The talent of Glenn GOULD

[andresruval]

damn, this is so Glenn Gould... and the thing is that it applies to anything in life.. "so you want to *insert your anxiety*?" .. so go ahead and do it!, explore, discover and share. That's what Glenn Gould has taught me, with his music and life.

[11jupitercowboy8]

Ha! Love this. Funny lil' sense of humor that guy had. He comes across so snobbish and full of himself at times but it also seems like underneath all that eccentricity and neurosis was a very humble and human kinda guy.

[OwlyEagles]

i think i just understood something...

[MrChumFm]

the guy singing the bass part opens his mouth really big. it makes me laugh. :D he must be an awesome operatic singer.

[gouldaddict]

@alienalienss Someone who couldn't write a fugue. :)

[HenriNioto]

All you need FUGUE, Fugue, fuugue is all you need !!!

[GavinClementMelanson]

can somebody explain to me what a fugue is? i don't have much knowledge in classical music...

[matttherogue]

@GavinClementMelanson A fugue is a style of composition marked by an theme presented in one voice, the statement ("So you want to write a fugue"). Then, the other voices come in one by one by singing the statement and overlapping. This technique was really popular in the baroque period.

[GavinClementMelanson]

@matttherogue oh! k thanks! :)

[Laudan08]

I wanna write a fucking fugue.

[crazycellist973]

I am doing this (tenor) for the Minnesota Solo Ensemble this year!

[Yoshi5020]

So, I take it he had the... urge to write a fugue?

[alb84guitar]

Very much more Handel style than Bach... I love the beginning and then the "never be clever for the sake of being clever" part...

[InbictaProductionzZ]

ghe first singing lady has a catchy face xD

and this is pure genious!

[gouldaddict]

Is there a DVD with this show? I'd sure love to own it.

[emran90]

what is the point with gould here?? the piece is written by gould or???

[Wormsie]

@emran90 Yes, it's written by Gould and you can see him in the beginning. The name of the piece is So You Want to Write a Fugue.

[subjulio]

Fly Glenn, fly!!

[FliegendeHollaender]

the soprano and alto at approximatly 2:38 "when you decide that john sebastian must have been a very personable guy!" ;) ;) lol ba-rock on!

[charmingemily]

like the first female singer

[TimRuffle]

I gathered that he had a sense of humour when I saw the film of him singing to some singularly unimpressed elephants. What really strikes me is that I reacted to this the same way I do to great Bach pieces or reading Olaf Stapledon. Transfixed at first then feeling my mind scrambling to cope with it- in a good way.

...And it was written for larks!

[charmingemily]

Igor Stravinsky

My music is best understood by children and animals.

[TimRuffle]

Heh- I bet there were a few beard-stroking self-styled intellectuals who rather took the hump at that comment.

[charmingemily]

hi... sorry my english is not very good. what does "take the hump"mean? wince or shrug ?

what does "self-styled" mean?

thanks

will reply when i understand...

[TimRuffle]

From the point of view of someone who can barely count to ten in a second language may I say you have nothing to apologise for.

I meant the sort of person who considers himself an intellectual in case no-one else does. Such people grow a beard solely to stroke it thoughtfully and laugh at bits in Shakespeare that haven't been funny in 300 years to show their cleverness but can't explain why they teach English at a comprehensive school rather than a university.

[TimRuffle]

As for taking the hump- it's not necessarily a physical reaction. The sort of person I just described might well consider the Stravinsky comment you quoted a personal insult to their intelligence and react by hunching their shoulders and sulking (which is where the term comes from I imagine).

It could be used about someone who reacts angrily or violently but typically as a deliberate understatement.

[charmingemily]

ok i see. i understand stravinsky's quote can make pseudo-intellectuals (who are everywhere) squirm. and hell yeah they need to be insulted and made fun of.

think flaubert's sarcasm!

[TimRuffle]

Ah yes- Flaubert. I was just reading about him...

...having Googled him...

...after reading your comment.

Hmm. Maybe I should stroke my beard for a while- it might help me think of a clever response.

[charmingemily]

if you want to read about flaubert, read julian barne's "flaubert's parrot". it's very intelligent and hilarious.

if you want to read flaubert (which is how you essentially get to understand him), read madame bovary. (are you into literature?) if not, you might need to read twice- three times to get his witty sarcasm. (my reaction and many ppl's first impression of the book is that it's very boring. but reading the the third time, i realized he's a genius)

[TimRuffle]

I've... heard of literature :-)

I've a to read pile that could cause serious injury if it fell over. I absolutely positively must not acquire any more books. Not many anyway.

[charmingemily]

hahaha you've definitely succeeded in thinking of a clever response

what's in that pile though?

[TimRuffle]

Nothing respectable- mostly science-fiction.

[lilythepink123]

@TimRuffle gosh, maybe I should grow a beard! Oh shit, I'm a girl.

[Yoshi5020]

@charmingemily huh... wonder why he hated so much what they did with his work in Fantasia.

[TimRuffle]

Almost clever for the sake of being clever but written and performed with such a sense of fun that only the most hopelessly inverted snob could find fault.

Is it just me who gets the impression that the singers probably needed a lot of rehearsal before they could get through this without cracking up?

[pila406]

Absolutly geniusity

[aomf58]

It's polyphony at its best... beautifully done.

[hoopsmaster13]

This hurt my brain...

[MrNoelJMIS]

4:47 "hope so..."

Hahaha!

That bass singer is a BEAST!!

[curleysloth]

4:34 -- "woah" -- K.R.

[BradipoNinja]

Ehi - I can follow only one voice at time ! - This is crazy :-D ... but ... I want to write a fugue!

[noraui]

I like his sense of humour.

[curiousgeorge555]

This is outstanding. I love it when classical musicians/composers have a sense of humor. Take a look at my take of Gould playing Bachs 1st prelude. ~cg5

BTW If I had the patience of Gould I would have spent days and days perfecting it.

[GKesik]

So, I wrote some fugues (and preludes) in j.S. Bach's style... There are on my channel. I invite :)

[britandveg]

I wrote a fugue. It was difficult but fun and educational.

[jackeddemon]

0:35-0:45 is polyphony at its best.

[Rinhos]

I love when at 3'55'' the two main themes ("So you want to write a fugue" and "Never be clever") are put together in perfect harmony ♥

[ThisIsMe113]

thats absolutely amazing. how hard would it to be to sing? wow and it sounds brilliant too!

[Kurtyoungblood]

This is so good. Awesome cellist and bass too.

[dzeljpiano]

I want to write a fugue too ^^

[Kurtyoungblood]

I am not at all well versed in choral music but are there any other fugues like this in english for four voices?

[trevjr]

No, but listen to Bach's b minor Mass, plenty of fugues for voices there. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis has some great choral fugues also.

Ha, Glenn wrote this, pure genius. Not very easy for the singers either.Full of jokes, quotes of the Brandenburgs I think. You really have to know music to get all the jokes in here! A little Wagner too,ha! This is at least a double fugue, maybe triple! Genius!

[Kurtyoungblood]

I hear an ascending French suite run!

[OsovsCerdo]

Five suns. Great beutiful thing!

[PerrrfictKats]

I LOVED this! I about fell outta my chair laughing! It,s a knee slapper as well as a keeper! WHAT A HOOT!!

[Frozentoes1]

Pure Gould.

[soltisviolin]

I could not have said it better!

[xXxTasimoxXx]

Beautiful.

[nakaza3421]

It's rather witty and cheery!

[bachopinberg]

Che palle sta fuga

[pianoman189]

TOTALY GENIUS!

[bachprelude]

genius.

[Ang3lus2006]

that genius guy was hilarious.

[hykue617]

i don't know how to agree with you more there

[twolegsnotail]

thank you for your posts. well done