The Philadelphia Orchestra - "Wagner: Parsifal" (1956) - Columbia Masterworks
Hello Friends,
Keeping it classy again this fine November morning on Vinyl in the Valley.
The opera, Parsifal, would be Richard Wagner's last great opera as well as the culmination of his larger-than-life career and mythic body of work. The original opera lasts for nearly five hours(!). Its a football Sunday at the Vinyl in the Valley HQ and we don't have that kind of time on our hands! Luckily, its been parsed down two sides of an LP so we can enjoy some of its most memorable moments while in our slippers and chasing last night's hangover away with some strong, black coffee!
And this record does get our juices flowing! This is a very big-sounding, bad-ass record, with lots of heavy-sounding themes, intimating brass, build-ups, crescendos, sinister silences and unnerving quiet moments. Its basically doom metal for the classical crowd! Its the kind of music that makes you want to "air conduct", climb a mountain or lead an army. Its no wonder that the music of Wagner would really have a tendency to rev up the scary-types like Adolph Hitler, Nosferatu or Darth Vader.
Written by Richard Wagner over a period of 25 years, the complete opera debuted at the Bayreuth Festival in Bayreuth, Germany in 1882. In a nutshell, the story follows Parsifal, from a young orphan boy to King of the Knights of the Holy Grail. Along the way, there's action a-plenty featuring knights, witches, wizards, holy grails, magic spears, femme fatales, holy communions, death and redemption.
Heady shit while you're trying to drink your morning coffee!
RATING: 4 today europe, tomorrow the worlds out of 5
And this record does get our juices flowing! This is a very big-sounding, bad-ass record, with lots of heavy-sounding themes, intimating brass, build-ups, crescendos, sinister silences and unnerving quiet moments. Its basically doom metal for the classical crowd! Its the kind of music that makes you want to "air conduct", climb a mountain or lead an army. Its no wonder that the music of Wagner would really have a tendency to rev up the scary-types like Adolph Hitler, Nosferatu or Darth Vader.
Written by Richard Wagner over a period of 25 years, the complete opera debuted at the Bayreuth Festival in Bayreuth, Germany in 1882. In a nutshell, the story follows Parsifal, from a young orphan boy to King of the Knights of the Holy Grail. Along the way, there's action a-plenty featuring knights, witches, wizards, holy grails, magic spears, femme fatales, holy communions, death and redemption.
Heady shit while you're trying to drink your morning coffee!
RATING: 4 today europe, tomorrow the worlds out of 5
