Best/Favorite Piece Of Classical Music?

[Flashy]

YouTube - Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings, op.11

It was originally the slow movement of his string quartet but now also can be performed as a choral work, "Agnus Dei."

YouTube - Samuel Barber: Agnus Dei (Adagio for strings)


Someone mentioned "O Fortuna". I'm assuming you meant the opening movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Great piece.

YouTube - Ysgol Glanaethwy: O Fortuna - Last Choir Standing Final - BBC One

yes, i mentioned both adagio and o fortuna...

i love them both...adagio is incredibly stirring...

as for "o Fortuna", yes it is the opening of Carmina Burana, (and also the closing)...the piece directly after it is actually very good too, and often gets overlooked....it is a companion piece in terms of the "Fortune" theme of "O' Fortuna", in its lyrical descriptions...Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World) is the name of the opening, that contains 1st O' Fortuna, then " Fortune plango vulnera" (I bemoan the wounds of Fortune)

i think it gets overlooked because O Fortuna is so rousing...but it is also amazing...

also, i will always remember the first time i ever heard it, which was when i was about 9 years old and saw the film "Excalibur"...

i was also introduced to another piece that formed the ending music to that film, which was also pretty brilliant it was Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral" from Twilight of the Gods


i think that the words both in latin and the translation to english, of O Fortuna, though are simply incredible...when you understand what is being said, and combine it with the words/meaning, it truly is amazing...

i have posted this link to the full opening of "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" and reprinted the words below it, just in case anyone wanted to know them

YouTube - Carl Orff Carmina Burana O Fortuna 1

O Fortuna
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem,
potestatem
dissolvit ut glaciem.

Sors immanis
et inanis,
rota tu volubilis,
status malus,
vana salus
semper dissolubilis,
obumbrata
et velata
mihi quoque niteris;
nunc per ludum
dorsum nudum
fero tui sceleris.

Sors salutis
et virtutis
michi nunc contraria,
est affectus
et defectus
semper in angaria.
Hac in hora
sine mora
corde pulsum tangite;
quod per sortem
sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangit

ENGLISH

O Fortune,
just as the moon
Stands constantly changing,
always increasing
or decreasing;
Detestable life
now difficult
and then easy
Deceptive sharp mind;
poverty
power
it melts them like ice.

Fate—monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game,
my bare back
I bring to your villainy.

Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is now against me
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since through Fate
strikes down the strong,
everyone weep with me!



I HOWEVER HAPPEN TO ENJOY THIS LATIN TRANSLATION OF IT BETTER...

http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/orff-cb/carmlyr.php



for anyone proficient in latin, which is the more accurate? the above posted in this message, or the one at the link?

 

[chicagosam]

yes, i mentioned both adagio and o fortuna...

I've performed Carmina Burana a number of times and so am well acquainted with it. There are so many wonderful parts to it. The drinking section is great fun. Like you, I was acquainted with it early in life and it has remained a favorite since. Speaking of Excalibur, it is hard to imagine that movie without Orff and Wagner.

My favorite choral work is the Bach Magnificat in D. Love it.

 

[Dooky]

best? there's no doubt about it. Beethovens 5th.

Also, technically, Bach is not "classical". neither is ALOT of the music posted here. come on guys. just because it is string quartets and orchestras and symphony's does not mean that it is of the classical era. either the title of the thread should be changed or the topics should be changed!

 

[Flashy]

I've performed Carmina Burana a number of times and so am well acquainted with it. There are so many wonderful parts to it. The drinking section is great fun. Like you, I was acquainted with it early in life and it has remained a favorite since. Speaking of Excalibur, it is hard to imagine that movie without Orff and Wagner.

My favorite choral work is the Bach Magnificat in D. Love it.

interesting that you have performed it, and indeed, as you said, there is so much more to it...

as for Excalibur, it is also hard to imagine it without Helen Mirren! :biggrin1::wink:

truly one of the most underrated great films of all time! one of my faves...and the musical selections, combined with the landscapes and camera work were incredible...the scene with O Fortuna, when they ride from Camelot and the land is reborn is epic, and the blood red sunset going down over the Sea, with Sigfried's funeral is jaw-dropping.

the acting and dialogue is a tad cheesy at times, and overall it can be a bit silly at points, but it is still pretty awesome.

sadly, like everything, Hollywood is going to ruin Excalibur as well...they are in plans to remake it, as we speak :frown1:

 

[whatireallywant]

Every Fall, one of my favorites is Norman Dello Joio's The Triumph of Saint Joan Symphony; and also his Variations, Chaconne, and Finale. They have these wonderful autumnal sounds and are perfect for a Fall evening at sunset overlooking a lake. There is a wonderful recording of these pieces that concludes with Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Norman Dello Joio: Triumph of Saint Joan/ Variations, Chaconne and Finale mp3s, Norman Dello Joio: Triumph of Saint Joan/ Variations, Chaconne and Finale music downloads, Norman Dello Joio: Triumph of Saint Joan/ Variations, Chaconne and Finale songs

YouTube - Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings, op.11

It was originally the slow movement of his string quartet but now also can be performed as a choral work, "Agnus Dei."

YouTube - Samuel Barber: Agnus Dei (Adagio for strings)

I have fallen in love with Rachmaninov's 2nd Symphony. The third movement is beyond beautiful.

YouTube - Rachmaninov - André Previn - Symphony No.2 Mvt.3-4 (2/3)

Someone mentioned "O Fortuna". I'm assuming you meant the opening movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Great piece.

YouTube - Ysgol Glanaethwy: O Fortuna - Last Choir Standing Final - BBC One

I love Adagio for Strings but it's one of those "Don't listen to it if you're sad" pieces of music for me!

Here are some of my other favorites:

YouTube - Borodin - Prince Igor - Polovtsian dances

YouTube - Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt - Morning Mood

YouTube - In the Hall of the Mountain King
(I love Peer Gynt, what can I say?)

YouTube - ? Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No.1 ?

 

[jason_els]

Two other faves of mine:

Tchaikovsky's Dance Arab aka Coffee from The Nutcracker. This is a delicate and extremely subtle piece which I love dearly. It makes me think of minarets and moukarnis, ladies in veils, and all that romantic exotica which was once associated with Arabia.

The version I'm linking to is how this piece should be played. I'm not surprised it took a Russian conductor to get it right because almost everyone else performs it way too up-tempo. This way, the delicacy, the midnight blue, and the perfumed dreams of half-mooned rooftops stays well-preserved in the mind. The recording is too low and not good but it's correct and that's enough.

Another piece I'm very fond of is Vessels by Philip Glass. To me it sounds like the clarity of mountain air. It's the Queen of Swords: hard but lovely and hypnotic.

 

[Wish-4-8]

I just got into Serenade for Winds by Mozart. It is featured in the movie Amadeus.

YouTube - Salieri describing the music of Mozart

This scene in the movie is one of my favorites. The way he describes the music is just as magical as the music itself. BTW, the actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor that year.

 

[jason_els]

I just got into Serenade for Winds by Mozart. It is featured in the movie Amadeus.

YouTube - Salieri describing the music of Mozart

This scene in the movie is one of my favorites. The way he describes the music is just as magical as the music itself. BTW, the actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor that year.

My grandfather didn't care for movies much but he loved Amadeus and that scene in particular. He didn't stop talking about it for months. Great find!

 

[D_Tilly_De_Toilet]

Wagner Operas!.........Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin, Die Walkure.

Bravo! I recently finished the whole ring cycle. I also have a book of his writing that I've been meaning to crack open.

I'm liking the Planets at the moment.

There was a performance I saw of Mars a few years ago at my school. Very cool stuff.

Lately I've been listening to:

Bartók - Bluebeard's Castle
Stravinsky - Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Glass - Einstein on the Beach
Ives - Universe Symphony & The Unanswered Question

 

[HazelGod]

Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".

That's the one.

 

[superbot]

'The Lark Ascending'-Vaughan Williams.SUBLIME!!

 

[jason_els]

'The Lark Ascending'-Vaughan Williams.SUBLIME!!

Holy shit that's beautiful! I've never heard it before. Just wow!

THANK YOU!
​

 

[Viking_UK]

My favourites for driving to, depending on the conditions, are the Blue Danube, Brandenburg Concerto No.3, Danse Macabre and Ride of the Valkyrie.

If I'm in the mood for relaxing, I'll go for something like Albinoni's Adagio in G minor, Gabriel's Oboe or, and I know it's not strictly a classical piece, the Ashokan Farewell. Another one I'm quite partial to is Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture I was introduced to that by my favourite music teacher in primary school and it always brings back happy memories.

The true classical music fans will probably have a fit over the fact that I really enjoy Eileen Ivers take on Pachelbel's Canon - Pachelbel's Frolics and De Dannan's The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (I actually use that as a ringtone).

I've never been a fan of Mozart. I just find him a bit too flighty. I used to like The lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams, but it gets played too often on the radio over here and I'm getting bored with it now.

 

[798686]

best? there's no doubt about it. Beethovens 5th.

Also, technically, Bach is not "classical". neither is ALOT of the music posted here. come on guys. just because it is string quartets and orchestras and symphony's does not mean that it is of the classical era. either the title of the thread should be changed or the topics should be changed!

I think people take it to mean 'orchestral' music - I do anyway. :wink:

And how r ya? Long time, no see.

 

[D_Tilly_De_Toilet]

either the title of the thread should be changed or the topics should be changed!

I agree, we need a thread just for Baroque music and another one for Gregorian chant. That'll really be useful. :tongue:

 

[Enid]

satie's furniture music is one of my faves.

i like minimalist composers as well -- reich, young.

 

[Calboner]

Mozart's chorus "O du eselhafter Martin," K. 560b, has a great text -- by the composer himself:

O du eselhafter Martin!
O du martinischer Esel!
Du bist so faul als wie ein Gaul,
der weder Kopf noch Hachsen hat.
Mit dir ist gar nichts anzufangen.
Ich seh dich noch am Galgen hangen.
Du dummer Paul, halt du das Maul,
ich scheiß dir auf's Maul,
so hoff ich, wirst du erwachen.
O lieber Martin, ich bitte dir recht schön,
O leck mich doch geschwind,
geschwind im Arsch!
O lieber freund, verzeihe mir,
den Arsch, den Arsch petschier ich dir,
Martin, Martin, verzeihe mir!

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Also, technically, Bach is not "classical". neither is ALOT of the music posted here. come on guys. just because it is string quartets and orchestras and symphony's does not mean that it is of the classical era. either the title of the thread should be changed or the topics should be changed!

So by 'classical music' you mean Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven?
Fine.
But another perfectly correct sense of classical music is the 'art music' composed from the early 1600s up till now.
So Rachmaninoff, Glass, Scarlatti, Ades ... all are classical, according to one perfectly acceptable definition.

 

[Flashy]

'The Lark Ascending'-Vaughan Williams.SUBLIME!!

yes, very beautiful...first i have heard of it...

thanks to Jase for posting the link as well

 

[superbot]

1)Fantasia On a theme by Thomas Tallis-Vaughan Williams. 2) Spem in Alium-Thomas Tallis.Both very different,but both will stir the soul like no other!