tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post3374727340197149145..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Parsifal: crystal bells, magic gardenDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-28746464098090919522013-12-25T04:54:57.186+00:002013-12-25T04:54:57.186+00:00Yes head the Trautonium version that you posed (at...Yes head the Trautonium version that you posed (at 5' 59" from memory) sounds bizarre but quite an achievement for the 1930s<br />Kimwandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-62730823912900796252013-12-24T13:38:47.241+00:002013-12-24T13:38:47.241+00:00Mein Gott, Kim, from the horse's mouth! Had I ...Mein Gott, Kim, from the horse's mouth! Had I had more time to play Karajan (on which the sound is truly awful - but I did have two specimens of mush lined up, which got chopped), that news would have been enriching to the script. On the programme you do get to hear the Bayreuth bells-wot-got-melted-down (Muck) and the Trautonium synth on Knappertsbusch 3 (awful if you ask me.)Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-53317899505609282332013-12-24T13:32:41.516+00:002013-12-24T13:32:41.516+00:00Hi David,
Kim here. John showed me your discussio...Hi David,<br /><br />Kim here. John showed me your discussion on the Parsifal bells that brought back some memories. In the 70’s I started a company to design a synthesiser that became (accidentally) the first computer-based keyboard capable of playing natural sounds that were ‘sampled’ into it - the Fairlight CMI. <br /><br />Von Karajan heard it somehow or other in the early 80s and wanted to use it for the Parsifal bells using sampled and repitched church bells. The BPO threatened to strike but the show did go on - with the Fairlight. Herbie tended to get his way!<br /><br />The start of Parsifal is one of my all time favourite pieces of music. <br /><br />Best regards <br />Kim, Sydneywandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-18562196895133144432013-12-05T14:43:18.090+00:002013-12-05T14:43:18.090+00:00Perhaps, dare I say it, Roger, you've never co...Perhaps, dare I say it, Roger, you've never connected because - and I hope I give nothing away here - it might not be the Everest those conductors make of it but something more welcoming (which the Royal Opera production certainly doesn't make it). Tune in...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61644079773198830652013-12-05T14:40:08.293+00:002013-12-05T14:40:08.293+00:00So much looking forward to your Parsifal Building ...So much looking forward to your Parsifal Building a Library, David. <br /><br />This is the truth: as a confirmed Wagnerite, I've been scrabbling at the North Face of this work for decades, but never really connected. I've seen it a couple of times - long ago - and have four complete recordings (Knappertsbusch 1951, Goodall 1971, Karajan 1981 and Levine 1985). I'm going to spend Advent listening to them (again). With your BaL as a centrepiece!<br /><br />Maybe this time...Roger Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-47202782174906689052013-12-03T07:39:07.619+00:002013-12-03T07:39:07.619+00:00I value your candour, Sue. And in return I must ad...I value your candour, Sue. And in return I must admit that I can't remember how the 'ceremony' was done either in a dreadful old production from the 1970s I saw in Munich - old men with long beards and gowns, the rite greeted with silence bar a few claps which were hissed down - or in the staging I've valued the most, David Alden's in Graz (where I have a feeling it must have been another negative representation). Funny thing, that. Whereas the Hollman light + monolith on the Zurich DVD and the spatial effects in the Albert Hall semi-staging will remain with me for ever.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-63552119338695632992013-12-03T00:42:18.531+00:002013-12-03T00:42:18.531+00:00David: well, here's the sad truth of it: I don...David: well, here's the sad truth of it: I don't remember. Since I'd never seen Parsifal, I had little idea what might be important or what to look for. Kaufman didn't make the impression on me that he probably should have. Rather, it is the image of Mattei's Amfortas suffering that remains with me today. As you can see, I have much to learn.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-51781975443431163372013-12-01T22:58:19.959+00:002013-12-01T22:58:19.959+00:00Then, again, I must learn to say sincere thanks wi...Then, again, I must learn to say sincere thanks without a 'shucks'. But tell me, since I haven't seen it and the DVD hasn't been released as quickly as advertised, how the grail ritual was handled in the Met production with Kaufmann? With a serious nod, I hope, to the transcendence of the music at that point? There's only one DVD - of a radically spare production, but I'm not allowed yet to say which one it is since the DVD choice on BaL runs alongside the CD - where the director seems to know what to do with it, and the effect is overwhelming.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-70515390618986563002013-12-01T22:54:00.820+00:002013-12-01T22:54:00.820+00:00David: how stern or fair, I don't know, but wh...David: how stern or fair, I don't know, but what I do know is that Iwas moved by this, all of it. That I can say for sure.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-65867566691944837092013-12-01T22:26:11.424+00:002013-12-01T22:26:11.424+00:00As if on cue to my gripe (fanfare), Sue. But I hop...As if on cue to my gripe (fanfare), Sue. But I hope I know her well enough to accept what she says with a good grace, for she's a fair but stern critic too.<br /><br />Howard, I'm conscious that in reviewing this and the Complicite Magic Flute I'm beginning to look as if I'm on the side of the fogies. Regietheater, personenregie especially, has so much still to offer. But I increasingly think less is more in Wagner especially. <br /><br />As Sir David and Father Andrew have both just been round, FrA was able to confirm that it was a sponsor of the Peter Stein/Abbado Parsifal visit to the Edinburgh Festival who had bells along the lines - and here the legend is vague - of the Bayreuth originals, or their successors. What's for sure is that she paid £300,000 for them. And where are they now, I wonder? <br /><br />For that matter, WHY isn't there a DVD of Stein/Abbado? From that conductor, this is the one recording we must still have. Curious that one of Furtwangler's two big projects in prospect at the time of his death, so aforementioned friend Jonny tells me, was Parsifal (Beethoven's Missa Solemnis being the other). What a great might-have-been is/was that.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-67183522347286859772013-12-01T20:30:23.032+00:002013-12-01T20:30:23.032+00:00David: I wanted so much to write sooner, but I kne...David: I wanted so much to write sooner, but I knew it was important to have sufficient quiet time to read, listen, and think. I’ve only finally come upon that time today—and even now (as for me is true with Parsifal in general), I recognize I’ve only just begun. <br /><br />From your first words—actually, from the sunlit tinted postcard that begins the post and the story of the InterRailer you met in Ravello—you take us on the most lovely and intelligent of journeys, both personal and cultural. It is continually remarkable to me how much you know, and how deeply felt your understanding is. There are few things more fulfilling than delving into something, searching in all the corners one can get to, making one’s own discoveries—and that you not only do so, but also share what you know and what you’ve learned with us all is a great gift. <br /><br />And not only the post itself, but all the avenues you send us down: The video interview is wonderful, from your story of the first eager listening to The Ring in BBC installments to your rich understanding of Wagner’s works today. On TAD, I was so struck by this: “Your attitude to all this will depend on whether or not you feel, as I do, that the director’s first duty is to honour the moments of grace amidst all the apocalyptic darkness – and it isn’t just a question of having a grail cup and a shining light.” And the remarkable sound of the bells in the 1927 performance, ringing down from history to us today.<br /><br />You’ve more than earned a return to sunlit Ravello, it seems to me. For myself, I look forward enormously to listening to the broadcast that is the result of all your brilliant labor—and to finding out which Parsifal you most recommend. Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37821586179159443452013-12-01T19:43:46.195+00:002013-12-01T19:43:46.195+00:00Yes the 1927 recording. Are they those huge metal ...Yes the 1927 recording. Are they those huge metal canisters? Amazing although not particularly bell-like. Shame your Parsifal immersion ended so disappointingly. I feel all my prejudices about modern re-interpretations stirring up.Howard Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03217071162180558304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-77066113933699831712013-12-01T14:05:27.589+00:002013-12-01T14:05:27.589+00:00Holy redeemer, he replies somewhat testily, isn...Holy redeemer, he replies somewhat testily, isn't the information here - and the link to a fascinating article - good enough? David, I was writing about then, not now, but you've told me that before and it's true. There may well be more on the Royal Opera site, Gavin, I'll take a look.<br /><br />I like it that people bring information to bear on a blog, and 'nice post' is just boring, but sometimes a little acknowledgment of what's there rather than what isn't doesn't go amiss.<br /><br />Probably I'm in a snarky mood after the mostly repellent experience of the Royal Opera Parsifal last night.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-1294586869053201732013-12-01T08:27:21.850+00:002013-12-01T08:27:21.850+00:00Interesting post about the bells on the ROH websit...Interesting post about the bells on the ROH website http://www.roh.org.uk/news/ringing-the-changes-in-parsifal-the-bells-of-the-grail-hallGavin Plumleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367649538228383713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-21219328031408990712013-12-01T06:46:08.312+00:002013-12-01T06:46:08.312+00:00Surely the original Parsifal bells were replaced a...Surely the original Parsifal bells were replaced a few years ago by a generous donor? Father Andrew will knowDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-79601221423854837762013-12-01T00:15:40.938+00:002013-12-01T00:15:40.938+00:00Are you referring to the 1927 recording, Howard? T...Are you referring to the 1927 recording, Howard? Those are the 'drum' bells as depicted. Wagner's 'tam tams' don't seem to have survived, but they were definitely pitched so must have been Chinese gongs. Strauss uses temple gongs in Die Frau ohne Schatten. There's also an amazing effect for Elektra's collapse where he asks the percussionist to stroke a tam tam with a triangle stick. Limitless possibilities, really.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54882185631165484982013-11-30T17:54:06.589+00:002013-11-30T17:54:06.589+00:00These Parsifal bells have an odd sound, and may we...These Parsifal bells have an odd sound, and may well be temple gongs like the one in the picture (beautiful engraving), but not tam tams which have a flat surface without a central boss and don't produce a defined note like the temple gong (think Turangalila which has some serious gonging in it). I was hoping to get one for the finale of Bohemian Rhapsody but no luck, and will have to console myself with a pair of clashing cymbals for a bit of extra dramatic operatic effect. All this and Parsifal too - can't wait!Howard Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03217071162180558304noreply@blogger.com