The Nordic Composers

Today on this months installment of the classical sacd round up seeing it had snowed this weekend, I look at two major Nordic composers.

Carl Nielsen was born on the Danish island of Funen on June 9th 1865, taking up music playing and attending the Royal Danish Academy of Music and is regarded as the pre-eminent composer of that country and died in 1931. His earlier works were inspired by Grieg and Brahms.

He wrote 6 symphonies all of which tended  to be around the half hour length  were written between 1892 and 1925 and have a number of common characteristics such as the prominence of the role of brass instruments  and unusual changes in tonality that have the effect of heightening the dramatic feel.

The London Symphony Orchestra recorded  between 2009 and 2011 all his symphonies on sacd and these were gathered up in this box set of three which also includes a audio only blue ray with high definition (192khz /24bit pcm) stereo and multichannel recordings for those who have blu ray home theatre systems.

Decapo records issued a most useful sacd of his violin , flute and clarinet concertos  with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed live at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall New York that goes well with the Symphony box set.

A long term favourite composer of mine was the Norwegian Edvard Grieg and when it came to my cd based collection that was first started in September 1987 starting with Grieg's Peer Gynt in long extracts and disc of violin sonatas.

Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor and Peer Gynt (which includes Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King). Edvard Grieg is to Norway what George Washington is to America and William Shakespeare to England: his country's most celebrated human icon.

Apart from taking a chunk of his music recorded to this format, I also wanted to expand the scope of my collection.

Around 2005/6 the Swedish company BIS Records issued four sacds covering a wide range of his music so I started with this one of the Peer Gynt Suite.

String music is something I like and the one above plus the one by another label of his String Quartets expands on my original collection and features the lovely Holberg Suite.

I did have a disc on DG of the Norewegian and Symphonic dances that I wished to replace.

I was looking for a good modern recording of the Symphony in C and found this well regarded one fairly cheaply used.

I never had a recording of Grieg's Cello Sonata and this sacd is very highly regarded that has works by Grainger and Nielsen too.

 In 1996 I bought a recording by the Manchester pianist Ronan O Hora of Griegs Piano Concerto coupled with the Lyric pieces performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Tring which the Penguin cd guide gave a rosette award to.
I was able to track down the 2005 Membran sacd issue of this recording .

To say the front cover is generic is an understatement but it sounds good so I switched the front cover over to the original one which is much nicer.

Thoughts on getting along

 

Really the simplest of looks can be the most effective such as a plain tank top with a white blouse a little above the knee tartan pleated skirt and plain thick grey socks.

I am a feminine little sissy gurl who belongs in skirts.

I wasn't too great this week with a migraine which isn't too uncommon sadly.

It wouldn't be me in the midst of all that to be thinking of other things, I mean it's so funny but sometimes I'm more together when it comes to thinking ideas up when I'm  like that than any other time.

One is how many times we hear of people who do something a little outside of the mainstream such as follow a dress style and wear it, have aspects of our lives that others may not be so keen on such as your gender identity, sexuality and being a little and so on who struggle to have people they feel they can be open with as friends. And this in age of forums, emails and social media.

Sometimes it may be that the individual has difficulties forming and holding down personal relationships which may not be helped if others are way too quick to judge elementary mistakes but life if you appear not to be able to learn from them can be hard.

Sometimes groups have very much a "My way is the only highway" approach, setting very exacting positions people are at least to go along with if not openly endorse which at times is so ironical being in mind the reason for  existence of some groups is the very excludedness those people felt from others they project themselves.

To  me it seems in order to progress we need to be open to difference, able to tolerate difference and understand  the expression of differing views often leads to more informed thoughts and decisions.

If we find understanding something hard - and it genuinely can be -  we need to be prepared to  work with someone who will explain it and engage with them changing what we are doing if it isn't helping us.

We also need to learn to hold hands more with the people who can helps us explore and grow as people which may include learning more about some of things that unite us but may not be part of other peoples lives.

If you're a little/middle you need to find those spaces you can let this side of you out openly without the distractions of regular adult stuff going on.

Birthday:

I went out for midday lunch with family to celebrate to a local public house that does home made cooking with big chunky carrots and home prepared roast potatoes so I opted for a Turkey roast with cranberry sauce. Apple sauce never did that much for me to be honest.

I followed that up with home made Apple Pie and vanilla ice cream which was really scrumptious having lots of flavour and texture. I don't like mushy apple flavoured filling in fruit pies.

I had birthday wishes from the site that's the home of 'George' and the Famous Five and other Enid Blyton favourites and some forums including GT, the IK chat room and the classical music thread of a music site who put up with my regressive side pretty well.

That ties into having by way of presents four classical music discs one of which will be featured in a review next week, some money and a W H Smiths voucher I used toward this book when I went into town on Thursday. 

Just being younger than my years me

As we enter a new month and approach a significant date I thought I'd post something around what it means to me.

This time of year reminds me so much of the largely unchanged way that I am no different in many ways around the ages of these children and even the fuzzy warm lack of focus of it might as well be a metaphor for both how I am and the prism I see things through.

Any of them could of been me and I could been in it as a little gurl in a school skirt and certain respects more mentally sharper and alert too.

Our world compared to todays was a good deal simpler for just reading, playing and watching tv more often than not together and communication was mainly face to face by phone with parental approval so we'd sure know about it if anyone had been mean.

We read comics, often joining fan clubs whose paraphernalia come through the mail and talked about them during school recess  and in many ways that remains what I loved and within reason love to do even now cos in my head I'm still the same.

 In the recent snowy weather my first instinct remains to gather up snow to have snowball fights and to make snowmen. This year even the outdoor model railway village got snowed in!!!

 I'm in so many ways the same as I was when I was legally younger.

Braving the elements

By the time I get around to posting this we *may* have snow thanks to a pressure system from Siberia, Russia according to forecasters so part of this week was taken up with taking precautions because I do take some tablets that I find help in managing my conditions so I needed to go into town to get them.

Although it is a bit controversial I do find Omega 3 typically found in fish oils helps in a couple of important ways with me the first being I find it helps my brain to be mentally sharper and less of a fuzzy haze than it is when I don't take them and the other being they do help control the side effects of my badly damaged tendons keeping inflammation lower without the issues I had with non-steroids anti inflammatories  like Voltarol which caused damage to my stomach lining.

So It kinda matters to get them in while I can.

As well, I am making progress in walking having managed Sunday morning to walk a good eighth of a mile more than could a few months back which is quite an improvement on how I have been a for good number of years and that despite a full cooked breakfast.

Weekend meals I think probably are bigger in terms of calories compared with those during the week so I may at some point need to look at how to size them down a fraction as I'm convinced  I honestly don't need the cooked breakfast and full evening meal on Sundays.

I stood still and  saw a Blue Tit land on  a branch very close to me which was really nice to see while out in brilliant orange glow of the Winter Sun even if it was just 1 degree C and so I was very well wrapped up with gloves and scarf on.

Tuesday brought snow to this part of the Midlands so wrapped up well I did walk a bit cos a part of what I'm trying to do is to unlearn some of the 'bad' lessons from the past one of which is because I did hurt myself during the Winter snow season of allowing a fear of what happened to paralyze me from going out and to allow it to justify inactivity even I need to be active because it makes me feel alive and healthy.

Being outside really helps me.

Winter get together

After last weeks bit of a break, I am writing an account of how that six days and a bit spent at with friends went.

Really it is in some ways a bit like a spring or summers camp for actual children except it is for those 18+ who are in differing ways more 'like a child' and so completely non sexual.

It's really a place where many of us can let out amongst others our child-like selves and while to make the thing happen we hire a place and look after our own catering needs, outside of that we're in a child-like place, what I call 'Little Space' so we do activities and act from "the child within".

I got to my friends by train and a lift from the station which after an overnight stay a trip in their car.

One thing I do wish to comment upon is what you might wear because we all see and hear different things but the first thing to say is you don't have to dress any different because it's less about dress and more about that child within but different folk do things do things different some more infant others, more dressy and there some of us who wear things more like school or school age uniform depending how our little/middle side comes out.

In so far as it went with me, the first thing after taking my coat off at my friends was to get into my black pinafore dress as a adult litle gurl before having a cup of tea and getting one of my dollies out before getting on to helping to make our evening meal which was Lamb Chop, Mashed Potato and boiled Broccoli.

On the Saturday morning I helped with packing the car with not just our personal stuff but those things we had bought for for other people such as games and bread.

It took us about three hours thirty so we arrived around a quarter to three in the afternoon which happened to just in time for a "Bacon Butty" - literally cooked back bacon between bread - which as we'd eaten before half past nine in the morning was very much appreciated that we had with some cakes.

Shortly after that I set up my room, fixed a drink and rested until about a quarter to six as I soon get tired so normally take an afternoon nap until my friend called me because it was getting toward time to fix some food.

Most people having arrived by now also were fixing food but that involved ordering Indian food and collecting it but we decided to fix our own so I had get utensils out and peel potatoes for some mash with our steak pies, the best in the Midlands which was soon enough done.

One group activity we did was doing jigsaws three of them  although I think we met our  match with one based on Chocolates that we really struggled with  and the London Underground where we did get around 75% of it done but struggled with the masses of pure white bits that we couldn't slot in even though we knew they just had to.

On the Sunday a small Tatty Teddie was found outside my door and after a while it emerged so had everyone else as one group member had left them which I though was a lovely idea.

Something I and I think a couple of others did was colouring so it was as well I bought my pencils and one book although there were  other things to colour in to which I did as I find both relaxing and also helpful with my hand-eye co-ordination.

On a few days a group of us including myself decided to walk varying distances around the neighbouring countryside, being alert to the local wildlife, vegetation and the solitude enjoying being in the fresh air, feeling care free.

As well, that day saw a film show put on with Paddington Turns Detective, an assemblage of Donald Duck cartoons plus the Laurel and Hardy classic Help Mates that we enjoyed and her home made sound movie of a 1999 steam trip from Birmingham to Liverpool Lime Street which featured a few stations I am most familiar with. Ice Cream cones were served during the interval.

A little surprisingly that home made film was a hit with everyone!

There was a music quiz.

Tuesday saw a kind of Princess Hunt where you have to find them all to win a prize which was fun as rushed up and down the building looking everywhere for the princesses (and I mean everywhere including the Laundry!!!)

On the Wednesday we left after packing everything we'd taken with us and shared but because we needed to leave before mid morning several of us had done some packing before and generally tidied things up ready for the venues staff to come in and clean.

For me though this wasn't the end of this adventure after encountering  showers with temperatures around 2 degrees C  as we made our way toward Northamptonshire whereas it was really pretty sunny where we'd set off from we arrived back at my friends house.

After helping unload the car in two stages as it was a bit wet, the coal fire was lit and we had a cup of tea with cakes spending our time talking about the everything we'd all done and catching up on some tv such as Call The Midwife and The 2018 series of Great American Railroad Journeys travel documentary.

On Thursday I departed catching a train earlier than planned but itself delayed due to some incident at Birmingham that lead to one railway platform being taken out of use just as I had climbed part way up the stairs for it!

Thankfully getting the cab home at the other end was a lot more straightforward  and my driver was pretty talkative.

I had a fantastic time.

Time away

I was away with friends recently and here's some thoughts  from that period.

A good a start as any is to look at my emotions which as you all know have been all over the place with the permanent loss of one relative and sadly the living loss of uncle who is sleeping further and further into the Alzheimer's fog, struggling to recognize a soul.

In some ways at least it takes me back to how I was when I was Thirteen around the time my Grandpa died when I was sent around to keep an eye on him although in truth I felt way way out of my depth struggling even then look after myself never mind being expected to make (relatively) mature decisions when neither of us could understand each other but everybody else was going through the charade pretending this was okay.

I know, we all know, losing a close relative is a loss, and you do grieve for them but this memory is associated with feeling helpless, inadequate even and it's that which has been on my mind.

For me, being away was necessary because I needed to have mental and emotional space to process these thoughts and to do things that made me feel happy and whole again so just being focused more on play being away from the environment where all this hangs around cloud style was a must.

It also helped that those who I entrusted about what was happening were supportive, showing love and concern without smothering me so while being supported I could breathe while sharing and taking turns helped reconnect me as I am very prone to just shutting down when feeling overwhelmed emotionally.

One thing unexpected that happened was because the meet up this time was more laid back with less structured activity a few of us did feel not withstanding it was Winter to venture out of doors so we actually went on longish nature trails.

I found just being away from things, switching off to all other than the natural sounds,sights and smells helped  as we walked talked about various things although it was the case I did lose my footing and had to pulled up as my foot landed in mud and started to go sliding requiring my camera and shoes to cleaned !

We also encountered dogwalkers who actually were not phazed by seeing me in a dress and three-quarter socks along their travels and indeed one complemented me on my looks as friends with permission stroked the dogs!

While thinking a bit about where you might go makes sense avoiding extreme presentations, sometimes we set the bar in terms of what can be accepted higher than many are prepared to accept us as ourselves.

While out I also did some photography which usually helps relax me.

One thing I did talk about with member of the group who also has brain damage was how we do things, the things we do appear on the surface to cope with that leads others to think we don't have the needs we actually do.

This is something I do find a problem not least in trying to shop where staff are trying to upsell to you and make offers that I'm in no position to deal with leaving me in suspended animation and others seeing me struggle asking if you're okay because I haven't just frozen but have gone mute. I'd sooner have an official card I can show so I can treated more like a minor at the counter as my capacity in these situations is very much sub adult and in that respect I need 'protection'.

When I'm away I'm always 'looked after' in their words "I always treat you more like a child" and apart from the odd verbal reminder I did behave myself and helped out making what I was to eat and doing chores such as setting the table or loading the car ready to go.

They are quite firm with me around that whole area of having to assume some responsibility and play an active if of necessity limited role which was a bit of culture shock at first but is helping me do a bit more and find some self discipline.

I found the time away did help me think past those issues that were on my mind, finding more joy in more fun child-like things which is in so many ways where I remain ever the adult but child while the walking helped with developing and maintaining better fitness not just physically but also mentally too.

Jean Sibelius

The history of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's and my encounters with recordings of his works goes back to records from the 1960's and 1970's by the Austrian conductor Herbert von Kajaran for EMI and DG and in the early days of cd collecting,  I bought a four cd set by Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra but felt much of that didn't get that deep into the compositions.

It also sounded very lean and flat.

For Christmas I got a new five disc set but on super audio cd that also plays on regular players of the six symphonies by the pioneering  orchestra owned  label Lso Live from MDT Classics in Derby.

 This replaced the six symphonies and added a part choral work Kullervo which usually occupies a whole disc plus The Oceanides and Pohojola's Daughter that had been issued over a few years on individual discs.

Coming in this form, it was also discounted meaning for little over £20 I could get a complete set in the very finest quality.

 Taking a look at it, what we have is a box with the discs in individual sleeves and a booklet but also included for those who have home theatre blu ray systems is audio only blu ray so if they don't have super audio cd equipment they can play them back in high resolution surround sound.

 While looking at how to take the core of my Sibelius collection to super audio cd for it's greatly superior sound, I spotted a recent record that was an ideal add on to that five disc set by Chandos.

It's a superb recording by the acclaimed violinist Jennifer Pike of his Violin Concerto that comes with six short works, "Tone Poems" that includes favourites like Finlandia, Valse Triste and the Karelia Suite on one very well filled disc.

The Bergen Philharmonic are noted for their recordings by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg but conducted by Andrew Davis are well in their element.

Finally to replace an older disc I had, I got this newer recording by Finland's Lahti Symphony Orchestra of the Lemminkainen Suite from which the "Swan of Tuonela" comes from coupled with the Wood-Nymph on BIS.

This resetting and upgrading in terms of sound and performances of Sibelius's work coupled with addition of a number of new compositions to my library has added to my appreciation of this composers work.