Incomplete And Utter History Of Classical Music

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE SLEEPING GIANT

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Ah yes. Curious indeed, this one. The Sleeping Giant. Far off, away with the fairies, way off up the wooden hill to dreamland. To be fair, I should explain. The Sleeping Giant is actually a composer, and, again to be fair - because I like to be fair -_zZzzzZZZ he isn't really sleeping. He's just… not found his „„.zzzzZZZ voice, shall we say. Finding your voice is „„zzzzzzZZ composer-speak „„zzzzzZZZ for finally writing in a style with which you are „,,„*zzzzZZZ comfortable and which is your own. So the Sleeping „„^zzzzZZZ Giant is a composer who hasn't found his voice.,™zzzzzZZZ He's forty already. Forty! And he hasn't published a -zzzzzZZZ note. He's been studying composition for some „zzzzzZZZ twenty-three years, but hasn't felt confident enough ™«zzzZZZ yet to let the great unwashed hear his work. So _„*zzzZZZZ instead, he has just carried on playing the organ - „azzzZZZ which was one of his passions - studying, sketching „„„zzzzzZZZ the odd composition, studying, learning music „.zzzzzZZZ „„zzzzzZZZ theory, studying, learning harmony… did I mention „„„zzzzzzZZ studying? Anyway, some time soon, the giant is due,_*zzzzzZZ to wake up, and you'd do well to be around .„azzzZZZ when he does. In the meantime, let me fill you in „„„«zzzZZZ on the last couple of years.

1363, was „„jzzzzzZZ quite an important one for the USA. Following the….zzzzZZZ battle for one small town, the Federal forces set.„^zzzZZZ about making a ceme tery to take the war dead. At „.^zzzzzZZ the dedication of the cemetery, Lincoln gives a „.zzzzzZZ speech. The speech goes down in history, named „,-zzzzZZZ a f t e r „«.zzzzZZZ the small town where the cemetery was built - -azzzZZZ Gettysburg. The following year, he is re- „.«zzzZZZ

„„„zzzzzZZZ elected President. „„„zzzzZZZ What else? Well, Florence is, albeit briefly, „,,„,.zzzzZZZ the capital of Italy in place of (a) Rome, (b) „„.zzzzZZZ Turin or (c) Milan? The answer's Turin acta- „„„??????? ally, with Rome having to wait another six,,„,zzzzzZZZ years before it achieves capital status. „„.zzzzzZZ Elsewhere, on the world's battlefields, the „.zzzzZZZ Geneva Convention is set up to establish the „,„z2zzzZZZ neutrality of medical facilities in war, the ^«zzzZZZ words 'In God we Trust' appears for „«.zzzzZZZ the first time „„azzzZZZ on American coins, and, let's see, Louis „„zzzzzzZZ Pasteur invents 'pasteurization', initially for „,-zzzzZZZ wine, would you believe. I raise a glass to him as -zzzzzZZZ I write. Good old Louis.,„,,zzzzzZZZ ,„2ZzzzzZZ Other than that, nothing much else to report. ,„.,zzzzzZZZ Charles Dickens churns out another one, Our ..??,?????? Mutual Friend, and Tolstoy starts War and Peace. I „„«zzzZZZ say 'starts' because it takes him a good five years. Five „.zzzzzZZ YEARS! Jeepers, you could write War and Peace in ^„.zzzzZZZ that time. Last year was a good year for art, _JZzzzzZZZ though. A couple of biggies saw the light of „zzzzzZZZ day - Manet's Dejeuner sur I'herbe and Dante „-zzzzzZiZZ Gabriel Rossetti's Beata Beatrix. Lovely. Now „.«zzzZZZ back to the 'Z'

The Sleeping Giant, I „^zzzzZZZ called him, and I think that's fair at forty. He'd „„zzzzzZZZ been training and studying for most of those forty „,„2zzzzZZZ years, but just lacked the confidence to publish. But,„*zzzzzZZ then, this „«^zzzzZZZ year - 18©4 - just as Meyerbeer dies, he wakes up, so „^zzzZZZ to speak, and finishes his first symphony. Well, actually, „„«zzzZZZ to be more accurate, he finishes bis first symphony, then gets another fit of insecurity and decides it's not fit to publish, so renumbers it 'Symphony No. Zero!' Can you believe that? I'm not kidding, honest, he did. Thought it simply wasn't good enough to be called his first symphony. Composers - fimny bxinch. And he was an organist, too, so that might explain it some more. Anyway, the world disagrees with him, eventually, and, I have to say, so do I. It is now a published and recorded symphony, known as Die Nulte - literally, the Nought, the 'Zero'! Astounding. You couldn't make it up. Anyway, let's wake him up, shall we? I want to introduce you. Bruckner… you're on, love. Bruckner, this is the reader: reader, this is Bruckner.

Someone once said, 'Gothic cathedrals of sound!' And they weren't talking about Frank Zappa. Bruckner, they meant. And if you've ever been to a Bruckner concert, you'll know what they mean. Gorgeous, it is. The symphony he called the Zero is simple and beautiful. And - and this is amazing - there's even a Symphony Double Zero, which is actually a sketch he'd written a year before the Zero. Are you following this?

All in all, a beautifully simple person, Bruckner. You can hear the organist in him coming out in his symphonies. He composes entire long passages all in a certain register or soundworld - much like an organist choosing a certain setting of stops on the organ for a while. Do you get my drift? If you are unfamiliar with the organ and its workings - and, I've got to be honest, you'd be wise to be! - then imagine it like this: you know those people who eat their food sepa- rately and in order? You know, the ones who eat all their peas first, carrots second, and then they spend some time eating the potatoes, before finally eating the sausage? You know those people? Well, Bruckner was the sort of composer version of that - different registers at different times. In fact, if you listen to Die Nuke, you can just about hear the horns being the carrots towards the end. Or not, as the case may be.