This is the variation that made me a Sorabji fan....this recording is what I have been waiting TEN YEARS for !! IMHO, the entire 35 minute variation is the perfect nocturne in itself, needing nothing else of the rest of this magnificent body of work !!
Thanks for your work on this. My God I've always wanted to hear at least some of this work with the score, and this really is a beautiful piece. Superb 👍❤
Exemplary, indeed. For works with alternative interpretations, I find Powell definitive; and should others be allowed I predict he will remain so for this as well. Not that I wish to discourage the performance and recording of Sorabji; but the rigor of scholarship with prodigious technique and depth of emotion is a once in a lifetime combination. The recordings which emphasize clarity and intimacy over envelopment are also an all too rare treat.
For those wondering, here is how the full variation lines up with this version. The first time stamp represents where we are in the full version, and the second corresponds to where we are currently in the video. 7:05 = 0:00 13:49 = 2:52 18:10 = 3:20 24:16 = 9:27
unfortunately I have to criticize how, after turning the page, the new one is only gradually becoming sharp. Nevertheless, thank you, it is great to have a bit of an insight into this luscious variation!
That effect is clearly intentional, as I like how such visual effect reflects the atmosphere of the piece. It's still easily readable for me, and so I won't be changing my editing style unless I change my mind.
@@toothlesstoe ok, up to you. It looks intentional. I don't like it because I am interested in reading the music clearly. You don't have to change your mind for anybody though! :D
How does one even go about practicing this? Tuplets nested within a 7:4 on top of quin- and septuplets (0:11)? 41:32 and 46:32 tuplets (0:43, 7:25)? Numerous 7:6, 5:3, 7:3 and 7:5 polyrhythms and/or tuplets? Quintuplets nested within 5:3? Just... how??? How do you do it, o great Jonathan Powell?
Performing such polyrhythms with perfect mathematical precision would be conceptually impossible (at least at the speed required), but an accurate approximation will produce the required effect. From my experience with inputting many works by Sorabji into notation software, the difference between a solid rhythmic approximation and a perfectly accurate computer rendering is usually imperceptible. That said, even the greatest Sorabji interpreters such as Mr. Powell sometimes take significant liberties with the rhythms - if you study the performance in this video carefully, it’s not difficult to find numerous rhythmic inaccuracies (take the RH quintuplets at ua-cam.com/video/HlnEBCSqIro/v-deo.html as a particularly obvious example). Anyway, achieving an accurate polyrhythmic effect isn't terribly difficult to do once you've gotten accustomed to Sorabji's style of piano writing, but it does typically require a strong sense of familiarity with the score (at least enough to have a good sense of where things line up). When practicing works of this nature, I typically mark my score with vertical lines, brackets, and other forms of grouping notation to indicate the spans of time in which certain subsets of notes/phrases should be contained. It helps to first determine the points at which things coincide, particular in regards to the harmonic structure of the music; this is easy to do with Sorabji, since he frequently emphasizes each chord change distinctly (often with pedal points), and then spins a tapestry of melodic material and pianistic filligree around the basic overarching harmonic architecture. Having clearly defined these points in the score, it then comes down to simply fitting the other lines within these bounds and offsetting the unsynchronized notes in such a way that the combined effect is perceived as fluid. Achieving this fluidity isn’t too difficult after analysis of the score, determining fingerings in advance, and practicing with hands separately as stated by toothless. I also find that memorization helps immensely, so in my own practice, I typically focus on memorizing the music and fingerings first and foremost - the technical challenges, in my experience, tend to sort themselves out during this process.
I like a lot of Sorabji but I think these Nocturnes are where his style comes into its own. A lot of his pieces sound more intellectual to me than melodic, but ones like this are different.
This is the variation that made me a Sorabji fan....this recording is what I have been waiting TEN YEARS for !!
IMHO, the entire 35 minute variation is the perfect nocturne in itself, needing nothing else of the rest of this magnificent body of work !!
And people say that Sorabji music isn’t melodical nor beautiful..., people needs to judge less and hear more
Agreed, this is amazing.
@Charlemagne That's one of the most ignorant musical criticisms I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of stupid shit.
@Charlemagne You certainly do, given your clapback. Too bad UA-cam censored it so that others can't laugh at how dumb you are.
thrown*
You clearly do, considering you are one.
Вы открыли для меня это произведение в произведении. Спасибо большое
Thank you a thousand times, Toothless, for all those precious gems!
Thanks for your work on this. My God I've always wanted to hear at least some of this work with the score, and this really is a beautiful piece. Superb 👍❤
very beautiful
Exemplary, indeed. For works with alternative interpretations, I find Powell definitive; and should others be allowed I predict he will remain so for this as well. Not that I wish to discourage the performance and recording of Sorabji; but the rigor of scholarship with prodigious technique and depth of emotion is a once in a lifetime combination. The recordings which emphasize clarity and intimacy over envelopment are also an all too rare treat.
For those wondering, here is how the full variation lines up with this version.
The first time stamp represents where we are in the full version, and the second corresponds to where we are currently in the video.
7:05 = 0:00
13:49 = 2:52
18:10 = 3:20
24:16 = 9:27
That's the entire point of excerpts
@@toothlesstoeyeah I know I just wanted to make time stamps
unfortunately I have to criticize how, after turning the page, the new one is only gradually becoming sharp. Nevertheless, thank you, it is great to have a bit of an insight into this luscious variation!
That effect is clearly intentional, as I like how such visual effect reflects the atmosphere of the piece. It's still easily readable for me, and so I won't be changing my editing style unless I change my mind.
@@toothlesstoe ok, up to you. It looks intentional. I don't like it because I am interested in reading the music clearly. You don't have to change your mind for anybody though! :D
How does one even go about practicing this? Tuplets nested within a 7:4 on top of quin- and septuplets (0:11)? 41:32 and 46:32 tuplets (0:43, 7:25)? Numerous 7:6, 5:3, 7:3 and 7:5 polyrhythms and/or tuplets? Quintuplets nested within 5:3? Just... how??? How do you do it, o great Jonathan Powell?
Simple answer: Hands separately
@@toothlesstoe Fair enough
Performing such polyrhythms with perfect mathematical precision would be conceptually impossible (at least at the speed required), but an accurate approximation will produce the required effect. From my experience with inputting many works by Sorabji into notation software, the difference between a solid rhythmic approximation and a perfectly accurate computer rendering is usually imperceptible. That said, even the greatest Sorabji interpreters such as Mr. Powell sometimes take significant liberties with the rhythms - if you study the performance in this video carefully, it’s not difficult to find numerous rhythmic inaccuracies (take the RH quintuplets at ua-cam.com/video/HlnEBCSqIro/v-deo.html as a particularly obvious example).
Anyway, achieving an accurate polyrhythmic effect isn't terribly difficult to do once you've gotten accustomed to Sorabji's style of piano writing, but it does typically require a strong sense of familiarity with the score (at least enough to have a good sense of where things line up). When practicing works of this nature, I typically mark my score with vertical lines, brackets, and other forms of grouping notation to indicate the spans of time in which certain subsets of notes/phrases should be contained. It helps to first determine the points at which things coincide, particular in regards to the harmonic structure of the music; this is easy to do with Sorabji, since he frequently emphasizes each chord change distinctly (often with pedal points), and then spins a tapestry of melodic material and pianistic filligree around the basic overarching harmonic architecture. Having clearly defined these points in the score, it then comes down to simply fitting the other lines within these bounds and offsetting the unsynchronized notes in such a way that the combined effect is perceived as fluid. Achieving this fluidity isn’t too difficult after analysis of the score, determining fingerings in advance, and practicing with hands separately as stated by toothless. I also find that memorization helps immensely, so in my own practice, I typically focus on memorizing the music and fingerings first and foremost - the technical challenges, in my experience, tend to sort themselves out during this process.
Hmm, not sure I've ever seen the Feux Follets figuration used so effectively.
Where at?
@@toothlesstoe 3:50 ish
@@MikeN275 I wouldn't necessarily say that was inspired by Feux Follets, but I can see where you're coming from.
@Schuyler Bacn ok
4:07 chopin nocturne anyone? Sounds like op 27 no 1 at the point where it goes from the serene to dramatic
Vague resemblance, but I think it's more happenstance than anything else
How do you get these sheets for the SC? Is there a way to get the entirety?
Contact Alistair Hinton
Is he your favorite composer ?
I like a lot of Sorabji but I think these Nocturnes are where his style comes into its own. A lot of his pieces sound more intellectual to me than melodic, but ones like this are different.
I agree
favorite soarbji piece but still one of my least favorite composers
Okay