[batreleaser]

for me, Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. This song was pretty much the first classical thing I heard that blew my mind on first listen. Usually classical takes me a few listens before i "get it". But shit, this shit is/was groundbreaking. A gigantic orchestra; noisy woodwinds, grumbling staccato strings, the pianissimo horn solo, the "idee fixe" on clarinet, and those groundbreaking percussion effects provided by Berlioz himself. The melody is real fucked up too, it appears numerous times but each time a little different, highlighting the charachters changed emotions concerning his loved one. The sounds range from very pretty and melodic, to spastic and noisy, often within a ten second span. Nutso. And the story line represented in the five movements is twisted even by today's standards. Love, obsession, rejection, hatred, stalking, drugs, suicide, murder, execution, hell, witchcraft, are all themes that pop up within the composition. I find Berlioz to be fascinating; he wasnt even supposed to be a musician, he was studying to be a doctor, but then decided out of nowhere that he would be a great composer, and he actually fucking did it! He was also different from other composers in that he was a guitarist, clarinet player, and a percussionist, as most composers were pianists. I feel like his music must have been very shocking and probably very avant garde for the time he was playing it. And this composition would definitley be the best example of that. I want to listen to this on ketamine.

So, what about you guys?

[Sonic Youth 37]

1.Mozart's 'Jupiter'
Beethoven's 5th & 9th

[Rob Instigator]

Beethoven's 9th symphony

Bach's Cello Suites
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S9ZVuV8Py24

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iyFysf14x0s

[gualbert]

Chopin.Nocturnes.

[Gogogonorrhea]

The Ninth was also the first thing that came to my mind, but, well, maybe not. Maybe something by Debussy or maybe not. Maybe Wagner, though I can't really specify that either. Maybe Ryde of the Valkyries by Wagner. Yes.

[Savage Clone]

Most stuff from North India.

[marleypumpkin]

Stravinsky's - Firebird Suite

& as for Beethoven's 5th & 9th, that's basically the music of the soul, so I believe everyone has them as their favorite, or at least they should.

[Savage Clone]

I have a mint 78 set of The Firebird.

[Glice]

3rd over 5th and 9th. By margins larger than God himself.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

 

 

 

One of the better known affirmations of the Church Father's on the subject of Ecclesiastical Music and the performance of is: "Those who sing well pray twice." In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church St. Yared is the one who perfected the Liturgical Musical tradition of the Church. He was born around beginning of the sixth century, circa 505 A.D. The son of devote and affluent Tewahedo Orthodox Christians, St. Yared became known in his own time and even to this day as the furthermost composer of Church music in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.




Over a period of Twenty-five years St. Yared learned from his Uncle knowledge of Sacred Theology, Church Music and History. After the death of his Uncle, St. Yared took over the great task of his Uncle and became a talented teacher of the Churches Sacred Theology as well as the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. As would be expected he was ordained a Deacon; then married and later was ordained to the Priesthood.

In or around the year 500 A.D. St. Yared began have contacts with the Nine Monks who came from Alexandria to translate the Sacred Scriptures, Liturgical books etc into the spoken language of the Ethiopian people at that time, Ge'ez. The most ancient tradition of the Church is for the Sacred Scriptures and Liturgical books etc, to be in the language of the people. One of the Nine Monastic Fathers, an Abba Pantelewon, remained in Axum. St. Yared acquired a great deal of information from Abba Pantelewon about the Liturgical traditions, customs and way of life of those who lived in the West. From his desire to learn more, St. Yared visited the eastern Roman Imperial Capital of Constantinople twice. There he observed and learned of the Liturgical traditions, customs and way of life of those living in the eastern Capital of the Roman Empire.




During the reign of Emperor Gabre Masqal (A.D. 55O-64), Saint Yared compiled the famous Mazgeba Deggua (Hymn of Sorrow). It in*cludes three main stages: 1. "Ge'ez," the first stage of song; 2. "Uzil," the second stage, to be sung together with the first; and 3. 'Ararai," a sor*rowful, plaintive song. The original Mazgeba Deggua composition is believed to have been writ*ten by St. Yared himself, and can be found today in one of the oldest Monasteries of Ethiopia, which located on Lake Tana, the Tana Krikos Monastery, were for two years the Saint lived. After this period he went to Gaient and built the Church of Saint Mary at Zur Amba. It is said that the Emperor, Abba Aragawi, and St. Yared, while going to the hill on which they built the Church, had difficulty finding their way until a guide from God came to them and said to Abba Aragawi, "Zur Abba Mengale Misraq,..." which means "Abba, turn to the east; you will find the way to the hill." The place is now called Zur Amba because of this miracle, for through the grace of God, they were able to find the right way and to build the Church there. At this particular place Saint Yared taught Zimmare and Mewasit for three years. Since then Zur Amba has become the seat of the principal of the Zimmare and Mewasit faculty. After three years in Gaeint, Saint Yared came back to Axum and Medebaytabir, where he composed the fourteen Anaphoras. He then went to Telenit, and there he c'om posed the Merraf, which is the Psalm of David. Afterward he traveled to Wagara and Agew, teaching and performing his duties.




Though he visited the eastern Roman Capital City of Constantinople, his work is uniquely Ethiopian, bearing no resemblance to Western or Greek notation. It con*sists of Ge'ez syllabic characters and projects the tradition and culture of the Ethiopian people.

St. Yared's hymns are divided into four parts char*acterizing the four seasons of the year: "Messow" (Fall), "Hagie" (Sum*mer), "Tseday" (Spring) and "Kiramt" (Winter) and were planned to bring a greater sense of reality in the praise of the people. The different sounds of his chants indicate the joy or sorrow and brave determination of the Christian Ethiopian.

Fi*nally, as a holy man, Saint Yared died in one of the Monasteries of the northeast, on May 11, AD. 571, according to the Ethiopian calendar. Gabre Maskqal also died between A.D. 570-80 and was buried at Enda Kaleb, near his father.

St. Yared's sacred works were continued by his students Sawiros, San*dros, and Beldados. Following the method and philosophy of the saint, these three men were able to preserve for generations to come the glo*rious works of a beloved Saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox church.

According to the Book of Yared, the following students are re*sponsible, as disciples, for the continuation of the great work of the noble saint: Yared, Sawiros, Sandros, Beldados, Keffa, Gabru, Abba Gera, and Abba Georgis, who was the teacher of Lisane Eferat, the Debtera of Bethlehem, in Begemdir Province.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/chu...dusyohanes.wma

St. Yared, an Ethiopian scholar and hymnologist rose to prominence by A.D. (Ethiopian Calendar). St. Yared is well known through out the world for his incomparable knowledge, mastery and composition of hymns and as a prolific “Qene” scholar.
St. Yared has four hymnal books to his credit “Digua”, “Zimare”, “Mewasit”, and “Miraf”. He was also an authority on the interpretation of the Old and New Testaments as well as on other important books. Carefully choosing parts from these important books for use in prayers and hymns, and harmonizing the basic with their interpretation; he arranged them in such a way that they can be prayed and sang in the four seasons for fall, autumn, summer and winter with all the beauty and passion he graced them with. He classified his hymn into three; namely, “Geez”, “Izel” and “Araray”

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church., Faith, Order of Worship and Ecumenical Relations. Second Edition. (2004). Addis Ababa: Tensae Publishing House. Pp 47-48.

Religious Musical Instruments
Kebero (drum)

 

Begena

 

Masinko

 

Kirar

 

Washint (flute)



Tisnasil (sistrum)



Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 March 2007 )

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Savage Clone

I have a mint 78 set of The Firebird.

 

or

 

or

 

[Gogogonorrhea]

Ethiopia is the navel of the world, isn't it?

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Gogogonorrhea

Ethiopia is the navel of the world, isn't it?

wow, that is the best description ever. can I use that? it is so accurate.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of modern humans, according to the fossil record.
Ethiopia is one of the originations of semitic languages, according to linguistic studies.
Ethiopia is the origination of dozens of species of animals and plants necessary to human life and civilization, including coffee, which is a central part of our global economy for the past 300 hundred years.
Ethiopia is a cradle of writing and literature in an otherwise illiterate African continent.
Ethiopia is the preservation of ancient Christianity, perpetuated into the present.

in other words, so many aspects of our civilization are impacted by Ethiopia, in the modern world, European colonialism would not have been able to expand into Asia without the use of Ethiopian ports in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s, and the Ethiopians achieved no less then six significant military victories which secured their position as the only independent African power.

in amharic, naval of the world is

yebeher hayl kealem Ityopya nesh. [Ethiopia is the naval of the world, literally, "The Naval Force Of The World, Ethiopia she-is!"

[Dead-Air]

Originally Posted by marleypumpkin

Stravinsky's - Firebird Suite

& as for Beethoven's 5th & 9th, that's basically the music of the soul, so I believe everyone has them as their favorite, or at least they should.

Stravinsky came immediately to my mind too (I would have said "Rites of Spring") but he's not pre-20th Century. Firebird Suite was published in 1910.

So, I'll go with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which debuted in 1882 and was probably very influential on a lot of the 20th Century composers from Stravinsky to Ives to maybe even the Futurists.

[marleypumpkin]

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

Stravinsky came immediately to my mind too (I would have said "Rites of Spring") but he's not pre-20th Century. Firebird Suite was published in 1910.

So, I'll go with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which debuted in 1882 and was probably very influential on a lot of the 20th Century composers from Stravinsky to Ives to maybe even the Futurists.

I should've known about that, sorry. But yes, Tchaikovsky is another favorite composer of mine.

[Death & the Maiden]

Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

[sonic sphere]

rachmaninov-symphony no.2 -beautiful

[Torn Curtain]

Mozart - Piano concerto n° 23
Beethoven - Symphony n° 3

[SpectralJulianIsNotDead]

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor

It's just so fricking insane.

Also the Chinese Dance from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. I like the playfulness. The Arabian Dance is also great.