James MacMillan - The Birds of Rhiannon (2001)

[@unforgettablejazzfusion5546]

The most tremendous respect for the musicians devoting their skills to perform this complicated music.

[@oscargill423]

How does one... make so many compositional decisions? This is astounding, not just musically, but compositionally.

[@tomekkobialka]

6:26 Was not expecting that...

[@rodterrell304]

Well now that was a treat- Amazing composer and performance

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

O final lírico com coral e grande orquestra é um dos momentos mágicos da música contemporânea. Quanta inspiração de Mac Millan!!! Adoro essa obra!!!

[@audicoes]

Not only an impressive work but the respectful and rich discussion here on the comments about the piece is also great.

[@virtuousvibes2852]

From what the wikipedia says, the Birds of Rhiannon are three birds representing something in Celtic mythology. It shows up in a lot of it, just to give some context to this amazing piece of music.

[@jacobbass6437]

This is such a masterful piece of orchestration. I love their use of open strings to create a differing texture from the fingered notes. AND THERES A SAXOPHONE!!!!! Sorry, as a sax player I will always be an activist for the saxophone becoming more standard in the orchestra. And the sop sax player they have is phenomenal. His use of percussion reminds me a lot of how maslanka builds his textures using percussion. Wonder if theres a connection

[@oscargill423]

Not to mention CONTRABASS CLARINET It's always a rare treat when I see a contrabass clarinet used... well, anywhere in music.

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

It´s wonderful this piece!

[@eliiphim]

this is my favorite orchestral piece ever.

[@gianlucatoyzonzoold7701]

Wonderful! Sometimes the ensemble of instruments like an amazonic jungle's life choir, a scream of the Nature, unknowingly heartfelt

[@elijahstewart3231]

this is an absolutely astounding piece

[@ABruckner8]

OK, ya got me again: Amazing new to me piece, incredibly performed!

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

Mac Millan é como Berg renascido! Fantástico!

[@juanw1093]

dang this cool sounds like shostakovich motifs with stravinsky's orchestrating

[@ThomasLittleComposer]

Anyone else getting Ives vibes ... ? Especially from that opening.

[@simondavidsmith]

It's a bit shameless, isn't it? ;)

[@patrickm7483]

One of my favorite composers. Thanks for sharing.

[@dirkhoekstra727]

There is Mahler, Wagner, Stravinsky and a bit of Respighi in here.

[@profoundresolve]

It's... something. The score looks nice, there are few interesting ideas here and there, but it really does sound (as another commenter so eloquently states) like sonic abuse. Everything leading up to the chorus felt like buildup to very little pay off, I kept expecting something grandiose to finally tie up the knots that 3/4s of this work seem to make in my head, but it never came. The chorus was really the only enjoyable thing to me, as a listener... As a performer I'd probably groan and roll my eyes if this was set on my stand.... just not my cup of tea I guess haha. Thanks for the upload anyways, I'm sure it was no small feat to put it up here. Will still subscribe as there is plenty of other music on your channel that I like!

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

Assustadora a liberdade dessa peça musical! Lembrou-me Alban Berg em "Lulu".

[@Ramiarcat]

Bravo!!!! Interessante composizione... Fra Mahler wagner e stravinsky!!!!

[@me_is_hobo]

17:29 😳

[@chasegallmeier9642]

The Andante section some reason heavily reminded me of West Side Story.

[@yuehchopin]

danke

[@jaunecoltrane5572]

1st movement sounds very much like japanese composer Masamichi Amano. I wonder if Mr. MacMillan know about him

[@schafer_r]

This piece is in a rather strange place - it's wonderfully crafted, on paper - the orchestration is outstanding - but the actual sonic result leaves much to be desired. It's like reading a well-written analysis paper that makes good points, but lacks a strong thesis or conclusion. I suppose it doesn't help that there is far far too much tutti material - I kept waiting for the textures to thin out only for it to never really happen. Gives a similar impression to many student compositions in that it contains every possible idea the composer could think of, but lacks narrative or thematic cohesion. As wonderful as the closing chorale is, it feels so different and separate from the rest of the piece that it might as well have been better as the material for an entirely different work.

[@felixp7]

@gregg nice reply. i felt the same way about the sonic result. seeing so much on the page, i was expecting to get more out of it.

[@toothlesstoe]

Based on your opinion, Sorabji's music should be some of the worst music ever penned.

[@Scriabin_fan]

I partly agree, but given the context of the piece, I think it makes sense that the textures don't really thin out completely as one would like. In Welsh mythology, the "birds of Rhiannon" are magical birds whose songs can "wake the dead and lull the living to sleep". There are some parts though where the textures do thin out although very sparse (see third movement for example). I do think this piece really achieves what it was meant to do, which seems to be a depiction of these mystical birds from welsh mythology.

[@Box_Art_Goon]

Is there any story behind this piece? I've no idea about the name, but the music itself is fantastic!

[@georgeowen2553]

Lots of fun things throughout the piece, and there's moments I don't just admire but actually like; but the 'quirky' unison around 17:00 at the end of the Andante is one of my least favourite tropes of modern music and it doesn't really add anything to the 'mass' of a climax that a good unison does.

[@timphillips5543]

I’d never thought about it before but that sound did use to be something of a staple in orchestral music. I’ve suffered through many such unisons in Birtwistle’s music. However Gerald Barry does it to thrilling effect in The Intelligence Park.

[@PalumboComposer]

neo classical

[@linuslauterbach2975]

Are these chord symbols on the harp staff?

[@Cmaj7]

I think you are referring to the pedal markings. Harp only has 1 string per note name so you need to change it between sharp, natural, and flat with the pedals.

[@linuslauterbach2975]

@@Cmaj7 thank you! but why does the composer have to indicate these pedal markings. Don't the harpists know it anyway?

[@Cmaj7]

@@linuslauterbach2975 Often times, yes, the harpist can figure it out themselves and you can omit the pedal markings. But it is necessary if you have glissandos and it's helpful for sightreading.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

This is undoubtedly a masterful score by a major composer, but the end result is much ado about nothing. When all the fuss is over you are left with very little except the memory of much sonic abuse. It is one thing to be very eloquent, and it is quite another to say something profound and memorable which does not happen here. In comparison, it makes you realize what a masterpiece Le Sacre was in 1913. I regret to say that much of English music is like English cuisine.

[@PerformerFocus]

It’s not English, it’s Scottish. Wagner’s Lohengrin can be heard near the end as the choir sings

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

@@PerformerFocus I like Scottish smoked salmon on my buttered bagel

[@PerformerFocus]

@@stephenjablonsky1941 Smoked Scottish Salmon! Fantastic. You have great taste :)

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

I know music and I know fish!

[@telemachus53]

Would it be difficult to show one page at a time so the notes will be larger and legible? Thanks.

[@Cmaj7]

What do you mean? The pages are already optimized to be as large as possible. (I remove empty staves and whitespace to make the pages larger too.)

[@KinkyLettuce]

showing one page at a time wont make the notes larger. The height of the pages is the limit here yo

[@dirkhoekstra727]

Play full screen and select 720p or higher quality. Don't use a mobile phone, but a laptop or larger screen connected with HDMI

[@blablablu3081]

What...

[@rubenmolino1480]

I don't understand the goal - what's the point - for all the fuss?

[@jacobbass6437]

This is a masterfully written piece. You may not enjoy it, but you should at least appreciate the intense craftsmanship involved in this work

[@Scriabin_fan]

The goal of this particular piece is to describe in a musical form the birds of rhiannon. The birds of rhiannon are from Celtic mythology, look it up if you want more context. Also there doesn't need to be a goal for music to be good.

[@MrRbjunior83]

How many more years will this poisonous avant-garde last :(?

[@Cmaj7]

This piece is far from avant-garde

[@Scriabin_fan]

You clearly haven’t listened to avant-garde music lol

[@KinkyLettuce]

this isnt even close its standard orchestration, standard notation. Just the language isnt exactly tonal. You want to see some real trash avant-garde? check out score-follower's channel. I recon 80% of the pieces on that channel are pure hacks with zero shelf-life.

[@guadalajara4848]

Try something else than listening to music, like, for instance, unplugging your toilet

[@AndreyRubtsovRU]

@@guadalajara4848 I think he has the right for his opinion without your stupid jokes, mate.