This is a 2 hour looped version of Gnossienne no.1 by the French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) and was composed in 1890. The piece is marked Lent — Slow.
The first Gnossienne, alongside the first Gymnopedie has got to be one of the most recognisable and most covered classical pieces of all time — and its no wonder — the composition conjures up so many images — mystery, suspense, dread and even violence are the first thoughts that come to my mind.
The score itself is also very interesting to look at — as it is written in free-time, with no bar lines or time signature, and can appear quite unusual to the eye to those more useto looking at more conventional forms of musical notation. But I love the amount of freedom with rhythm and interpretation that such writing allows the performer!
The Best of Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 — 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908)
Rimsky-Korsakov believed, as did fellow composer Mily Balakirev and critic Vladimir Stasov, in developing a nationalistic style of classical music. This style employed Russian folk song and lore along with exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements in a practice known as musical orientalism, and eschewed traditional Western compositional methods. However, Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods, incorporating them alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka and fellow members of The Five. His techniques of composition and orchestration were further enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner.
For much of his life, Rimsky-Korsakov combined his composition and teaching with a career in the Russian military—at first as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, then as the civilian Inspector of Naval Bands. He wrote that he developed a passion for the ocean in childhood from reading books and hearing of his older brothers exploits in the navy. This love of the sea might have influenced him to write two of his best-known orchestral works, the musical tableau Sadko (not his later opera of the same name) and Scheherazade. Through his service as Inspector of Naval Bands, Rimsky-Korsakov expanded his knowledge of woodwind and brass playing, which enhanced his abilities in orchestration. He passed this knowledge to his students, and also posthumously through a textbook on orchestration that was completed by his son-in-law, Maximilian Steinberg.
Rimsky-Korsakov left a considerable body of original Russian nationalist compositions. He prepared works by The Five for performance, which brought them into the active classical repertoire (although there is controversy over his editing of the works of Modest Mussorgsky), and shaped a generation of younger composers and musicians during his decades as an educator. Rimsky-Korsakov is therefore considered «the main architect» of what the classical music public considers the Russian style of composition. His influence on younger composers was especially important, as he served as a transitional figure between the autodidactism which exemplified Glinka and The Five and professionally trained composers which would become the norm in Russia by the closing years of the 19th century. While Rimsky-Korsakovs style was based on those of Glinka, Balakirev, Hector Berlioz, and Franz Liszt, he «transmitted this style directly to two generations of Russian composers» and influenced non-Russian composers including Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas and Ottorino Respi
Scheherazade:
0:00 The Sea and Sinbads Ship
9:59 The Story of the Kalander Prince
22:52 The Young Prince and the Young Princess
33:31 Festival at Baghdad — The Sea — Shipwreck
Capriccio Espagnol:
46:36 Alborada — Vivo e strepitoso
47:47 Variazioni: Andante con moto
52:34 Alborada. Vivo e strepitoso (II)
53:45 Scena e Canto Gitano: Allegretto
55:20 Fandango Asturiano
1:01:22 The Flight of the Bumble Bee
1:02:45 Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op.36
Producer: Richard Beswick
Studio Personnel, Recording Engineer: Colin Moorfoot
Studio Personnel, Recording Engineer: Simon Eadon
Composer: Claude Debussy
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Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849) — Les 21 Nocturnes.
*Click to activate the English subtitles for the presentation* (00:00-02:50)
n°1 in B flat minor * b-moll * en si bémol, Op.9/1 (00:00)
n°2 in E flat * Es-dur * en Mi bémol, Op.9/2 (5:50)
n°3 in B * H-dur * en Si Op.9/3 (10:30)
n°4 in F * F-dur * en Fa, Op.15/1 (17:49)
n°5 in F sharp * Fis-dur * en Fa dièse, Op.15/2 (22:55)
n°6 in G minor * g-moll * en sol, Op. 15/3 (26:44)
n°7 in C sharp minor * cis-moll * en ut dièse, Op.27/1 (31:28)
n°8 in D flat * Des-dur * en Ré bémol, Op.27/2 (36:57)
n°9 in B * H-dur * en Si, Op.32/1 (43:18)
n°10 in A flat * As-dur * en La bémol, Op.32/2 (49:00)
n°11 in G minor * g-moll * en Sol, Op.37/1 (54:21)
n°12 in G * G-dur * en Sol, Op.37/2 (1:01:38)
n°13 in C minor * c-moll * en ut, Op.48/1 (1:08:45)
n°14 in F sharp minor * fis-moll * en fa dièse, Op. 48/2 (1:15:07)
n°15 in F minor * f-moll * en fa, Op. 55/1 (1:22:58)
n°16 in E flat * Es-dur * en Mi bémol, Op.55/2 (1:28:43)
n°17 in B * H-dur * en S, Op.62/1 (1:34:15)
n°18 in E * E-dur * en Min Op.62/2 (1:42:00)
n°19 in E minor * e-moll * en mi, OP.72/1 (1:49:15)
n°20 in C sharp minor * cis-moll * en ut dièse, Op.posth. (1:53:30)
n°21 in C minor * c-moll * en ut, Op.posth. (1:58:00)
Piano: Claudio Arrau
Recorded in 1977-78
Find CMRRs recordings on Spotify: spoti.fi/3016eVr
Le Nocturne est une pièce de musique née à l’époque classique et était destiné à l’orchestre. A l’époque du romantisme, ce genre a changé de caractère pour devenir une miniature musicale, surtout pour le piano. Les Nocturnes de Chopin ont été écrits à diverses époques de sa courte vie. Ils sont une image fidèle de son âme de poète. Ils constituent peut-être son plus grand titre de gloire, ils sont ses oeuvres les plus parfaites.
La nature de son talent; la pureté de la forme, presque toujours avec avec cette empreinte de mélancolie rêveuse qui donne tant de charme à tout ce qu’il a écrit, se développe dans les Nocturnes avec une élégance incomparable. Lorsque Chopin les jouait, il y ajoutait une ornementation issue de l’opéra italien, fines gouttelettes perlées traduisant au piano l’art vocal du ‘portamento’ et de la ‘coloratura’.
L’atmosphère profondément intériorisée des Nocturnes, leur aspect de murmure tourné vers soi, à rebours de tout effet spectaculaire, est en fait ce qu’il y a de plus difficile à rendre. L’extrême pudeur et l’extrême poésie d’Arrau qui égrène chaque note, chaque arabesque, chaque inflexion du piano avec une retenue presque douloureuse donnent à ces Nocturnes quelque chose de poignant. Se remémorant, au creux d’une nuit qui pourrait être ultime, les tendresses qui l’ont effleuré, les drames qui l’on griffé, les rêveries qui l’ont bercé, Arrau, à travers Chopin, dialogue avec lui-même et l’on est presque gêné d’être présent.
Son piano, aux sonorités chaudes ou argentées, automnales ou apaisées, est comme un carnet intime sur lequel il note des secrets en se les fredonnant, avec une poignée de souffle qui vient embuer la vitre devant laquelle il veille. Au creux de cette nuit qu’on partage avec lui, c’est toute une vie qui passe en vingt et un poèmes envoûtants qui sont vingts et un chefs d’oeuvres recréés. En récompense pour cette interprétation sublime, Claudio Arrau a reçu le diapason d’or de l’année 1979.