A Great Man And Composer...

[Corno Dolce]

Just wanted to introduced a wonderful acquaintance of mine:


www.en.rian.ru/russia/20101211/161728372.html


One of his many compositions performed here:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUbmCoMP1Y


Since I am a paid musician at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow I have come to know him - A really affable and humble man.

[teddy]

Thank you CD. A most interesting thread. We do not hear much about it over here. And a beautiful piece of music.

teddy

[JHC]

I looked him up on wiki quite a man, if I am not being rude and nosey can I ask what instrument you play, please don't say Organ

[wljmrbill]

What music he writes.. right up there with the best of them I would say. I have never heard of him prior. Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the Heavenly clips of his work.

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Colin,

No musical instruments are allowed in the Liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. I used to play the Pipe Organ for a living. Now, I can only get about 3 hours/week on a 3-man/ped. Cavaille-Coll at the Conservatory.

[JHC]

Br. Colin,

No musical instruments are allowed in the Liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. I used to play the Pipe Organ for a living. Now, I can only get about 3 hours/week on a 3-man/ped. Cavaille-Coll at the Conservatory.

as I thought another knob puller, (ps that is meant as a joke)

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Colin,

No worries - I have been called much worse and nastier than that and I will not share what that nastiness was. Anyway, so now I do research in Russian Choral Singing and oh what a wonderful complement to my understanding of different traditions. My American and European acqauintances say that I have lost the "Western Richness". I submit that I have gained a whole other Universe. Thankfulness is the operative word here. To think that a simple man like I who was living in the middle of the Pacific now find myself in.............It is an honor and privilege that I have been entrusted with.

Respectfully,

CD

[JHC]

Age Tradition Richness

[Soubasse]

Hail Br CD, what a thoroughly good time you seem to be having of it since you moved to Russia.

The YT clip (and the others of his which I watched) shows very strongly the tradition in which Hilarion Alfeyev has clearly immersed himself. I will avoid using the word "conservative" as it can have negative connotations, but rather, his style of "Modern Baroque" demonstrates a highly astute and for my ears, natural affinity with the stylings of JSB and his contemporaries (and influences). It's not a "pastiche" but (I think) a very affectionate and deeply felt tribute to a style of writing with which he obviously has a strong emotional connection. Colin summed it up nicely with his use of the word richness too.

Thanks for introducing him to this thread.

So, 3 hours on a C-C eh? Hell, I'd be happy with 1 hour you lucky so-and-so!

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Soubasse,

The instrument was conceived by C-C but built by Charles Mutin, C-C's long-time disciple - He added two mixture stops to the original spec.

Yes, Metropolitan Hilarion as his title is, is very well versed in JSBach. He might very well become the next Patriarch of the Russian Church. He currently serves in the Department of Foreign Relations.

Correct, his music is definitely not "Pastiche".

Yes, I love living in Moscow more than I did living in Manhattan - This City has such a pulse.............

[methodistgirl]

That was beautiful!
judy tooley

[some guy]

But Corno (and Soubasse), pastiche is exactly what this is, the precisely accurate description of this piece. Such comments as "very well versed in JS Bach" and "'Modern Baroque'" would not be possible were not pastiche le mot juste.

[Soubasse]

Well, the reason I wasn't keen to use the term "pastiche" is due to my understanding of the word, in that it implies an imitative work that is "cobbled together" from several other original works. And it's often without due regard to the precise form or style of the original work, but merely a simple or basic reference to it.

Alfeyev's pieces (the ones that I heard on the YT links anyway) don't sound like someone trying to be Baroque, they are Baroque! Furthermore, I suspect that his work could pass the most stringent of Baroque analysis with flying colours from everything down to symmetry of melody, use of harmony, instrumentation, form, etc, etc. I feel sure that someone listening to it for the first time, and not being aware of who wrote it and when, could reasonably assume that it was a work of JSB. I've yet to hear a "pastiche" work that can lay claim to that sort of reaction (from start to finish anyway)

But again, that's based on my understanding of the word - it may well have different meanings elsewhere.

It's also one of the reasons why the famous Toccata and Fugue in d minor, still being attributed to JSB, just doesn't make the grade for me. There's too much about it that's too un-Baroque and too un-Bach. That piece always has sounded like a pastiche to me (and not an overly convincing one either).

... now, do I put the lid back on this potential can of worms, or will I leave it off for a while ... ?

[JHC]

Leave it off and wait for a sensible reply

[some guy]

Well, the reason I wasn't keen to use the term "pastiche" is due to my understanding of the word, in that it implies an imitative work that is "cobbled together" from several other original works.

One of the meanings of the word, true.

Alfeyev's pieces (the ones that I heard on the YT links anyway) don't sound like someone trying to be Baroque, they are Baroque!

We'll have to disagree about this part. Only someone working in the 18th century could write Baroque music (and of course, that's not what they were calling it!). We're not in the 18th century, however. We're in the 21st. Any piece written today that reminds us of the 18th century can only be pastiche. That is, can only be an imitation of forms and styles and sounds. The spirit of the time that produced that music, that we now call "baroque," is not the spirit of this time. That some people want to reject the present and live in the past (live in a carefully sanitized and edited past, I might add) is clear. But the past is over. All the things that led people in the 18th century to write the music they wrote are all over. Now is now.

Furthermore, I suspect that his work could pass the most stringent of Baroque analysis with flying colours from everything down to symmetry of melody, use of harmony, instrumentation, form, etc, etc. I feel sure that someone listening to it for the first time, and not being aware of who wrote it and when, could reasonably assume that it was a work of JSB.

Only if that someone were an extraordinarily inattentive listener. Of course, many people are. So much so, that they're actually ordinary....

I don't think his pieces would pass any analysis, either, but if they did, so what? Anything from the past is familiar and can therefore be imitated. Of course, given that the piece in question is on Youtube, and anyone can see quite clearly (even if they're deaf) that the ensemble isn't anything like a baroque ensemble, I suppose it would fail the instrumentation part of the test first.