Vaughan-Williams - Tallis Fantasia (1/2) One of the best performances ever!!

[seeer1978]

It is like meeting the Queen Elizabeth the II! Such a luxurious and royal melody! It is so rich and multicolored, it is a masterpiece. I really got shocked by this music, by its sadness, sorrow and depth, it breaks you into pieces, it unleashes uneasy forces of our minds, it makes you wanna die now rather some other time. I want to be finished with a soundtrack of this masterpiece.

[1969Chronos]

Sublime music. Exquisitely performed.

[Strefanasha]

the writer A N WIlson in his book The Victorians made a major gaffe IMO when he said RVW was a minor composer and that Prince Albert ( a composer as well as prince consort to Victoria R I) was a better composer than Vaughan Williams.

Comments? has anyone heard any music by the prince of Saxe Coburg Gotha??

[bartje11]

@Strefanasha Hello Steve! I didn't even know Prince Albert was a composer......

[sesanner]

@Strefanasha From my truly modest reading, it would seem A N Wilson is far more acquainted with controversy, hyperbole, and salesmanship than with music. Ralph Vaughan Williams, a minor composer?

Wilson demonstrates a stubborn fondness for certain myths. Perhaps his Prince Albert claim supports a story line Wilson enjoys. His entry into the worlds of music, its composition, its history and criticism overshoots borders of myth and explores the netherlands of self-deluding fantasy. IMO.

[STOBINNIAN]

I totally agree with you bartje11...this always reminds me of the peaks and mountains back home in Scotland, it certainly doesn't conjure up meadows and sleepy rivers, but thats just my opinion, love RVW and must thank you enormously for posting this, it is a most beautiful version indeed

[bartje11]

@STOBINNIAN You are welcome! Thanks for you kind comments!

[Strefanasha]

@STOBINNIAN hmm, to me it is "the cloud capped spires and dreaming palaces" (which I think is a quote from shakespeare, correct me if i am wrong) and it is my hankering for an england i never knew, being a mere colonial.

so this is entirely a mystical dream land to me, what i dream my ancestral homeland to be (though I know full well it was not)

[BigBillie01]

@STOBINNIAN A vast age, unfathomable, unreachable The search for perfection, never attained yet viewable to all.

[danskheste]

Love this composer and this piece, thanks for the marvelous performance.

[smrgeog]

Powerfully moving piece of music in the spiritual sense.

[evilstig2]

(For those interested in the background) Looks a fair bit like Los Cuernos at Torres del Paine in Chile. 

[vlissingse]

Thank you, Bartje! i'm familiar with the piece, but finding it on YouTube is an unexpected treat!

Gelukkig en voorspoedig nieuwjaar !

[randallmckay]

this is awe...some

[Strefanasha]

last time i played this ( I was a bass player) the conductor, who was a former trombonist, would not let string players do what string players do. it nearly came to blows when he DEMANDED that the viola who started the quartet section at 6:17 take it MUCH faster than usual and the violist rightly refused but was forced to capitulate. the result was only capable. nothing more

he insulted his players and no longer directs my old orchestra

this here conductor clearly understands strings

[cogidubnus1953]

@Strefanasha If you google Sir Andrew Davis you'll find out why "this here conductor clearly understands strings"

[THEMGOROTH75]

Hey,friend,can you tell me where can i find it on Internet and download it?Does this specific performance exist somewhere in a cd??

[bartje11]

@THEMGOROTH75 I listed it several times in the comments. But here is it again: BBC Music MM83, CD came with BBC Music Magazine.

[THEMGOROTH75]

@bartje11 Ah,i see.Thank you a lot my friend,i will search for it!

[psciulka]

Love it!!!! Is there something more magical than this? Cudowne :)

[suburbanmommy5]

Most emotional music I've come across since elgar's enigma. Love them both for the depth I feel in my soul. The apocalyptic image is strong, but when I heard this on classical radio, a listener said they had driven just outside our city to the desert, where the stars were clear and numberless. Just sat in the darkness on the hood of her car and let this music run through her. Can't wait to try it next summer when I need to get away or be alone to think. Wonderful!!

[THEMGOROTH75]

OHHH!!!!EEEEEEEEPIC!!!!!!

[hearttoheart4me]

I can't stop listening to this music. It is so intoxicating and beautiful..

[ffOSTnerd217]

viola made me cry honestly...

[Andresocean]

I love it :D... could you upload the whole theme in just one video?

[RichardofChelsea]

That's not the lake District.....

[bartje11]

@RichardofChelsea It said it under the photo. Wherever the mountains are, is just fine with me. Who gives a rip anyways.

[kaleidoscopeheart91]

THE best piece of music ever written. EVER.

[tonycrofts1100]

@kaleidoscopeheart91 i totally totally agree. has an eerie kind of sound blended with incredible sadness. disastrous and hellish pictures come in to my head of a world destroyed by nuclear war. just here and there the odd tiny flower or blade of grass poking through a grey powdery dust. a planet destroyed by Man's greed and never to see organic life again. wow, i never thought a piece of music would ever give me such vivid and powerful emotions. i thought of piece when Concorde crashed.

[DjAotaka]

Music is amazing.

[eireflute]

It's not cmoplete! The best part of lopped off! NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!

[aerodynamite88]

Calling this music 'quintessentially English' does not do it justice at all. It is far more universal than that.

[donnyab]

@aerodynamite88

Agreed. I really try to avoid reading moronic comments on YT as best I can.

Music is so far removed from nationality and nationalism its ridiculous.

Its like saying the Beatles are soooo Liverpudlian ... no, they happened to come from Liverpool is all, they could just as easily have been born in Redcar.

[cogidubnus1953]

I'm most particular about RVW and I'll go beyond "exceptional" - take the "question mark" off the title please...

[bartje11]

@cogidubnus1953 Hahaha. Yes Sir! good idea! I will.

[bartje11]

@cogidubnus1953 I added exclamation marks instead. Are two enough?

[cogidubnus1953]

@bartje11 Just the one would suffice...I'm currently listening yet again...glorious.

[cogidubnus1953]

Exceptional...

[mandarinlearner]

What CD does this come from, I'd like to get it.

[BertAtkin]

Sublime.

[MrsTboneD]

glorious

[jifiPOP101]

Wow they should so try playing this in the grand canyon

[absoluteenergy1]

this is in no way pastoral, it is colossal

[Dukeobelding]

How foolish of me to be listening to music such as this while watching Jackass.

[MortenBoHansen]

I just can't put any right word to this music, besides letting emotion and true musical composing at its finest, do its work. This is beyond amazing!

[crazyviolinguy]

I'm playing this as the concertmaster of orchestra II. IT is such an incredible feeling to play this with other musicians. You experience a bond like no other. There is no other way of putting it. And this orchestra creates that feeling flawlessly

[galluvian]

Firstly why the picture of jagged mountains? This is the most pastoral of English of music. These peaks can't be English.

More seriously, Andrew Davis and the BBC SO did a programme in Gloucester Cathedral for BBC2 in 1999 in the Masterworks series which analysed and played the Tallis Fantasia. Does anyone know if this is the recording from that programme? If it is this clip suggests that it's the best since Barbirolli's 1962 recording in London's Temple Church, but where can I get it?

[bartje11]

@galluvian Thanks for your comment. I like those peaks. The music soars like peaks, not like meadows with sheep in it. But that is my opinion, and, I posted it. Here is the CD: BBC Music MM83, CD came with BBC Music Magazine.

[cbcdesign001]

@bartje11 You could have used shots of the Peaks in the Lake district such as the 3 peaks at WastWater.

[MortenBoHansen]

@galluvian i really dont believe, this particular piece of music. Can be called English. Nore Danish, African or anything else. This is pure music if you ask me. That need no border, between origin, 'cause this symphony has allways bin.

[9DJH3]

@galluvian Actually, there are parts of the Grampians and Lake District that look like this, the two most beautiful mountain ranges in Britain

[bartje11]

@9DJH3 And that is exactly what they are, photo from the Lake District. You are right-on!

[TheVaughan5]

@galluvian Yes this is the recording from the BBC documentary. The film is also on you tube

[3tangle3]

@galluvian this wasnt meant to be pastoral england thats lark ascending, this has his welsh music influence creeping in as well

[Mieasy]

Wunderschön...



[mandarinlearner]

Is there any way that this can be compiled into just one video/clip?

[JimTLonW6]

One of the greatest pieces of English Music. Apparently it was a sensation at its first performance.

[SuperDaveylad]

this lovely music gives me goosebumps, and conjures up great magical,and mystical adventures in my mind

[dulCISSIMA1]

this could not be composed by human beeing..this is music sent from god!!!

[aerodynamite88]

@dulCISSIMA1 Why is it that good music always gets linked to God? I've got news for you: God doesn't exist. He is an invention conjured up by the human mind to cope with our own pointlessness. This piece is nothing more than just a human accomplishment, and, in my opinion, that makes it even more sublime.

[bartje11]

@aerodynamite88 The answer is: what is the question? The question is that there are no answers, only personal experiences and choices..............You can speak for yourself but nor somebody else. But true, neither can the others speak for you. You use the word sublime, so the circle is complete.

[aerodynamite88]

@bartje11 Correct. That's why I very clearly used 'in my opinion'!

[elkomni]

@bartje11 believe or not i am an atheist too...that is the greatest thing..that i thought about god when i heard this and i dont even believe in him..i was always believe in human but this!1 makes me feel that is something more!!!this is the magic!(dulcissima1,this is from second account)

[Chickidee09]

I swear I have heard this on a movie somewhere...Help?

[kauri44]

@Chickidee09 It was used in the movie Master and Commander

[schwa0schwa]

Every time I hear this song it stirs such emotion... This is the reason I listen to classical music. No other form can make me feel like this.

[maryjames1234]

This is Majestic and Beautific! This is one of my all time favorites. I, also, think it is an exceptional recording, perhaps because of being recorded in a cathedral, where a vortex of higher energies can be created. It is very, very moving. Thank you for the story and posting!

[flossie5432]

food for the soul.

[ImahGoer]

So beautiful. Not sure it's the best ever - Barry Wordsworth gives it a close run IMO.

[dlong6184]

I'm easily making ten minutes for this at two hours past midnight.

[aerodynamite88]

This has cut me in half.

[vulcan1429]

You cut this short!?!?!

[bartje11]

@vulcan1429 Had to. At that time You Tube allowed only 10:59 minutes. 

[monkiboi14]

If you stare long enough, the clouds move

[Kiete]

@monkiboi14 Oh, the power of suggestion. XD

I am in love with this song. <3

[Picklesnipe]

Something very adventurous and epic about this, one of my favourite pieces.

[palmerdy]

Absolutely beautiful

[Varoom68]

I agree never give up Die with your boots on. Make Mother nature and the Earth murder you. Never give up. Allways fight to go farward. Allways Fight.

[glueskin]

lifts the soul,, from the county of saints , siners, pitmen and poets,,, Durham gods country,, this is a wondeful work and so uplifting it always reminds me of home and hardship suffered by our great County

[ecolinkinparkgirl657]

my school orchestra is playing this!!! it's hard to learn, but it's a really beautiful song!!!! love it! :D

[WekBen]

This is music.

[feta3000]

Like? How is it possible not to like ...

[sechszigplus]

wunderbar..erstklassik..phanta­stisch..einfach herrlich !

[Obroten]

When i am hearing this orchestral piece iam travelling above the sea!!!!!

[grinreaperdutchphil]

there's slight distortion in it unfortunately. but yeah great piece.

[hotcakes33]

Can someone post the recording/CD information for this performance. I purchased a CD with Andrew Davis conducting .amazon.com/Vaughan-Williams-S­ymphony-Ascending-Fantasia/dp/­B000000SEB/ref=sr_1_7?s=music&­ie=UTF8&qid=1289570440&sr=1-7, but it is not this version. Is it part of a complete set of Vaughan Williams works?

[bfdpowers]

@hotcakes33 From what I understand this recording was available as a cover CD on a past issue of BBC Music Magazine. I don't know if its commercial available. If anyone knows where to find it, please let me know!

[footyfbaby]

could play this over n over for days...this is good music

[alexface211]

One of the most moving pieces of orchestral music ever. Enough said.

[StandUp555]

Wonderful .. first heard it when I was ca. 16 . Very beautiful.

[sibeliandrift]

What an *excellent* performance.  Not a single wasted note...

[crazyelliexxx23]

i agree best performance :P xxxx

[spamkkkiller]

In every musical composition of note, there are "magical moments". However, the very BEST pieces of music are sheer magic from beginning to end. This incredible work of art which combines the merits of both of England's top 2 composers, is magical through and through: every second is heart-breakingly beautiful - and as you opine, this performance is particularly fabulous!!! Thanks so much for posting.

[OxManofSteelxO]

i just realized i already have this song on my ipod! however, it still doesn't beat "the lark ascending"

[crazyelliexxx23]

@OxManofSteelxO nah nothing does :P

[MizBee28]

Something about this music wants to bring tears to my eyes. It's so surreal, so beautiful

[lamlyn]

This always felt like a great musical accompaniment to the lord of the rings, don't know why..

[crazyelliexxx23]

@lamlyn haha! i've always thaught that! XD

[lamlyn]

@crazyelliexxx23 it just seems to fit with the scale and style of it. It's a great peice of music though :)

[furryfish71]

music to stir the soul, awaken the spirit. X

[iamthelimit]

Just great... it feels like i am near a lake and i'm watching some kind of fantastic movements of water, and i'm carried away trough those movements and brought to another world, a fantasy world...

[masquerade94alice]

my orchestra (chiles high school in florida) is playing this piece. i love it so much! if you play it right, you can get goosebumps. its the most amazing feeling in the world!

[mrxt500]

@masquerade94alice Have you heard the Sea Symphony ? You can smell the seaweed and taste the salt in the air when you hear it.

[Cinthyacg91]

@masquerade94alice yes! Oh My goodness!

[BarbedFire1]

@masquerade94alice

I know what you mean. Our county and county schools orchestras string sections are playing this piece together and I keep feeling the hairs on my neck raise when we play certain sections of the music, especially swells. btw our conductor is Peter Stark for those who know of him ; )

[FarginBastiges]

@masquerade94alice There is a symphonic band piece called "Sketches on a Tudor Psalm" by Fisher Tull that also uses this Tallis melody and you're right, it will give you goosebumps.

[yourforte]

This is a beautiful piece. And this is a great performance.

[lewars1912]

bartje11. Right enough. All the best.