Author Topic: Music that reduces you to a blubbering wreck (Read 34158 times)

why1040 · « **Reply #50 on:** 06 February, 2012, 06:43:37 pm »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/c6gpa8nUa70&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/c6gpa8nUa70&rel=1</a>

Efrogwr · « **Reply #51 on:** 06 February, 2012, 06:52:21 pm »

Quote from: Arch on 06 February, 2012, 06:14:57 pm

... Actually, a lot of Vaughn Williams. It's something about the soaring high notes, that makes me think of being on top of an English hill, lying on close cropped grass, in the sun, but with that particular chill wind you often get.

Oh, I'm off now....

There's something about English music from the Edwardian Era that, to me, is the sound of an idyll that should have been.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #52 on:** 06 February, 2012, 10:20:37 pm »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EM8RlCZP0KQ&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/EM8RlCZP0KQ&rel=1</a>

Can't do without this. Such a masterpiece. Of all the music I've ever listened to, I don't think any composer has succeeded with the concept of "implied melody" the way Ludwig has here. The bit where the soaring strings are doing there stuff, starting around 4'22" in this recording, no instrument is actually playing the tune. It's going on in the listener's head whilst the orchestra provides a backing.

Absolutely stunning in every way.

Peter · « **Reply #53 on:** 06 February, 2012, 11:16:01 pm »

^^^
Marvellous, of course, but it makes me want to jump for joy at what can be achieved!

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #54 on:** 06 February, 2012, 11:21:06 pm »

I think D minor is the saddest of all the keys, it makes people weep instantly.

Peter · « **Reply #55 on:** 06 February, 2012, 11:23:40 pm »

Sometimes it's just the way you play them!

Torslanda · « **Reply #56 on:** 06 February, 2012, 11:37:04 pm »

A lot of Genesis at the moment. Guide Vocal, Supper's Ready, Ripples, Undertow. . .

Some Floyd, too. Tigers, Fletcher Memorial, Comfortably Numb and On The Turning Away. Wow!

Stuff that reminds me of Dad. Sibelius, Elgar, the sort of stuff Henry Kelly plays

One of the best reasons for listening to Chris Evans. Generally commercial radio is unadulterated shite! Chris Evans has made a living out of having the attention span of a concussed amoeba but luckily knows fuck all about music so he's not likely to play anything that's going to unbalance me on the way to work or cause any potential embarassment in traffic.

Tewdric · « **Reply #57 on:** 06 February, 2012, 11:43:48 pm »

Quote from: why1040 on 06 February, 2012, 06:23:20 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo7qT99zTEE&feature=related

That bass line still gives me nightmares. A couple of pints at least were required to get anywhere near it.

Efrogwr · « **Reply #58 on:** 07 February, 2012, 11:13:56 am »

There are two strands to my thinking about this thread.

One is the sonic quality of the music itself. It's a combination of beauty and effectiveness, which can happen in any musical genre. The key plays a part too.

The other one is about songs. Any song can have a deep meaning for us when we connect it with significant events. When a song is written about specific events or topics it can have very strong meaning for those who feel a connection. Two of my examples are A Place Called England (june Tabor) ad Los Gatos Canyon (Woody Guthrie), both political songs. The first moves me to anger, because it makes me realise that things could be better, the second to tears, because it deals with the outcome of casual disregard for migrant labourers.

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #59 on:** 07 February, 2012, 11:38:32 am »

There's another stand as well. It's possible to construct a tearjerker from the right components, which is what professional songwriters and arrangers do. I'd put 'The Folks Who Live On The Hill' in that camp,

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/nu-z8mJKzs4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/nu-z8mJKzs4&rel=1</a> everthing about it is designed to tug at the heart strings, it's got the musical and lyrical cues in the right order. It's difficult to succumb to those cues and not resent the blatant manipulation.
It's as Noel Coward wrote in 'Private Lives' ' Extraordinary how potent cheap music is'.

why1040 · « **Reply #60 on:** 07 February, 2012, 01:24:07 pm »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 06 February, 2012, 10:20:37 pm

Can't do without this. Such a masterpiece. Of all the music I've ever listened to, I don't think any composer has succeeded with the concept of "implied melody" the way Ludwig has here. The bit where the soaring strings are doing there stuff, starting around 4'22" in this recording, no instrument is actually playing the tune. It's going on in the listener's head whilst the orchestra provides a backing.

Absolutely stunning in every way.

That is an amazing piece of music indeed, but it's one that makes my heart soar rather than reducing me to a blubbering wreck!

why1040 · « **Reply #61 on:** 07 February, 2012, 01:25:12 pm »

Quote from: Tewdric on 06 February, 2012, 11:43:48 pm

Quote from: why1040 on 06 February, 2012, 06:23:20 pm

That bass line still gives me nightmares. A couple of pints at least were required to get anywhere near it.

To be fair, the high soprano does the same to me...though I couldn't have done it on a couple of pints (burp)!

LEE · « **Reply #62 on:** 07 February, 2012, 03:41:29 pm »

Quote from: Exit Stage Left on 06 February, 2012, 11:21:06 pm

I think D minor is the saddest of all the keys, it makes people weep instantly.

Especially when the melody is just simple lines intertwining (see: Mozart/Bach pieces)

Wowbagger · « **Reply #63 on:** 07 February, 2012, 04:44:26 pm »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/xuu-GACWPTE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/xuu-GACWPTE&rel=1</a>

That a remarkable performance. I thought I detected a couple of pronunciation errors (the bass solo seemed to miss the 'n' out of "sanfte" at one point, and the tenor seemed to be singing "laufen" rather than "laufet" a couple of times. However, it's rare to hear a performance that's so clear.

Quote from: why1040 on 07 February, 2012, 01:24:07 pm

Quote from: Wowbagger on 06 February, 2012, 10:20:37 pm

Can't do without this. Such a masterpiece. Of all the music I've ever listened to, I don't think any composer has succeeded with the concept of "implied melody" the way Ludwig has here. The bit where the soaring strings are doing there stuff, starting around 4'22" in this recording, no instrument is actually playing the tune. It's going on in the listener's head whilst the orchestra provides a backing.

Absolutely stunning in every way.

That is an amazing piece of music indeed, but it's one that makes my heart soar rather than reducing me to a blubbering wreck!

It makes my heart soar too. It doesn't stop me form being a blubbering wreck occasionally, at the same time!

nicknack · « **Reply #64 on:** 07 February, 2012, 04:47:22 pm »

Quote from: Exit Stage Left on 06 February, 2012, 11:21:06 pm

I think D minor is the saddest of all the keys, it makes people weep instantly.

Nah. C# minor's the one.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #65 on:** 07 February, 2012, 05:21:43 pm »

Chopin's Funeral March (Sonata in B flat minor, 2nd movement) is a pretty miserable dirge, although there's a gorgeous section in a major key in the middle of it.

Beethoven wrote two symphonic funeral marches, C minor for the second movement of the Eroica and A minor for the 7th symphony. Mind you, I always think of that A minor piece as very light-hearted (it's the one that's all on one note).

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mgHxmAsINDk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/mgHxmAsINDk&rel=1</a>
The Eroica one is terribly solemn and at one point, towards the end of it, there's a single drum beat with no other instrument playing. I always think of that as the musical depiction of a sod of earth landing on a coffin.

I can't find a Youtube clip of it which includes the whole movement at the moment: everything I've found has been truncated.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #66 on:** 07 February, 2012, 08:19:19 pm »

Im Abendrot (At Sunset) from Strauss's "Vier Letzte Lieder". Wriiten when he was 84 in 1948, he died the same year.
I particularly like the Gundula Janowitz / Herbert von Karajan version here. The glistening sound of the Berlin strings which sometimes I don't like are perfect for this piece.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/b4KTMzUL3W0&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/b4KTMzUL3W0&rel=1</a>

Tim Hall · « **Reply #67 on:** 11 February, 2012, 06:43:01 pm »

"See The Farmer Sow His Seed" as featured in the closing credits of King Street Junior.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete · « **Reply #68 on:** 11 February, 2012, 09:39:10 pm »

Beethoven's Appasionata does it for me. But there's a couple of others:

Lee Aaron - barely holding on:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/I6d5EzBA2pU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/I6d5EzBA2pU&rel=1</a>

and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #69 on:** 11 February, 2012, 09:44:04 pm »

Quote from: pcolbeck on 03 February, 2012, 01:23:10 pm

Bach BWV 82 "Ich habe genug"

Andreas Scholl has just released a new album of "Ich habe genug" (so that's countertenor) but, vast Scholl fan that I am, I think I prefer the Peter Kooij version.

Saw Scholl singing it live at the Barbican last Friday.

Biggsy · « **Reply #70 on:** 12 February, 2012, 08:26:25 pm »

This brings a tear to the eye and snot to the nose:

http://youtu.be/89jPaJWLHTs

Redlight · « **Reply #71 on:** 13 February, 2012, 06:33:06 am »

Lost in the moment by Edie Bricknell

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/QKxIMK8fFAk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/QKxIMK8fFAk&rel=1</a>

A sad but all too common story, simply told. The images in the final verse always get me.

why1040 · « **Reply #72 on:** 13 February, 2012, 07:49:34 am »

Going back to the more situational/connotational songs that make me weep each time I hear them, because I remember...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EUifVn-TC4

Wowbagger · « **Reply #73 on:** 18 February, 2012, 11:08:18 am »

I was listening, as I tend to, R3's "Breakfast" broadcast with this morning's presenter, Clemency Burton-Hill. Every day for the past few weeks they have played a special request from a member of the public, with whom they have a chat just before playing it. This week, because it's been half-term, they have been trying to get school kids to phone in. This morning it was the turn of Emily, 9-year-old girl from London who has been learning the 'cello.

She requested this:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUgdbqt2ON0

CBH asked Emily if she know who the conductor was, and Emily didn't.

Although I wasn't reduced to a blubbering wreck by this, it did lead, as it always does when I hear du Pré play, to a thoughtful moment. I was privileged enough to see her live at the Festival Hall in the early 1960s at one of the Robert Mayer children's concerts. She must have been about 16 at the time. I was about 7.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #74 on:** 18 February, 2012, 02:13:01 pm »

Quote from: Auntie Helen on 11 February, 2012, 09:44:04 pm

Quote from: pcolbeck on 03 February, 2012, 01:23:10 pm
Bach BWV 82 "Ich habe genug"

Andreas Scholl has just released a new album of "Ich habe genug" (so that's countertenor) but, vast Scholl fan that I am, I think I prefer the Peter Kooij version.

Saw Scholl singing it live at the Barbican last Friday.

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is my favourite for this.

Author Topic: Music that reduces you to a blubbering wreck (Read 34158 times)

LEE