SHLOCK-HORROR at Classic fm!

As usual, the Easter weekend was was taken up on the Classic fm radio station with the annual vote for the 300 favourite pieces of classical music.  I always try and listen to as much as possible because by its very nature most of the music will be superb.  However, this year, Classic fm was hit, or perhaps 'swamped' is a better word, by the 'noo demokrasi' of the world of twitter and e-mail.  Apparently the word had gone out amongst the zillions of people who play phantasy games on their computers and who were urged to vote for the background music to their favourite game.  The end result was that position #5 and #3 were taken by two examples of this genre pushing the likes of Vaughan Williams, Beethoven and Elgar out of their usual places.  Regular listeners were shocked, I tell you, shocked!  I was sort of amused but mostly I was waiting to hear if 'Rach 2' had maintained its usual #1 spot - it did.  There is a discussion to be had concerning what exactly constitutes 'classical' music but, alas, I do not have time for it now because I am off to 'Londinium' again for the day.  So I will leave it to my delicate, sensitive and artistic readers, so that lets you off, JK, to define classical music and decide whether or not orchestral music used as background to computer games qualifies.  Please, no blood on the floor - see you tomorrow.

 

Comments

[JK]

"So I will leave it to my delicate, sensitive and artistic readers, so that lets you off, JK..."

Can't David, bring yourself to admit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0cpKzDoOdA

[JK]

And - Given your "success predicting" another piece of classical:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Zp7hoqM0c

Put yer headphones on David'd Turn Er Up!

('N share this'un with Her Maj!)

[JK]

DM?

This'ns for twree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUu249jSprw

Who says we don't know classic?

[Whyaxye]

I always thought that Classic fm was for people who own cats and have scented candles around their bath. ("Smoooooth classics at seven....").

We know about the cat, but can you confirm the candles?

[Able]

Oh DD, you do realise you've done the equivalent of shouting 'Fight' in the schoolyard?

I, in my youth, was in a Brass Band (1st Cornet – I did say dragged up in Durham, you know 'Tt workin', class', concentrate, there 'will' be a test at the end) and am also cursed with perfect pitch and so I vaguely remember (old! Give me a break I have trouble recalling what I had for breakfast) that 'classical' music was defined as 'scored' (written down, thus precluding improvisation), orchestral (as in using, mostly, pre C19 instrumentation), with specific 'forms' (concerto, symphony, etc.), 'technical execution' and 'complexity' (meaning 'played by people good on their instruments' and 'lots of fiddly bits').

Now all the recognised and lauded 'classical composers' (old geezers wearing wigs +/- make-up with weird names – rather similar to a few 70's Rock Bands then?) wrote, let's be honest here, not out of the goodness of their hearts but for sound commercial/personal reasons (having the wish/need to eat, pay for wigs/make-up/quills and parchment, and .. to get girls). So, if alive today would they be writing concertos to be played to three old ladies and an incontinent poodle (and being lauded as a genius by them, well except for the poodle who'd pee on their shoes), or would they be, suitcase in hand, lining up at Television Centre/Hollywood? (Witness the significant use of 'classical' music in TV and film, I can guarantee the 'old masters' would be jumping for joy at the publicity/exposure/pay).

As to the above definition, and having a few acquaintances who are session musicians, all TV/film music is scored, most is played not only by an orchestra but usually the very same orchestra that was playing old-geezer 'tunes' the night before in the 'Queen Victorias Hubby's gaff'.

Now I like a bit of Pachelbel (Canon), Grieg (Peer Gynt Suite), Mozart (Duettino Sull'aria), Handel, Beethoven, Prokofiev, etc., and forgive me, even Wagner (Die Walkure) but if you can't equate those to the output from:

Hans Zimmer – Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Crimson Tide, Thin Red Line, Da Vinci Code, ...
Thomas Newman – Road To Perdition, Green Mile, Beautiful Mind, Meet Joe Black, The Shawshank Redemption, ..
Michael Nyman – The Draughstmans Contract, Piano (The Promise, The Sacrifice), ..
Trevor Jones & Randy Edelman - Last of the Mohicans (Promentory), ..
Richard Harvey - Shroud for a Nightingale, ..
Barrington Pheloung – Inspector Morse
etc.

well then that says more about the person (and their pretenses) rather than the music, does it not?

I suspect, as with art, most of the 'difficulties' the elite (at least in their own minds) have is based more on their self-imposed classification and, rather like back in school when you had to belong to the right musical genre supporter cabal or face being ostracised by that girl you fancied, a need to belong/feel superior, rather than the qualities of the music.

It's taken me way too long to recognise that good music (art, food or whiskey.. and, er ladies) – is simply that which you like (your taste being exactly as good as anyone elses).

[Able]

Whyaxye

"I always thought that Classic fm was for people who own cats and have scented candles around their bath"

On another blog I frequent someone (on possibly being aware I, when shooting abroad, use a SIG Suer P226):

"Oh, and people who own SIGs have ugly kids, too. And their mom dresses them funny. :p"

To your comment listed above, I can only answer as I did that fine lady:

"Hey, my dad owned a Sig!

-Looks in mirror-

Yeah, I'll give you that one. :( "

(I only light the scented candles when I'm washing my 'smalls' in the bath with me, because I'm classy like that :-p )

[Tom Knott]

The trouble is using a pre social networking voting system for this kind of thing. It just don't work the same. Also the latest generations have learned to "play the system". If I could have got enough 80 year olds to vote for Guy Mitchell and Mitch Miller we could have had "Theres A Pawnshop On The Corner" top of the list.

[Able]

"Theres A Pawnshop On The Corner"?

OK, I'm in. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get a Twitbook page (that's right isn't it?).

... and less of the "80 year olds", I'm only forty-mumble

[David Duff]

JK, you are herewith and henceforth banned for linking to that disgraceful musical insult to her Her Maj's Britannic Army who, at the time of that little misunderstanding, were merely bringing food parcels to the dirt-poor farmers of the American colonies!

Oi, 'W'! I thought that was fly flitting around my bathroom - don't tell me it was one of your high tech drones!

As to the main point raised by my post, the rest of you have touched upon the main difficulties of classification. This constant imperative in human nature to classify things into this or that pigeonhole is always going to be a target of criticism and yet it is not totally invalid. Like pornography, it might be difficult to define 'classical music' but you know it when you see/hear it. From the bits I heard of the computer game music it was obvious that they had been composed, just, to a level of complexity that would qualify them as 'classical' music but neither of them, to my ignorant and untutored ear, had sufficient depth to qualify as top quality classical music. However, I do object to the mass invasion of people whose main interest in life is zapping imaginary aliens and thus spoiling a hitherto innocent activity for others.