Uplifting 20th/21st century works

[chill319]

Some find the last movement of Copland's Symphony 3 uplifting. (Despite obvious differences, some  interesting parallels exist between Copland and Larsson, including their mix of serial and popular outputs, their single full operas, their three numbered symphonies -- written about the same times, their economy of means...)

[M. Henriksen]

I've highlighted these two works on this forum before:

Erland von Koch - Nordic Capriccio (1943)
Eivind Groven - Hjalar-ljod Overture (1950)

It's difficult not to get in a better mood hearing these very jolly compositions! 


Morten

[eschiss1]

in my honest opinion (and probably not widely-shared) Nicolai Medtner's 2nd violin sonata and piano quintet (at least as performed in the recording with Svetlanov).  Not just because of the catchy secondary themes in the finales of each  though I admit those don't hurt, either.

[semloh]

I've highlighted these two works on this forum before:

Erland von Koch - Nordic Capriccio (1943)
Eivind Groven - Hjalar-ljod Overture (1950)

It's difficult not to get in a better mood hearing these very jolly compositions! 


Morten

Interesting choices, Morten. I don't suppose you would have uploadable versions of these? 

I would love to share your pleasure, and I am always keen to hear music that's "jolly". My frame of mind is such that I need plenty of this alongside the Mahler and Pettersson!! 

[MikeW]

Erland von Koch - Nordic Capriccio (1943)
Eivind Groven - Hjalar-ljod Overture (1950)

Interesting choices, Morten. I don't suppose you would have uploadable versions of these? 

I found both on Spotify (links embedded above). YMMV with country access. The first one seemed like a Scandelgarian overture, the second was very filmic.

[M. Henriksen]

I'm sorry, I don't have uploadable versions, but surely others have. Make a request at the Download forum!

A couple of details about Hjalar-ljod: It was composed for the 900th anniversary of the city of Oslo in 1950. It's title comes from the Norwegian word hjale/hjaling which is a mix of shouting and singing often used by herders in the Norwegian mountains. Hjaling was often used to get in contact with other herders within hearing distance but out of sight.
Ljod means 'sound'. So the title can be translated to "The sound of hjaling".
Groven also uses a typical herder-song from the area Gudbrandsdalen in this overture, and the rhythm of the work is based on a type of folk dance called gangar.
It may be filmic, but I think it's very much Eivind Groven. A composer with a very distinct sound in my point of view.


Morten

[Peter1953]

Levenszomer. Summer of Life, a fantasy for orchestra, op. 21 by Johan Wagenaar (1903, according to cpo booklet notes 1902). A most enthusiastic, positive and memorable piece of music, beautifully orchestrated and lasting nearly a quarter of an hour. To be found on Etcetera (2008) and cpo (2009).

[reiger]

The first movement of Vittorio Giannini's Divertimento #2 always lifts my spirits. Pure joy! I believe the only available recording is on the Louisville Orchestra LP #642.

[Mark Thomas]

Welcome to UC, reiger.

[Revilod]

"Unsung": Ludolf Nielsen's Second Symphony...the "Symphony of Joy"
"Sung": The final bars of Janacek's "The Cunning Little Vixen" and his "Sinfonietta".
Strauss's "Sinfonia Domestica".
...and hundreds of others because I spend so much of my life listening to music precisely because I find so much of it uplifting.

[eschiss1]

The answer for me is still "quite a few", but I had to add Dohnanyi's Sextet for winds, strings and piano to my list ... (it may be just a simple technical device that does it - the big odd arpeggio for the entire ensemble at a certain point in the outer movements - but if it's simple it's still effective.)

[swanekj]

You see what poetic flight of fancy the Larsson inspired in me....
Pretentious, moi? 

Pretentious, nu!

"Unsung": Ludolf Nielsen's Second Symphony...the "Symphony of Joy"
"Sung": The final bars of Janacek's "The Cunning Little Vixen" and his "Sinfonietta".
Strauss's "Sinfonia Domestica".
...and hundreds of others because I spend so much of my life listening to music precisely because I find so much of it uplifting.

The end of Cunning Little Vixen (always check spelling on this one) is a joy.

[Sydney Grew]

. . . Do forum members experience other pieces of post-1900 music in this particular way? If so, which ones?

Delius's Violoncello Concerto is second to none in that regard, through the sheer power of melody.

[davetubaking]

for sheer joy I'd slap on Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano and soon be dancing round the room. Cage wrote so much music and much of it is really rather jolly.

For uplifting it has to be Mahler 2 or to keep in the unsung spirit (if six or so performances is unsung) Brian's Gothic.

[chill319]

In Symphonies 2 and 3, L Nielsen set his sights on an unmistakable point of epiphany or catharsis (though "unmistakable" may go too far, considering how Mahler felt it necessary to mark the high point of a movement in his Symphony 5 as "high point" so that conductors wouldn't miss it).

With respect to this thread, is genuine catharsis/epiphany anything else but joyous? Or is it merely "limbic"?

Be that as it may, while the architecture of movements differ considerably in L Nielsen's and Larsson's symphonies 2, there is something about the latter's sound world that reminds me strongly of the earlier work.