The Art-Music, Literature and Linguistics Forum

Assorted items => Coming broadcasts and listen-later links => Topic started by: guest54 on May 03, 2013, 03:07:46 pm



Title: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: guest54 on May 03, 2013, 03:07:46 pm
A gentleman has kindly informed me of a forthcoming broadcast from the Dutch Concertzender of a recording of one of Sorabji's most important compositions, the immense Sequentia Cyclica as performed by Jonathan Powell in Glasgow on the 20th of June 2010.

The broadcast will take place from midnight on Monday May 6th through until 7am in the morning of Tuesday May 7th.

Details of the twenty-seven parts or variations are listed here: http://www.concertzender.nl/programmagids.php?date=2013-05-06&month=1&detail=63373 (http://www.concertzender.nl/programmagids.php?date=2013-05-06&month=1&detail=63373)

The broadcast will be repeated from midnight on Monday 13th May until 7am in the morning of Tuesday May 14th - all times are Amsterdam times. But according to Mr. Hinton the complete performance lasted rather longer than seven hours, so we shall see what happens - perhaps it will be split between the two days.

To receive the broadcast, click on the blue bar with the legend "Luister Live."

As well as the actual broadcasts, it is possible that "listen later" links will be provided, but at lower quality.


Title: Re: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: Neil McGowan on May 03, 2013, 03:50:46 pm
Our best wishes to the estimable Mr Powell in this titanic endeavour :)


Title: Re: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: ahinton on May 03, 2013, 08:47:52 pm
Our best wishes to the estimable Mr Powell in this titanic endeavour :)
Indeed so - although his titanic endeavours have, of course, already been achieved and witnessed at the performance itself (which I had the honour and pleasure of attending). Quite how Mr Powell takes all this in and on continues to remain rather beyond me, I have to admit - yet take it all in and on he most magnificently has done! Just getting though that piece intelligently and intelligibly would probably be more than enough to put most of the tiny handful pianists that might be capable of doing so in hospital for an extended period of time; not, however, the uniquely indefatigable and commanding Mr Powell who, as I write, is performing another massively challenging work, Albéniz's splendid Iberia, in a festival in the north west of my country and I do so wish that it had been possible for me to be there, too!


Title: Re: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: guest54 on May 07, 2013, 09:20:47 am
The ending, in which the music drives on and on, is very wild and powerful, quite unlike the style of the composer's earlier pieces. Adequately avant-garde for 1949. I wonder how many ffs he wrote there!


Title: Re: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: Gauk on May 08, 2013, 03:30:50 pm
But according to Mr. Hinton the complete performance lasted rather longer than seven hours, so we shall see what happens - perhaps it will be split between the two days.

The link is still working at present; not being able to spend the whole night up, I listened to it starting this morning. The seven hours of music begins with the beginning and ends with the final fugue, so it does not appear to have been broken up. Maybe the original performance had breaks which took it over seven hours.

Anyway, fantastic to be able to hear this piece at last. Ironically, I would say it is one of Sorabji's more accessible pieces, given that the familiarity of the Dies Irae chant makes it all easier to follow.

Strange piece of synchronicity: last night my wife was chatting to some internet friends, and jokingly claimed she was setting her phone ringtone to Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica. She had no idea that the first broadcast of it was about to start within minutes!


Title: Re: Sorabji's Sequentia Cyclica from the Netherlands
Post by: mjkFendrich on May 08, 2013, 04:04:22 pm
Quote
The seven hours of music begins with the beginning and ends with the final fugue, so it does not appear to have been broken up. Maybe the original performance had breaks which took it over seven hours.

The discussion at the Sorabji Archive forum sorabji-archive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=564.0 (http://sorabji-archive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=564.0)
provides a little bit more details - but the contents announced there differs from that given at the above
mentioned concertzender site.

The gaps within the numberings indicate that this broadcast doesn't provide the complete work.