The Great Composers

Edvard Grieg’s splendid WEDDING DAY AT TROLDHAUGEN is more usually a piano piece, but i have included here, a marvellous adaptation for woodwind. Incidentally, I could have gotten away with including this in Celtic Cabal, as Grieg’s great-grandfather was a Greig from Scotland.

Grieg – Wedding Day at Troldhaugen(piano)

@Sgt Pepper wrote:

The passion and the majesty that is the music of RICHARD WAGNER

Die Walkure – Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire

Part I

Part II

Tristan Und Isolde

Prelude

Intoxicating 8)

Stunning, Sgt!

Wagner was my father’s favourite composer. As a little ‘un I remember many a Sunday morning with the windows rattling as dad and I conducted the vinyl orchestra with our invisible batons. I dunno why Sundays in particular..maybe..as a devout aethiest he was drowning out the pious psalms of the god-botherers.
I chose a Wagner piece for his funeral too.

I have seen three mentions of Richard Tauber, a singer whom I adore. I found a song, written by Tauber, but sung by Fritz Wunderlich. Wunderlich’s voice is one of the few that can truly be called “golden.” There is a kind of joyous melancholy in his tone. Unfortunately, he died in his thirties in an accident…some say suicide. Singing like him would be on the top of my 101 Things to do Before I Die; if it were even possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbUPZNQ-F_w

I adore Ferrier and that rendition, too. Kahlunk…that’s me hitting the floor. Thank you, Esme.

She always delivered her text beautifully, and it reminded me of this piece by Paul Robeson. It is sentimental, to be sure, but Robeson could make the phone book sound poignant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybK6-m0JFCM

Stephen

I don’t know if this counts but I love it as it has many childhood memories from when I was THE sugar plum fairy :lol: 8)

Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker – Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy