If anyone might be interested in Nicodé's "Gloria!" Symphony, here we go:
"Gloria!" at klassik resampled (http://klassik-resampled.de/index.php?option=com_multicategories&view=article&id=854:jean-louis-nicode-gloria&catid=204&Itemid=587&lang=en)
For those who might prefer not to listen all of the 250 000 notes of this 123 Minute composition I have also provided a little
"Gloria!"at klassik-resampled Youtube-Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O9Se1aNSNU)
In my ears "Gloria!" is more than a quantum leap for Nicodé compared with the already quite intelligent and interesting "Sea" (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,4382.msg46783.html#msg46783) not only in regard to the overwhelming but still reasonable formal architecture, but aswell for the density of his counterpoint an thematic work, while still being courageous enough for several completly original and new concepts of orchestral composition.
I hope my attempt to realize this piece could help at least a bit to give an impression of Nicodé's specific qualities as composer compared to his comtemporaries like Mahler, Strauss, Sibelius, Debussy etc.
best
Steffen
Thank you very much for all your hard work. Magnificent!
Thank you Steffen for all your hard work. It's likely to be the only chance I ever get of hearng this work. Wonderful!
Yes, many thanks, Steffan. I took the liberty of capturing it as an MP3 as I was listening so if you would like it in that format, I certainly could upload it for you. Or, with your permission of course, upload it for the forum. Can listen a bit more leisurely, I think, when you're not streaming on line.
Jerry
I too would certainly be grateful to be able to listen to this very long piece from a download rather than from a streaming site, but clearly it's up to Steffen...
I think I can imagine, what you mean, it is what also many asked for the 120 Klengel Canons & Fugues.
The main reason why I hesitate to let copies spread all over the WWW is the fact, that I easily can improve everything what I stream from my site whenever I fell this might be necessary. But I cant improve anything any more which is copied to everywhere else.
I simply really dont like to hear recordings I have done where I know what is wrong but can not fix it.
I hope you might understand this a bit and hope that it is at least still possible to listen in a somehow acceptable way even when the Music is streamed.
Perhaps I should provide alternativ streams with recordings with lower samplerates to be easier streamed. Let me know if this would make things better to listen?
best
Steffen
This is one heck of a piece. Very long - and often VERY LOUD. Actually, of course, that is just as daft a statement as saying that Mahler 8, Gurrelieder or the Gothic is very loud, because there's just as much that is quiet and meditative in Gloria! as there is in those other works. No, this is a great work that now cries out to be recorded. Perhaps cpo might be interested?
Friends may be interested in this link:
http://www.vonhausegger.com/files/Three%20by%20Nicode.pdf (http://www.vonhausegger.com/files/Three%20by%20Nicode.pdf)
I've only skimmed that dissertation so far but found that interesting...
Are you aware of the Dresden Philharmonic's current efforts with 'Gloria'? I discovered this interesting article (https://www.dresdnerphilharmonie.de/en/action/sponsoring-association/project-nicode/) which sounds somewhat hopeful.
It does indeed sound hopeful, but the article says their aspiration is to have a complete set of orchestral parts by 2023. Do we know if that goal was achieved? If so, the next stage would surely be to try to mount a performance (and, one hopes, a recording) of this work, a massive undertaking I admit. Well, it happened for Brian's Gothic Symphony - perhaps Nicode will be lucky too. I really hope so.
Yes, I'd seen this and thought for a moment a recording was being made!
I have emailed them to ask about the project and hope to get a reply soon.
I have relocated the discussion of Nicodé's Gloria to this earlier thread.
Thanks to Wheesht for contacting the Dresden orchestra about their project.
A reply has just come in from Dr. Joswig, chairman of the board of the Friends of the Dresden Philharmonic:
The project to restore Nicodé's performance material is a bit behind schedule but nearing completion. Five of the six movements have been completed and the sixth is nearing completion so that the material should be ready this month or in October.
As for a performance, the first and last movements have already been performed, in separate concerts but without recordings. They hope they will succeed in making a performance possible but because of the huge forces involved and the long duration of the performance, this is a task that their association will not be able to accomplish alone. They have put me on a mailing list and will keep me informed of any new developments.
Marvellous - thanks!
Would it be possible for me to contact them also in order to offer my support?
Absolutely, I'll PM you later.
Very kind.
Fantastic news!
Does anyone have any further news about this project?
Erm, I hate to mention it, but I've just tried the first section in the computer generated version on YouTube (again), and I'm wondering whether this is the most spectacular musical 'weisse(r) Elefant' ever composed. Now shoot me down (metaphorically speaking)...
I won't. Gloria dwarfs anything by Lachner in terms of self-indulgence. To paraphrase Carl Sagan, great ambitions require great execution, but there's far too little of the latter to justify the former. Das Meer is already stretching artistic believability, but it's tolerable (and musically more interesting than Gloria). However, from the rest of Nicodé's oeuvre it's clear that his strength lay in much more concise works.
Here's the YouTube rendering of the first movement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CgmdQQwk3w
Thanks for not shooting me down (metaphorically), Ilja.
I have emailed the project team to ask if there is any news. I'll report here once I have had a reply.
Thanks. A recording of some or all of the work would be heartily welcomed, of course.
Did we hear back on any updates?
I was in touch with the project team back in March and they said they may have news before the summer break. If and when I have heard back from them I'll mention it here.
Good news that they are keeping us in the loop!
Quote from: Wheesht on Tuesday 20 May 2025, 16:17If and when I have heard back from them I'll mention it here.
That's very good of you - thanks!
This is the latest news, from 4 July: There will be a performance of the symphony, but it will take place later than originally planned as the Dresden Philharmonic has now taken on the lead, and planning schedules for a professional body such as this are obviously more complex and take longer. The performance is now scheduled to happen in October 2027. The symphony will be played by the orchestra of the Friends of the Dresden Philharmonic, which will be augmented by members of the Dresden Philharmonic to double the number of musicians.
Terrific news! Thank you for the update Wheesht.
Quote from: Wheesht on Saturday 05 July 2025, 10:08The performance is now scheduled to happen in October 2027
Will it be recorded, I wonder?
I certainly hope so. It is unlikely to get a second performance anytime soon!
Despite everything I'm going to try and be there, of course.
Perhaps we could make it an Unsung Composers get-together? We might share our Stockholm Syndrome afterwards.
If a recording's not made, it'll be a tragedy of epic proportions. If Hyperion was interested enough to capture the Gothic back in 2011, surely someone will do the same for Gloria!...
Some info also seems to be here at the Dresden Philharmonic's website (https://www.dresdnerphilharmonie.de/en/action/sponsoring-association/project-nicode/), by the by (on a page encouraging people to sponsor the cost of making new performing materials, etc. but which does contain intriguing info.)
From that page: "The production will be done by hand, since the parts have to be set from the autograph."
Hold on... maybe I don't understand this correctly, but if Steffen Fahl has entered the whole thing into Sibelius, how hard can it be to generate the parts?
In the message I received from the project team in March, it was clearly stated that "die Noten alle fertig sind", which I understand to mean that the score and parts are ready. So that website information would appear to be out of date. Is it possible, though, that the people of the Dresden project team are/were not aware of what Steffen Fahl has done?
This is also assuming that parts generated from his material are good enough for an actual performance. If, say, for example, Mr. Fahl emphasized MIDI/sound-quality over fidelity to score (from my experience with Encore and Finale these take one's choices in different directions, so this is a real question), then the answer to "how hard can it be to generate the parts" could be very hard indeed.
Quote from: Wheesht on Saturday 05 July 2025, 10:08The performance is now scheduled to happen in October 2027.
The Dresden Philharmonic website currently has their schedule going out to July 2027, so hopefully we'll see this posted in the next few months.