you haven't totally lost faith in my recommendations, you might enjoy checking out Richard Barrett's Opening of the Mouth. Barrett is one half of the improv duo FURT (with Paul Obermeyer, if I'm remembering the name right), but he also does a lot of fixed composition. It's another extremely powerful piece based on poems by Celan (it overlaps by one poem with Pulse Shadows I think). It too has long instrumental stretches, and the instrumentation is a bit more experimental (including electronics, Asian instruments, and European folk instruments). Its most aggressive moments are more extreme than those of the Birtwistle piece, although it also has long stretches that are more austere.

But here is what's even more funny:

I'm not that put off by the style of singing but have to readjust to it, so much so that I am giving this another listen and actually am concentrating more on the words than the ensemble sound, and it IS in english so there you go. I guess the delivery made it imcomprehensible until that last track so er...with the words being in german and english in the booklet I probably guessed.

I like FURT lots, one of my fave improv groups. If I can find it I will check barrett's recording (I was looking for a way in to richard barrett).

Mauricio Kagel : s/d/c ?

http://www.rfh.org.uk/pdf/press/birtwistle.pdf

Totally endorse the recommendation for 'Pulse Shadows'. The Decca 'British Music' Birtwhistle collection is also worth looking for - two long discs comprising seven major pieces. Incredible stuff, bleak and magical.

Not being from a classical music background, I struggle for terms to describe his work. The gloomier bits of 'Metal Box', perhaps, and when I heard 'Tilt' for the first time a few months ago, it reminded me a little of 'Pulse shadows'

S
S

There was a discussion about his work being booed in the past. Birtwhistle said that 'Earth Dances' was booed at the Lucerne festival in Switzerland a week or so back, by 'some kids'. Apparently, he asked them about it, and they said hated him for being an old modernist. He seemed more amused than anything else. Arvo Part massive in the house?

Another great story about Thatch stalking up to him at an official reception years ago and hissing "We KNOW what you're up to . ."

Indeed. What a guy.

S

His pieces are quite playful from a visual POV and show his abilities to work an ensemble, and the idea of putting feldman and scelsi in between birtwistle pieces seemed to be to soften the blow - whatever really.

what a guy.

(except when you look at what he had to sit through, you can understand his annoyance...)

I can't get quite past his remarks though. I remember 'Punch and Judy' being very showy about its loudness, at times...might pull out the LP at the weekend.

Really looking forward to seeing 'Punch & Judy' this week.

i watched a tape of a performance of The Oresteia he composed the music for. i think peter hall or brook directed it. great stuff.

He got a supremely lame smackdown from Tony Parsons on Newsnight Review last night. Ol' TP claimed he was a charlatan yet also that he didn't understand the music but would like to. Hmmm.

seeing punch tonight.

will post my opinions toms.

'The Minotaur' sounds utterly mental. Good interview with Birtwhistle on R4 about it a few weeks back.

I saw that Newsnight Review segment. 'The Minotaur' really looked good. However, 'Punch and Judy' LP is a good 'un and I think I can only choose one...either Monday or Wed for me.

Parsons ws actually generous towards the way the story ws staged. I liked how he admitted he felt like his dad in the mid-70s, on hearing the NY Dolls that he just didn't get it. So is Birtwistle today what the dolls were in '74? At least he admitted that the music went by him...

Joe Queenan ws supremely, utterly lame. His point that this is like movie music is wrong. That kind of expressionist music ws first made for concert halls, then its stereotypes were extracted for films later; but historical points aside there is a complete difference between what is heard on films where you need to acquire an effect to serve the scene, and the concert hall, where you have time to develop ideas. In other words, you have bits that do not sound as if blood is coming out of violins! And from his last comment you knew he had an axe to grind anyway.

Julie Myerson's otoh liked ws interested enough in the music alone: she would like to hear it on her iPod! Good for her!

Really good when contemporary classical makes its way on that show. It really is a gift that keeps on giving.

I really enjoyed Punch last night.

a small venue and a good production of it. it's being broadcast on Radio 3 in May along with the Minotaur.

Non Ukers might be able to listen again on the website

I didn't realise that was Joe Queenan. I only saw a couple of seconds of Parsons whilst putting a DVD in. Queenan is an ultimate tool.

Has this soundtrack (his only one) ever been issued?

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjI0NTk4NjA3OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTUwOTc2NA@@._V1_SX214_.jpg

That kind of expressionist music ws first made for concert halls, then its stereotypes were extracted for films later; but historical points aside there is a complete difference between what is heard on films where you need to acquire an effect to serve the scene, and the concert hall, where you have time to develop ideas.

Yes, but that kind of expressionist music was first made in the concert halls as program music! So it really isn't such a far stretch. And before it was instrumental program music, it was mannerist illustration to sung words in things like madrigals and Haydn's Creation.

what soundtrack, Tom D?

RIP Birtwistle. Just started getting into him with The Triumph of Time, so great.

Awwww fuck the greatest opera composer of the late 20th century

Aw RIP. I only really know Panic but I did love it.

Gotta check out his operas, man:

Punch and Judy
Mask of Orpheus
Gawain and the Green Knight
The Minotaur

rip. punch & judy is immense, but the release i go back to the most is triumph of time/chronometer. will need to familiarise myself with his post-eighties work, none of which i've heard.

RIP

In the UK he tickled a lot of middlebrow types. I know it's in the fucking Times but here is a scribe actually engaging with the comments section, which at first surprised me:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a18ae92a-c160-11ec-b4e3-203ad1be3cbc?shareToken=297d94ba40ce90c600c94591ff7cb0c2

In recent years, however, something else has crept in — a new level of contempt and invective aimed at other people’s opinions or tastes, especially if those people are perceived to represent some sort of privileged “elite”

I mean lol @ this he has clearly not read the comments section on anything else in his life (good for him tbh).

Lol imagine Nadine Dorries or any politician weirdo listening to his music.

A thought. After Birtwistle’s death, did one single politician of standing - Government or Opposition - offer a tribute? PM? The Culture Secretary? Compare and contrast the tributes paid by French politicians - including then-President Hollande - after the death of Boulez. https://t.co/78HgKPyOUY

— Neil Schofield-Hughes 🔶 🇪🇺 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇦 (@SZeitblom) April 22, 2022