Górecki- Symphony 3, Op. 36, -Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs

What can I say, Don`t you know Leonard Bernstein`s work?

Leonard Bernstein - Symphonie N° 1 « Jeremiah »

Composer: Béla Viktor János Bartók (25 March 1881 -- 26 September 1945)
- Performers: Hungarian String Quartet
- Year of recording: 1961

String Quartet No. 6 in D major, Sz. 114, BB 119, written in 1939.

00:00 - I. Mesto - Piu mosso, pesante - Vivace
07:31 - II. Mesto - Marcia
15:23 - III. Mesto - Burletta
22:30 - IV. Mesto - Molto tranquillo

Bartók's last completed quartet exemplifies the composer's continuing search for new forms, even as he sought to distill and clarify his mode of expression. The form he devised for the String Quartet No. 6 is ingenious: each movement is preceded by an introductory section marked "Mesto" ("sadly"), with increasing complexity at each appearance. The "mesto" theme functions both as a motto and as the source of much of the quartet's thematic substance. In the fourth movement, rather than giving way to a lively finale (the original plan as indicated by Bartók's sketches), the motto continues on to become the conclusion itself.

- The sad introductory theme is played first by solo viola, whose last notes are the germ for a unison statement by all four instruments in peremptory three-note phrases that will return later, as a sort of subsidiary motto. The first theme is in quick triplets that are chromatically sinuous. The second theme is a folk-like melody, with a prominent "Scotch snap" rhythm. The first theme dominates the development, which is fairly strenuous and darker in mood. After a brief appearance of the second theme, the movement ends simply with a reprise of the first theme, now detached and musing.
- The "mesto" introduction to the second movement is in two-part counterpoint, the cello stating the melody accompanied by upper strings in a tremolando counter-melody. The subsequent Marcia is bitter and ironic, and the "Scotch snap" rhythm is prominent. The appearance of the second theme is ingenious: the march rhythm continues as an accompaniment to the rising glissandi of the new tune. The middle section suspends the propulsive march as the cello rhapsodizes, cadenza-like, on a variation of the second theme. This is accompanied by high trills from the violins and harsh, guitar-like strumming on the viola. The return of the march is bizarre, with extremely high octave doubling from the first violin and a filling out of the implied triadic harmonies which create an ironic, hallucinatory effect.
- For its third appearance, the "mesto" ritornello is in three-part harmony; it leads to a rude "Burlesca," with vulgar stamping rhythms and a melody reminiscent of the "teasing songs" prevalent in Eastern European folk music. The second theme moves within a narrow intervallic range, evoking the Arabic melodies Bartók collected in North Africa. In the central part, the "Scotch snap" theme from the first movement is mused upon before the burlesque returns, this time entirely in pizzicato. At the conclusion, an attempt to sound the "Scotch snap" theme is shouted down by angry chords.
- In the slow finale, the "mesto" melody, now in four parts, continues on to become the entire movement, and the second theme recalls the unison motto of the first movement. The triplet theme is also recalled, now in a setting of profound desolation, and the "Scotch snap" tune makes a wistful appearance. Ghostly tremolandi accompany the return of the "mesto" theme; there is a moment of half-hearted protest that dwindles to resignation. The cello ends it all with a question mark, plucked chords based on the "mesto" motto.

Béla Bartók - String Quartet No. 6

"La Mer" L.109, (The Sea), is an orchestral composition by Claude Debussy. It was started in 1903 in France and completed in 1905 on the English Channel coast in Eastbourne. The premiere was given by the Lamoureux Orchestra under the direction of Camille Chevillard on 15 October 1905 in Paris. "La Mer" is a composition of huge suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, which combines unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies. The work has proven very influential, and its use of sensuous tonal colours and its orchestration methods have influenced many later film scores. While the structure of the work places it outside of both absolute music and programme music as those terms were understood in the early 20th century, it obviously uses descriptive devices to suggest wind, waves and the ambience of the sea. But structuring a piece around a nature subject without any literary or human element to it - neither people, nor mythology, nor ships are suggested in the piece - also was highly unusual at the time.
Debussy called his work "three symphonic sketches," avoiding the loaded term symphony; yet the work is sometimes called a symphony; it consists of two powerful outer movements framing a lighter, faster piece which acts as a type of scherzo. 
"La Mer" is divided inot three movements:
1. "De l'aube à midi sur la mer" (from dawn to midday on the sea);
2. "Jeux de vagues" (Play of the Waves);
3. "Dialogue du vent et de la mer" (Dialogue of the wind and the sea).

Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy & Cleveland Orchestra

Helian

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