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Bourgeois,Derek - Symphony No 06

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Jolly Roger
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« on: December 08, 2014, 01:55:47 pm »

This is a marvelous symphony, the centerpiece is a powerful and incessant dirge with variations
which leads to a glorious big tune to end.
The beginning is quite faint (that's how sunrises go) so crank it up very high to get the most of it.
The neglect of Bourgeois is inexcusable..especially at the Proms as I think he may
be one of UK's best composer, alive or not..and he is prolific to the extreme.

Bourgeois,Derek - Symphony No 06 (A Cotswold Symphony)
performers at live concert unknown
http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/27246.html
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2014, 06:39:36 pm »

I'm slightly surprised his  Fourth 'A Wine Symphony' hasn't been recorded yet. A colourful,approachable work. A bit like Malcolm Arnold in places,without the angst. A fun,entertaining idea behind it,although some of it makes me wonder what his hangovers can be like?! A Chandos style recording,like the ones they did for Arnold,would provide it with the kind of recording quality it needs.
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BrianA
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« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2014, 06:02:51 pm »

I don't suppose there's anybody out there with the necessary smarts and hardware/software requirements to snatch this piece in downloadable format for us, is there?
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mjkFendrich
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« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2014, 08:58:26 pm »

The mp3 file can be downloaded directly from the above link - just move your mouse over the blue icon labelled 'MP3 file'
within the main top box (above the streaming player) and select 'Save link as ..' (or something equivalent) from the
right mouse menu.
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BrianA
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« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2014, 11:06:20 pm »

Well whaddya know, so you can!  Thanks, MJK!
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relm1
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« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2014, 01:18:31 am »

I think Derek Bourgeois is a wonderful composer and very talented.  I really enjoy his music but I think he has given up on attempting to have his music performed.  He told me in an email that "Although none of my 87 symphonies is recorded (only the first 7 of them have even been performed!)...I'm afraid it is out of my hands.  Everything I write for wind or brass band gets played throughout the world, but orchestras worldwide seem little interested in playing contemporary music, apart from a few first performances of commissioned works."

This is really sad because the computer renderings are not very good representations of his music.

Jolly Roger, thank you for posting the link to this beautiful work.
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2014, 07:31:47 am »

I think Derek Bourgeois is a wonderful composer and very talented.  I really enjoy his music but I think he has given up on attempting to have his music performed.  He told me in an email that "Although none of my 87 symphonies is recorded (only the first 7 of them have even been performed!)...I'm afraid it is out of my hands.  Everything I write for wind or brass band gets played throughout the world, but orchestras worldwide seem little interested in playing contemporary music, apart from a few first performances of commissioned works."

This is really sad because the computer renderings are not very good representations of his music.

Jolly Roger, thank you for posting the link to this beautiful work.
relm1 - It's an honor to spread the word and promote the good fight for Derek Bourgeois. I see the neglect in the UK of this fine composer as a serious musical travesty. 
This is one reason the UK Proms and its "acceptable" music have little relevance to me any more. Naxos or Dutton...take a chance to promote true greatness..
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Gauk
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« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2014, 07:43:40 am »

Incidentally, let me put in a plug for #90, which is my current favourite of the ones I have listened to.
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Gauk
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« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2014, 12:03:21 am »

I see he is up to 98 now. No 98 is the "Organ Symphony".
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2014, 12:26:42 am »

Quote from: Gauk on December 11, 2014, 07:43:40 am
Incidentally, let me put in a plug for #90, which is my current favourite of the ones I have listened to.
an incredibly prolific and gifted composer.
more partial excerpts of his abundant music here..
http://www.hafabramusic.com/index.php?P=shop&Input=C&Value=BOURGEOIS*Derek

an old article as well at the Guardian(he had written no. 44 at the time)
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/09/derek-bourgeois-symphonies

Please see the You Tube performances section for his powerful and compelling Apocalypse
http://artmusic.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,4317.0.html
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2014, 01:25:33 am »

Karl Miller has indicated that the first 5 symphonies were recorded for orchestra and they soon be posted here.
awesome!!
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2014, 12:17:10 pm »

I only know the 'Wine' Symphony;but I think it should be as popular with music lovers as any of the Malcolm Arnold symphonies. I'm going to have to hear more!
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2014, 10:14:34 pm »

I only know the 'Wine' Symphony;but I think it should be as popular with music lovers as any of the Malcolm Arnold symphonies. I'm going to have to hear more!
Don't overlook No.6 (Cotswold) previously posted and NOT A MIDI:
http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/27246.html
and this:
http://artmusic.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,4317.0.html

I do agree with the Malcolm Arnold comparison, but Bourgeois has much richer orchestration and is a bit less angular. Much of his music is also very descriptive and programmatic in nature, note the description for the 6th here:
It really adds to the understanding of the music and it has the character of a symphonic poem(6 movements?)

as per the composer:
My Sixth Symphony (Cotswold Symphony) was commissioned by the Stroud Festival and was first performed in Bristol in 1989.

The symphony plays continuously, but falls broadly into six sections:-

1. PASTORAL: DAWN: MISTS RISE OVER THE VALE OF GLOUCESTER Out of barely distinguishable shimmering sounds, a dawn chorus emerges which in turn gives way to a big tune, tentative at first, in the strings, in the unequivocal key of D major, a key which, for me, has always implied things green and pastoral. This short prelude will return from time to time in different guises and eventually provide the apotheosis of the work.

2. MAYPOLE The title speaks for itself. This is a swirling dance, which via a rustic central episode, builds up to a big climax in C major with the main dance tune in augmentation. The jollity suddenly turns sour and we are hurled into :-

3. THE IRON MARCH OF ROME There is nothing pastoral about this slow movement. It represents the inexorable advance of the Roman Empire across the countryside. An angular march tune builds relentlessly, growing ever louder, accompanied by long pedal points. The music is powerful, yet brutal. At the end a gradual accelerando leads us into the next section, still loud, but representing an entirely different mood.

4. CHURCH BELLS: "As sure as God’s in Gloucestershire" A quotation from Ivor Gurney, the Cotswolds’ most celebrated poet, heralds this short and transitory movement. A grand tintinabulation from Bells, Glockenspiel and Piano accompanies a noble theme in triple time, a reminder that the origins of the Dick Whittington legend lie here. As this subsides we are led gently back to the theme that started the symphony, but this time quiet and serene. A short pause leads us into :-

5. THE OLD CITY : GLOUCESTER This movement is complex, yet basically jaunty, and happy, building gradually into a march, but this time one far more characteristic of the English tradition. The word nobilmente (not a real Italian word, but one invented by Elgar) may spring to mind as the march unfolds. The movement is not so much a literal portrayal of Gurney’s words, but a capturing of the emotion they engendered in me. As the march subsides we move back into the material from the very beginning of the symphony.

6. EPILOGUE: PASTORAL The original tune reappears, and this time builds to a big and indulgent climax. At the very end there is a reference to the Iron March of Rome, but now in a glorious and unambiguous D major.


http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/27246.html
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Gauk
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« Reply #13 on: December 20, 2014, 08:27:42 am »

I listened to no. 98 ("The Organ Symphony"), and it is well worth hearing. Bourgeois has a very distinctive style, and that means his melodies often contain characteristic patterns, but he doen't repeat himself and doesn't seem to run out of ideas. The second movement is one of the most unlikely fugues you'll ever hear, and I think it is impossible to listen to it without a smile.

It is a shame the sibelius synthesised sound is so wheezy - I thought it was possible to get much better computer recreations of a symphony orchestra nowadays - perhaps that's only with more expensive software.
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #14 on: December 22, 2014, 10:40:39 am »

I listened to no. 98 ("The Organ Symphony"), and it is well worth hearing. Bourgeois has a very distinctive style, and that means his melodies often contain characteristic patterns, but he doen't repeat himself and doesn't seem to run out of ideas. The second movement is one of the most unlikely fugues you'll ever hear, and I think it is impossible to listen to it without a smile.

It is a shame the sibelius synthesised sound is so wheezy - I thought it was possible to get much better computer recreations of a symphony orchestra nowadays - perhaps that's only with more expensive software.
midi or not, the cleverness come thru...his music is permeated with original and often humorous and colorful ideas..it must be a joy to play it..
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