Rosemary Brown (medium) : Nocturne in A flat ( inspired by Chopin, 21 June 1966 )

[Dfrankjazz]

I've been studying Rosemary Brown lately. Her Unfinished Symphonies is a beautiful book, full of beautiful insights into life and spirituality, very inspirational. The piano playing on the piece is very lovely..I am sad to hear that the music she has written almost all is very common and not at all good, except for the Grubelei piece which is very nice..no way Chopin could have transmitted something so ordinary and pianistically boring. Too bad..

[PSearPianist]

@Dfrankjazz It is indeed a good book. As you say, it is a shame she never transmitted (as far as we know) an undisputed masterpiece by one of the composers she communicated with. I wonder what happened to her manuscripts?

[thrippleton]

It's uncannily like Chopin,isn't it? Either Rosemary was really in touch with him or I'd say she was a brilliant composer in her own right.

[PSearPianist]

@thrippleton We will never know.....

[nityanandi]

@PSearPianist Thrippleton says we won't know? How could she have surpassed Beethoven, Lizst, Brahms, Debussy, so on...at their own game? We know. But we THINK. We think in dominant paradigm, stupidity. KNOW !

[welsonbil]

(Jesus WALKING on the Water)

[LeYell0w]

@welsonbil This piece is not so easy to play

it looks like a strange atmosphere (the end with very low octaves )

[welsonbil]

@PSearPianist Can you play the song "Jesus Walink on the Water", by Rosemary Brown, inspired by Liszt?

I love this song!

Thank you!

[PSearPianist]

@welsonbil I will see - I have it, but was not that impressed with the piece!

[vrartist]

Those of you who are interested please read "Unfinished symphonies" (Amazon), Rosemary Browns her book ...own words ... she explains all this in detail. As for the 'paranormal voice of Chopin", it is real. He spoke many times, probably at least about 60 times. I personally transferred reel to reel tapes of his communications to digital for "The Leslie Flint Educational trust" ... go to the web site and listen for yourself.

[PSearPianist]

@vrartist Thank you for that - that's really interesting information for viewers of this vid.

[losinggrip1993]

Interesting stuff! I'm very pessimistic about the apparent paranormal voice of Chopin, he speaks very good English and surely if it was proven to be real it would be an evolution in the understanding of the paranormal? Considering Paranormal experts get excited about little grunts/noises in Paranormal recordings - a full conversation would be a breakthrough! There's something about this piece though that makes me think Chopin, I can't put my finger on it - but there's something there!

[PSearPianist]

@losinggrip1993 That's an interesting comment. The piece does have a certain authentic feel, although it could never be considered 'top drawer' Chopin.

[Versailles1798]

While this does have a "Chopinesque" sound to it, it doesn't really fit in with Chopin's other nocturnes. Sounds more like the style of one of his Mazurkas or even an earlier Valse.

[PSearPianist]

@Versailles1798 I think that's a fair comment.

[SJ13lover]

wowww!! i reallyyyyyrealyyyyy like your videos and your emotion in the pieces! i love your playingg! could you please play "fantasia in d minor" by mozart? i would love to hear your interpretations on that song! :)

[PSearPianist]

@SJ13lover Thank you for that. I'm glad you like the videos. I have played the Mozart Fantasia, but there are lots of other recordings already on YT, including some that have had over 100k views. If I were to add a recording it would be so low in the rankings that no-one would spot it!

[pianolasociety]

Ah, the 70s! Far too many people wanted to believe dear old Rosemary didn't they. Her work is nicely cobbled pastiche-work for the credulous but that's all. Overall humankind holds many even wackier beliefs in the absurd which kind of makes Rosemary's tall tale seem comparatively believable - except it's as barkingly random as godzilla, scientology, area 51 and babbling-in-tongues LOL

[PSearPianist]

@pianolasociety There is a lot of interest in the pieces even today - no-one else seems to have done anything similar. I suppose one has to wonder why Liszt, Chopin etc. would have chosen her and not (say) Lang Lang as their agent on Earth.

[pianolasociety]

@PSearPianist Bendel wrote an Andante in the style of Mozart, Scott-Baker wrote variations on air "Brighton Camp" in the styles of Debussy etc, there are many other examples. Rosemary Brown was just the last in a long line of stuff that had gone far out of fashion by about 1910. The whole afterlife gag was a lame attention ploy just like Kreisler's "Pugnani" - though Kreisler came clean and his writing in an ancient style was far more accomplished by comparison to Brown's amateur efforts.

[PSearPianist]

@pianolasociety Ah, but as far as I know none of those composers claimed to be 'channelling' the music from the original composers in a mediumistic way.

[AmadeusProject]

@PSearPianist It makes sense to me. If Lang Lang had been chosen, then it would have seemed quite unremarkable for him to have composed music in the style of Chopin or Liszt. After all, he has trained as a musician and is no doubt familiar with much of their work. In contrast, Rosemary Brown had no such training to fall back on so how did she do it?

[PSearPianist]

@AmadeusProject I see your point. I wonder if - now she has passed on - they will find another medium. I have not heard of anyone else doing anything similar since she died.

[AmadeusProject]

@PSearPianist I've not heard of anyone else doing the same thing either, although I'm sure these great musicians will be guiding other musicians in different ways - John Lill for example has a clairvoyant capability and has revealed that he is guided by Beethoven.

Having managed to acquire and read all three of RB's books, I've come to appreciate just how remarkable this story was, but have heard very little of her music. Thanks so much for giving us all an opportunity to hear this piece.

[sneekymum]

Upper mordant on first beat of the last bar - to Gb or G ? I thought Gb sounded better but then I've spent too long on the 2nd page.

[PSearPianist]

@sneekymum I can't remember what I did on the video, but looking at the score, definitely a G natural!

[sneekymum]

Very Lovely - & quite haunting too. I'm working on this at the moment, with the help of my teacher who saw Rosemary Brown in concert (and is a believer). I hope I can do it justice as I'm planning to play it for an Associated Board Performance Assessment later this year. I wonder what the examiner will make of it?

[PSearPianist]

@sneekymum Thank you. What an interesting comment - and I'm sure the ABRSM examiner will be fascinated to hear you play it. You will have to consider whether you present it as being by Chopin or Rosemary Brown! Good luck with your study of the piece!

[FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

Excuse me. Very clever, but rather hackneyed. The tempo never goes beyond a standard 3/4. The melodic lines also sound as though they have been heard and recycled from other works.

It's not Chopin sorry but rather pretty all the same.

[PSearPianist]

@FishingtonBurpPuzzle Thank you for your comment. One can understand that if it is by Chopin, he might be a bit rusty after 120 years, and it would certainly not be top drawer Chopin. However, it is certainly far more like Chopin than the composer's 'Variations on a theme of Rossini' for flute and piano, which always seem to me totally inauthentic.

[soami2u]

Very nicely played, and it does have some appealing early-Chopin / Field-like characteristics. I remember reading somewhere that Chopin also came to Rosemary Brown and told her (in French) that her bathtub was overflowing)!

[PSearPianist]

@soami2u Thank you - and I find your anecdote very amusing!

[TheCatJoker]

I don't know how you can tell one composer's work from another's, but this sure doesn't sound like it was written in 1966.  Aren't people who've passed away supposed to reincarnate after a while? Why are the great composers lingering out of body for so long?

[PSearPianist]

@TheCatJoker I only wish I knew the answers to your questions!

[offyam]

@TheCatJoker Yes i have heard the same thing and have opposing thoughts about the "time limit" factor of death, 7 years as indicated through the Tibetan Book of the Dead. But the "dead" exist on another "plane", or dimension, their natural laws certainly differ from our own but nonetheless "physical", in the sense of "real" laws still do exist. Who knows, let's figure this puzzle out!

[kozanstatue]

Interesting piece. It sounds a bit Chopinesque to my ears (particularly the first few bars), though I happen to have recently learned Chopin's most popular Nocturne (op 9 no 2) so it may be that my ears are primed a little and I'm hearing that particular interval (albeit in a different key). Interesting story by the composer, perhaps channeled to her via Christopher Marlowe!

[PSearPianist]

@kozanstatue Thank you! This piece is actually quite convincing for the most part.

[asterix4448]

Hay cosas que existen aunque no se puedan probar. En este caso no solo tienes que ver para creer, sino más bien creer para ver. Bravo Maestro.

[Finalist7]

Just discovered about Rosemary Brown.

It's exactly Chopin's music, I think.

[PSearPianist]

Well, this is certainly quite close.

[pianopera]

If Mrs. Brown indeed "received" this directly from Chopin in the hereafter, then his composing didn't get any better there, au contraire!

[PSearPianist]

I certainly would not promote this as first rank Chopin (if it is Chopin at all!). One has to ask the question - would he have been able to tune into music written after his death and be influenced by it?

[clavis55]

This is amazing Phillip! Where do you found the scores?

[PSearPianist]

I bought it when it was published in the UK in 1974. The book and its successor (which I have not seen) would now be published by Musicsales. As I say, this is the only piece in the book I have that I think is really worth playing.

[clavis55]

@PSearPianist  Thank you!

[coffeeforcreature]

Totally fascinating!

[PSearPianist]

It is!

[justinneversleep]

the beginning is soooo inspired, definitely inspired by chopin!!!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks - glad you liked it!

[stlivermore]

It's simply a matter of musical graphology. Rosemary Brown's Nocturne in A flat doesn't have any of the stylistic elements that characterize and identify as uniquely Chopin's the keyboard writing in the Nocturnes. But your premiere performance of Chopin's most recent work doesn't lack a certain degree of genuine academic charm, as does Rosemary Brown's fascinating story. Good post.

[PSearPianist]

Thank you. I read recently about a very reliable computer program that can identify and verify composers' work through analysis of intervals used etc. It would be fascinating to see that applied to Brown's work.