Gothic Silk

Symphony 1 ‘ Gothic ‘ In contrast to the compact, terse idiom characterizing Brian’s late work, his earlier Gothic sprawls in a myriad of directions, with an overkill of striking ideas, toppling over each other at full orchestral and choral strength. Ondrej Len?rd admirably pulls his massive forces together as they brave the music’s extraordinary technical demands with impressive aplomb. –Jed Distler
Customer Review: I will pay $50 to buy Chicago Symphony recorded CD
Finally Barenboim is out, and that we have an excellent chance to have Havergal Brian’s “Gothic” symphony recorded with CSO. But we do not want Boulez’s insipid view on any symphonic work. Hence, I say we need guy like Rattle, a Brit. Actually, CBSO and Rattle would be fine with me, since they are second only to VPO in sound quality, IMHO. Another choice would be Ashkenazy/CSO or Ashkenazy/RPO.

What what it matters, no conductor has touched this symphony in true sense of score. We need somebody to dig out score from Israel of this work, since it is argued (lately squashed) Mahler’s Symphony 1 score to be found in israel.

Anyway, to those who have listened to Bruckner-Mahler, need not be told what to listen to. For newcomers to Bruckner-Mahler club, try this $12 (Naxos - try berkshirerecordoutlet . com) cheap music. you will love it. (Be warned of poor choral recording though).
Customer Review: Havergal’s Brian early magnum opus…a masterpiece
Mahler’s Third Symphony or Schoenberg’s “Gurre-Lieder” are two works that come to mind when trying to present novices with repertory pieces with which to compare Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony.

This may be a truism, but in growing to appreciate this masterful work, one must come to terms with its mammoth proportions.

The composer offers a three-movement symphonic suite and fuses to it a three-movement Te Deum that is rather syncretistic in nature. Secular moves freely into sacred, the high art of Church Music then proceeds to the “low” art of sea songs, shifting throughout a backdrop of quietude alternating with dense polyphony.

Some themes (such as the sea song in the last movement) recur.
Other themes, some of which can only be described as glorious, appear only once, fleeting and ephemeral.

The third movement offers a noteworthy passage in which a piccolo and bass oboe take up a theme “out of the blue” and then follow it with a xylophone cadenza (!!)(absolutely remarkable).

The sheer number of performers (see the liner notes for details)create overwhelming financial and logistical challenges that will forever disqualify this great work of art from becoming “standard repertoire.” However, I could see that there is a place for it in, say, festival settings.

The symphony’s length is not terribly daunting if one compares it to the Mahler symphonies or a night at the opera for a performance of Wagner’s “Parsifal” or Messiaen’s “St Francis of Assisi.”

Purchasing this set and listening to all that this work has to offer is an excellent way not only to spend money, but also to learn about the cavernous musical territory that Havergal Brian charted.

I hope you will take a chance on it.

jed distler, repertory pieces, magnum opus, mammoth proportions, havergal brian, massive forces, masterful work, third symphony, cbso, symphonic work, technical demands, s brian, symphonic suite, chicago symphony, boulez, cheap music, deum, mahler, aplomb, bruckner
jed distler, repertory pieces, magnum opus, mammoth proportions, havergal brian, massive forces, masterful work, third symphony, cbso, symphonic work, technical demands, s brian, symphonic suite, chicago symphony, boulez, cheap music, deum, mahler, aplomb, bruckner