Debussy, Prelude to 'The Afternoon of a Faun' (complete)

[GovernerOfBurningHam]

Beethoven *

[GovernerOfBurningHam]

Debussy is one of my top three favourite composers ... tied with Beetoven and Bach

[davidhalldurham]

Beautiful. Thank you so much. I agree about the Tchaikovsky. He wrote some very nice songs, but beyond that it's crap.

[rodrigofrib]

@smalin I enjoy your work so much that I want to support you.

Checked musanim.com but the only option seems to be the store. I don't want to buy a DVD, its too much hassle: delivery, customs, physical stuff cluttering..

I just want to donate so you continue to provide this. Is it possible?

Keep up the great work.

[smalin]

@rodrigofrib If you want, you can "buy" a DVD, and then tell me not to send it (just send me an email ahead of time so that I'll know what email address the order will be associated with).

[WoundedEgo]

Great job. I understand the Deb more than I did before. Kudos.

[papibuddy]

I love this music and the dance of lights is amazing, it's almost like I'm a part of the experience, no I'm not trippin.  It does give me a whole new point of view.

[xxBananaXIceXCreamxx]

@Smalin Do you ever intend to do any Tchaikovsky?

[smalin]

@xxBananaXIceXCreamxx Not if I can help it.

[xxBananaXIceXCreamxx]

@smalin Why, if I may ask?

[smalin]

@xxBananaXIceXCreamxx Because I don't like his music. When I make a video, I have to listen to the music dozens and dozens of times. With Tchaikovsky, once is more than I can tolerate.

[CoolCat123450]

I kinda like this program for the city effect.

[TwilightPsychopath]

I liked the old program/shapes better; Don't get me wrong, the music is still great, I just feel like the rectangles and circles were more aesthetic. Maybe I just don't like ovals XD

[Bluzme]

@TwilightPsychopath I agree 100%

[TheDanzigQueen]

Hey, I like the way you see the music:)

Nice video, thanks for sharing

[DieuDesDouze]

I love that you, too, have seen the connections between the twelve divisions of light and sound.

[stackedactor1]

No Gershwin, I see. It'd be nice if you'd something of his, and maybe not the most obvious piece. Cuban Overture, maybe?

[smalin]

@stackedactor1 Gershwin's music is still under copyright, which makes it difficult to get permission to use.

[stackedactor1]

@smalin Thanks for the reply,and for giving him consideration. As an aside, I am a musician/composer myself and these help me to "see" some of the buried counterpoint/ thematic material in longer pieces (even when I thought I "knew" these pieces). These videos are a must have for people who do not understand scores and musical notation, these animations are integral to helping to explain the "how" of music.

[DScottDay]

@smalin What about a songwriter who digs your work? Suppose an artist like Joni Mitchell (also, of course, graphically gifted and active) were to say to you, "Hey man, I'd be cool with you doing For Free in your interpretation. Have at it. Or, say, whoever has the rights to Laura Nyro. What songwriters do you like enough to consider including in a project? Any?

[smalin]

@DScottDay There are plenty of artists whose work I like. The problem is finding one who likes my work enough to want to collaborate with me. I do lots of collaborations, so it's pretty clear to anyone who's interested that they should talk to me. Björk hired me to do animations for her Biophilia project (but they're not here on YouTube because she wants to sell the iPad app they're part of). If you want to try to convince Joni Mitchell to collaborate with me, please feel free!

[nickfireadams]

Have you ever thought of doing the devil's trill?

[Dreadnoughtification]

Those brass notes now look more and more like lightsabers.

[happyzinny]

@Dreadnoughtification I never thought it like that. Now that you mention it.... they do... :)

[JSnow427]

@smalin man i was in my schools band and this music isnt my first pick in music but the way i look at music is that there is no bad music its just an expression of someones inner view, i love and respect it all in a whole, i love classical music so much but i love it all as well, i also love the visual you have here its simply wonderful i thank you for making me listen to this music more and remembering how much fun it was to play and listen to

[dkrebs11]

your the man, whenever I need to study its straight to smalin's youtube page

[Tyrog]

that's trippy!

[dagorlad3]

@smalin okay now I'm going to have to get more concert tickets. You made my day =).

[dagorlad3]

I heard this piece not a month ago by my local philharmonic, and unfortunately somebody brought their infant to the performance. After ruining the flute solo, the conductor stopped the piece, asked the patron to leave, then restarted.

So I guess overall I won as I got to hear the opening (which was performed very well) twice.

[str8ngrrr]

There is a method to this seeming "madness" -- forgetting the technical requirements of sight reading, since this DOES follow a superimposed order of things, the progressing colors, as well as the depth of the hues allow us to "SEE" the music. Not sightread it; not watch it being performed, but to SEE, FEEL and HEAR it. It isn't cheap trickery. It is pure beauty.

[EwoktheMoid]

As someone with an academic background in music, do you consider your visualizations primarily for the illumination of the lay public, or do you find that other academics (or you yourself) uncover new facets by seeing the pieces visulaized in this fashion?

[smalin]

@EwoktheMoid Sure, everybody can learn things from my animations.

[JSnow427]

@EwoktheMoid im not a music major but i am a drummer by nature, it is simply beautiful to see the visualizations it catches your eye and makes you watch and listen more to it, i feel that visualizations help captivate the listener more, music is my life and i will always play drums, but i will also devote my life to being a cop as well

[gruby135f]

star trek? 

[BeranM]

Do you think you could do, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from Gustav Holst's "The Planets"?

[wildedina]

Wonderful thank you. celia

[monkeycars911]

this is an INTENSE piece! At first I felt calm and peaceful, then it went to anxious and fear, then back to calamity, then to suspense, then back to being peaceful, but still wary and cautious and so on and so forth! Such a beautiful piece!

[artjaggy]

I think you are one of the lucky people who have synesthesia. I love your channel. Thank you for doing what you do (especially for tocatta y fuga).

[smalin]

@artjaggy No, I don't have synesthesia (at least, not without drugs).

[sicklefudge]

@smalin Amen, Btw yeah thanx for the classical archives link. Keep up the fantastic work and much success to you my nigga!

[Luckyhat66]

This is why Debussy is my favourite composer.

[austrofreak1]

Great!

[willrelio2609]

WATCH IN 1080P

[willrelio2609]

OMG, THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MUSANIM EVER!!!

[eldiagrama]

Smalin, I apreciate that you take the time to read most the comments, I would like to ask you, if I may, what is the relationship between you and the music, in a vital sense :)

[smalin]

@eldiagrama ??? I don't know how to answer that. I love music. I play music. I once composed music, and taught others how to compose and perform. If you study the History section of my web site, you will see how I ended up doing what I now do. Beyond that, I don't think I can speak meaningfully in generalities.

[muffinsarelife1]

Could you do Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique?

[smalin]

@muffinsarelife1 The copyright on Prokofiev's music doesn't expire until 2023, so I probably won't use it until then.

[Gilgamesh827]

@smalin Doesn't the copyright only apply to scores?

[smalin]

@Gilgamesh827 No, it also applies to arrangements, performances, editions, etc. Anything with a significant "creative" component.

[trp8155]

THANKYOU SO MUCH!

[olopcall]

AMAZING, love it. This animation is priceless.

[Obstatic]

At 6:14 I directly experienced rapture. Musanim's best work set to my favorite composer.  Bliss.

[RectumPilum]

I suspect Debussy's clavier consisted of every other black and white key...

[buzzwaffle]

This is divine. Diverse shapes & varied color effects; layered, with depth, married to a beautiful score. Stunning really.

[goldenhog]

now i'm all emotional!

[PianistSeb]

simply awesome!

[Fuzzy192006]

Can you do Soulja Boy Tell Em - Turn My Swag On?

[Calvinios]

thank you for animating this piece: it really shows how intricate and delicate it is, absolute bliss.

[smalin]

@Calvinios You're welcome. I've had this piece on my "someday" list for a long time. It was every bit as much of a bitch (pardon my French) to do as I anticipated, but it was worth it. But my reaction, on finally seeing it, was that it was much less intricate that I'd imagined; a lot of Debussy's effects seem much simpler in this notation than in the score.

[diogeneslaertius666]

Every Translator is a Prophet to His People

[foodiste]

beautifully rendered

[pgurugp]

thank you thank you thank you. seriously, do have a donate page?

[smalin]

@pgurugp No, but you can send money to me via PayPal if you want.

[COTTONDOG920]

Just beautiful, Stephen..Thank you so much for my favorite music..

[rui278]

Debussy!

[Lorspartan]

Hauntingly beautiful

[Chrisirhc1996]

@sicklefudge smalin NEVER uses midi! He puts the animations together from the song recording from a performance. No midi! Traditional is ruined with midi.

[smalin]

@Chrisirhc1996 Actually, MIDI is central to my process --- the animation is created from MIDI. The MIDI might itself contain the original performance data (if I record my own performance via MIDI, as I did in the Satie Gnossienne just posted, or if I create the rendition artificially), or it might be synchronized with the recording of a live performance, but there is always MIDI in some form.

[vittiez]

I must say the same: Magnificent.

[theprof1958]

Rachmaninoff recorded a conversation he had had with Scriabin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov about Scriabin's association of colour and music. Rachmaninoff was surprised to find that Rimsky-Korsakov agreed with Scriabin on associations of musical keys with colors; [...]. Both maintained that the key of D major was golden-brown; but Scriabin linked E-flat major with red-purple, while Rimsky-Korsakov favored blue.

(en.wikipedia, look for "Alexander Scriabin" entry)

[TFreckle]

Magnificent!!

[felipemp93]

There's not a way to not love it...It's just impossible! Everything fits so perfectly! Thanks a lot smalin.

[kubikpt]

Lovely! :-)

[dimeuno]

Soothing.

[CardingtonLZF]

You know what'd be cool? If someone created a musical piece which, when displayed by you in one of your videos, created an image or a long landscape.

[smalin]

@CardingtonLZF They've been doing that with my software in Japan ... look on the Nico Nico Douga site ...

[CardingtonLZF]

@smalin Haha, wow! For anyone who is interested in the idea and hasn't seen the vids already, check out the MIDI Animations page on the website knowyourmeme. As a plus, it also has a photo of Mr. Malinowski when he was young and had a moustache.

[pattikillem666]

@smalin opus clavicembalisticum by sorabji? =D

[sicklefudge]

Where can i get these files?

[smalin]

@sicklefudge Files? Which files?

[sicklefudge]

@smalin Midi files?



[smalin]

@sicklefudge You can get a MIDI file of this piece at Classical Archives.

[offsetsammy]

Absolutely gorgeous. Please don't ever stop making these videos.

[maechel200]

好 呀 。 Taiwan music lover.

[Sakanakao]

The use of colour reminds me of Scriabin's synesthetic keyboard.

[amadeus5889]

Pardon my slang, but...

DAT FLUTE

[Sakanakao]

/swoon