Last Night of the Proms 1998: Parry - Blest Pair of Sirens

[spasman]

Just sang this in durham cathedral, it was wonderful.

[9DJH3]

The dominant pedal towards the end is by far one of the most tense and emotional harmonic features in English music, fantastic stuff, good performance. Can't beat a bit of Parry

[longeaton34]

Just listened to this again and I am blown away. I know this is Victorian "slush" and I have sung this (Hull University Choir 1982 I think!) but it is SO WELL-WRITTEN - perfection both acedemically and artistically - a student of harmony would do a lot worse were he to study this. My favourite bit is is at 5:18 where the choir move from the unison to harmony. Just lovely....

[longeaton34]

Well I prefer this rather up-tempo version. Blest Pair of Sirens for me is better sung and played quicker. Surely this is what Parry intended?! It certainly seems to work better at the conclusion with "and sing in endless morn of light"

[ros4shopping]

Thanks for uploading this - it has been fantastic for private rehearsals. Southampton Philharmonic Choir will be performing this and lots of other fine English music on Sat 25 June 2011 at Southampton Guildhall, conducted by our inspirational director David Gibson. David has taught us to love this old fashioned but uplifting music - a music lesson, a spiritual experience and a belting good sing all rolled into one!

[RoyalWeddingMusic]

This piece will be playing during the signing of the register at the royal wedding!

[54mayford]

Very stirring, just as it should be.

[MsBellaMorte1]

This took me so long to learn before I sang it; an amazing piece but incredibly difficult to sing as a soprano. Tried singing it as second soprano too, but the parts are surprisingly different. They've done an incredible job here, singing over a full orchestra, but you find that the orchestra plays over them in some places when they start off the line quietly...

[HerrProfessorDoktor]

In terms of musicality, I rate this performance moderate. I personally prefer slightly slower tempos throughout. This one seems a bit breakneck in spots, and it seemed almost to trip over itself in places. There also were some balance problems. Tenors sounded rather anemic and almost absent from the full choral texture in some measures and phrases. I liked the visuals (except for the earring incident around 1:00). The Royal Albert is always lovely - and a perfect setting for this work.

[HerrProfessorDoktor]

This is among the most glorious examples of how the music of the British national composers of ca. 1870-1920 emerged almost organically from the spoken language. It goes far beyond keen sensitivity to Milton's text. The portions that are orchestral only, especially the recurring "sigh" motifs (0:12, 0:18, 0:24-38, 1:00-1:06, 1:10-1:18, &c), represent so splendidly the characteristic inflectional and stress patterns of English as it is properly spoken. It is truly a national treasure.

[65renaissanceman]

This is absolutely typical of English music of 100 years ago... Victorian, sloppy stuff full of rubato and goodness knows what else! I've actually sung this more often than I've been able to hear it - being a bass sitting at the back I rarely get to appreciate it properly and believe me, it is NOT an easy piece. You hear the variance in volume in this video BUT also the tempo pulls about all over the place and without watching the conductor like a hawk you're totally lost. I LOVE IT!

[DrAltais]

Magnificent. I mean proper, get-your-knob-out good.

[ApplebyMennym1]

I sang this with the performance choir at St. Phillips Epicopal Church in Atlanta GA, and although I think it is silly, it does sound beautiful as all Parry pieces do. Shortly after we performed this, our choirmaster was kicked down the road for having an affair with a chorister and everything was ruined.

[ApplebyMennym1]

I sang this with the performance choir at St. Phillips Epicopal Church in Atlanta GA, and although I think it is silly, it does sound beautiful as all Parry pieces do. Shortly after we performed this, our choirmaster was kicked down the road for having an affair with a chorister and everything was ruined.

[pachelbel4]

What great stuff. So english and noble

[Buggaton]

Only 1 rating! Absurd. This is pure excellence. I've been waiting for absolutely ages for someone to upload this piece and an excellent rendition it is too. Although lol at 00:59 when the young lady has an ear issue XD

[NonInflatable]

Goosepimples at 9:50!

Excellent!