Posted on 03/01/2006 7:54:55 PM PST by Reaganesque
I was sitting here tonight listening to Mozart's Requiem and I got to thinking: what do I consider to be the best work of music ever? For my part, Mozart's work really does the trick for me when I need to be re-energized. Therefore, I believe that his Requiem is the greatest work of all time. There just isn't another work that is as powerful and passionate. When the chorus sings the final "Amen" at the end of "Lacrimosa" I get the feeling that he knew it was the last thing he would ever write. It gives me chills at times.
Other favorites are:
Handel's Messiah
The 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky
Dude!!! Freebird!!! Woooooo!!!! (holding ignited bic lighter aloft) Woooooo!!!! Freebird!!!!!
Oh for heaven's sake, everyone knows it's "Cotton Eyed Joe" by BoB Wills. hehe
1812 Overture. My favorite since I was 4 years old.
My composition "teacher" at Interlochen asked our theory class "If you had to listen to one piece of music, for all of eternity, which would it be?"
Someone joked "Ravel's Bolero" but we all agreed on Beethoven's 9th.
Now, 20 years later, I'd still have to choose the B 9th but there are some close seconds because even in the 9th, there's only more "perfect moments" than in any other piece. It would be hard to leave behind the perfect moments of all the other composers and songwriters in history.
I have yet to come across a genre of music that didn't have at least one or two shining examples of perfect brilliance.
When I had thought of posting this thread, I was going to ask what the most brilliant moments in music were, not the greatest musical piece. I thought that would be interesting.
Beethoven's 9th
Mozart - Fur Elise
ELP - Fan fare for the modern men
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (entire album)
Pink Floyd - Several Species of small furry animals gathered in a cave and grooving with a pict.
"Don't go where the huskies go,
and don't you eat that Yellow Snow"
louie louie
yea for you. see my post 88.
i play the gitar and am working on it. someday i will have it down pat.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird ain't bad either.
See my post #118. :-)
Gustav Mahler, Symphony no. 3
A work that expands all of creation, what scope, sweep, and vision:
I. Bacchanale, Pan Marches in (the awe of the physical world, mountains, plains
II. What the flowers of the meadows tell me
III. What the animals of the forest tell me
IV. What man tells me
V. What the angels tell me
VI. And the greatest force in the universe, What love tells me
In the final movement, when the high strings soar and the brass blares triumphantly, I am in another world. And then orchestra climbs majestically to new heights...sheer Elysium.
Damn! I just got home from work, and you beat me by a few hours! lol
Mark
Are you referring to the recent (several years ago) release with the long, awesome solo guitar leadin? Or are you referring to the classic (70s) version?
LOL. I thought Bolero WAS an eternity!
"You are the wind beneath my wings!!!!!"
Cindy Sheehan: The Musical
(I'm kidding)
The Finale to Romeo & Juliet, with the despairing and fading recitation of the love theme, is also one of my faves.
Roger on Brahms' First Symphony. "Beethoven's Tenth" to some. I've forgotten who wrote it - it may have been Mencken - but the review went something like "after 50 long years of waiting the gods walked once again in the concert hall."
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