Beth Gibbons Symphony of Sorrowful Songs...
- Thread starter BLACKMASS
- Start date
mikechadwick
pfm Member
Been streaming this - pretty dark!
zygote23
pfm Member
Ordered a while back and it's on it's way from Norman Records....I've avoided listening to any streams so I can get the full force on Monday eve .....
It's an incredible piece of music for sure. I have a version by Colin Stetson which is pretty damn good as well as a few other versions.
It's an incredible piece of music for sure. I have a version by Colin Stetson which is pretty damn good as well as a few other versions.
alanbeeb
pfm Member
Heard it on regular CD today. Hmmm.... hate to strike a bum note but people spend their entire lives training to sing this kind of music and compared to them, Beth Gibbons sounds unnatural and strained. I'm a big fan of Portishead and her collaboration with Rustin' Man but I think this is a misjudgement.
I found the recording was at too high a level and very compressed - the opening solo double bass should not be as loud as the string tutti either side of the vocal section of the first movement! Interesting to hear Krystof Pendereski conducting it though, he's the last surviving member of the quartet of great Polish post-war composers who found a way forward for their music despite Soviet-era conservatism.
There are several great performances of this symphony available - if you like this music, hear these instead
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006FUA87E/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000005J1C/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
I found the recording was at too high a level and very compressed - the opening solo double bass should not be as loud as the string tutti either side of the vocal section of the first movement! Interesting to hear Krystof Pendereski conducting it though, he's the last surviving member of the quartet of great Polish post-war composers who found a way forward for their music despite Soviet-era conservatism.
There are several great performances of this symphony available - if you like this music, hear these instead
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006FUA87E/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000005J1C/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
I'm also a big fan of Portishead and her collaboration with Rustin Man, and although I'd love there to be universal agreement that she's pulled this off with aplomb and then some, I'm not surprised to see this isn't the case. I think some pop singers could do a great job at singing classical with training but I wouldn't put forward Beth as one of them. I think Beyoncé has the potential and I'd love to hear her sing Mahler's Urlicht. But there's not many I'd suggest for the Gorecki piece if any at all.
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
BLACKMASS
pfm Member
I already have two versions, Dawn Upshaw and Sofia Kilanowicz.
I was going to restrain myself from streaming the Beth Gibbons version but I couldn't help myself. I heard it this afternoon and was disappointed. It didn't move me.
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Tony L
Administrator
I heard it earlier round at Richard (lordsummit)’s and found it somewhat interesting but not right. The orchestral balance was off somehow (maybe compression) and Gibbons sounded close-mic’d and rather FX heavy to me, almost dubbed-on Karaoke in front rather than part of the event. Richard uttered the word ‘Enja’, and there is some truth to that. A shame as I really like Beth Gibbons/Portishead. The original Nonesuch issue is just so perfect I’ve no idea why anyone would take it on to be honest.
alanbeeb
pfm Member
Yep totally agree about the recording - she's definitely amplified and as a result her voice is bigger than the entire orchestra!
"The original Nonesuch issue" - Dawn Upshaw, David Zinman and the London Sinfionetta was the recording that brought this piece to the world's attention and is justly celebrated - but the piece was composed in mid 1970s and recorded several times in Poland & Germany, but its critical reception in the west was largely dismissive and the symphony's reputation sank without trace. The question is why that Zinman/Upshaw/LS recording was such a huge hit when it was released in 1991 - the rise of "easy-listening" classical radio stations and classical CDs marketed as mood music may be part of the explanation.
The wikipedia article is quite good - especially the Critical and Cultural reception section.
lordsummit
Moderator
I was very surprised by the recording, initially the compression evident at the beginning, those double basses were huge. Then when Beth Gibbon started singing it sounded like she was occupying a different space to the orchestra. There was no sense of ensemble, and to my mind it was simply ugly. It sounded like Enya to me. Then the Classic FM movement started and again, massive misjudgements in terms of dynamics, mic’ing and compression. Again her voice boomed and wasn’t part of the ensemble.
I think at this point I went harrumph, removed the performance and played a little of Dawn Upshaw’s performance.
Beth Gibbon’s version sounds like marketing guff to me. Is there a tv tie-in or something? I couldn’t recommend it in any way shape or form.
I think at this point I went harrumph, removed the performance and played a little of Dawn Upshaw’s performance.
Beth Gibbon’s version sounds like marketing guff to me. Is there a tv tie-in or something? I couldn’t recommend it in any way shape or form.
Wolfmancatsup
Empire State Human
Although I knew the composer, it was the use of the music on the soundtrack of FEARLESS, a film by Peter Weir, released in ‘93, that was my introduction to this symphony. A friend already knew it because, as mentioned above, it was played on a variety of ‘easy listening classical’ stations around that time.
Mick
Mick
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
Had a listen to Beth Gibbons singing on the Symphony yesterday and wasn't impressed. I am a big Portishead fan, but wouldn't bother buying it.
Jack
Jack
Swamp Thing
Remainiac Terrorist
It's sat in my IN pile. I was quite looking forward to it.
Oh well.
Oh well.
Joe
pfm Member
Swamp Thing
Remainiac Terrorist
Nonesuch did a 25 year vinyl (re-?) issue a couple of years ago of the version that sold a lot in the 90s.
If you want to treat yourself.
If you want to treat yourself.
