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Brahms/Grainger: Free settings of favorite melodies N.1

Discussion in 'Works in Progress' started by eviltea, Mar 27, 2013.

  1. eviltea

    eviltea New Member

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    Hello all,

    I am about to post my own recording of "Brahms/Grainger: Free settings of favorite melodies N.1 'Cradle Song'". This is a transcription of Brahm's Lullaby Op. 49 No. 4. I record it using my smartphone from a practice session and decide to check if the society loves my playing :)

    Please listen to it and give a comment! Thanks.


    Moderator edit: Moved to Works In Progress forum
     
    eviltea, Mar 27, 2013
    #1
  2. pianolady

    pianolady Monica Hart, Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hello and welcome to Piano Society.

    Boy oh boy...Grainger really did a number on this piece! It's not bad, but to my taste it's way over the top! (Liberaci's got nothing on Grainger! ;) )Still, it was interesting to hear.

    Regarding your playing -- seems you are less comfortable on the easier beginning section than on the much more difficult mid-section with all the thousand arpeggios. In the beginning section - I think your pedaling was a bit smeared and then I couldn't hear much of anything in the mid-section except a wash of sound. Not sure if that's because of too much pedal or the poor recording device. We would not take recordings with this bad sound quality anyway, so if you want to submit further recordings in the Audition Room, then you'll have to get a better recorder. And if not, then you can submit in the Works In Progress forum.
     
    pianolady, Mar 27, 2013
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  3. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Well done. It sounds a bit mushy and distant, so it's not easy to properly gauge the quality of the playing. I could not say
    at this stage whether I "love your playing" or not :) But it's promising, you seem to have the measure of the piece. As said, you'll need a proper recording device to solicit more feedback. There may have been some flubs and smudges but nothing that can't be fixed.

    I do love Grainger. Such a large-than life and likable character. His pieces can be over the top but many are exhilarating and others are exquisitely beautiful. I'm actually working on a clutch of Grainger pieces and was hoping to introduce this composer to PS in the not too distant future. This particular one I don't much care for (as I never did for the original). It
    does indeed have a touch of Liberace, and does not really seem to be going anywhere. But if you like this lullaby to start with, this transcription is fine and the performance adequate.
     
    techneut, Mar 27, 2013
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  4. pianolady

    pianolady Monica Hart, Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Grainger has some wonderful music, but this arrangement of the lullaby does not in my opinion showcase his talent. And I too have played some of his pieces recently - namely (some of his easier ones) "Country Gardens", "Walking Tune", "Spoon River", and "Oh Danny Boy". "Spoon River" is real neat but it gets too hard for me as it goes on so I gave up on it.
     
    pianolady, Mar 28, 2013
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  5. pianoman342

    pianoman342 Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Ahh, a new reading of the piece that made the minor 3rd famous!! I had a listen to your recording. I think you have a good idea of how to play this piece, as a soothing rubatoey.. lullaby. It's the equivalent on the ears to me as eating a nice fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate brownie--it hits the spot. I have to agree with Monica and Chris (though I'm not a moderator here.. :lol: ) and say the sound quality is just not ready for inclusion on the site. A shame, and I can relate to this as I am also in the sad predicament that I cannot record on with a nicer setup now. Though, this is in one way bad but in another good. More time to practice and work it up than to have a great recorder and piano and not be able to play it well. Enjoyed listening to this piece, I've never heard it before (ok, I have heard the original.)
     
    pianoman342, Mar 28, 2013
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  6. hreichgott

    hreichgott New Member

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    I don't love this piece either, but I think you're doing a lovely job capturing the style.
     
    hreichgott, Mar 30, 2013
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  7. eviltea

    eviltea New Member

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    Dear all,

    Thank you for the feedback . I will definitely get a better recorder, preferably recording this in a studio. My playing is perfect; the recording spoils it all :(

    Also, a little thumbs up, Expect weird-but-not-too-weird repertoires from me; this is just one of them. I'll post some Godowsky pieces under recording settings in the future. Thanks for the feedback once again!
     
    eviltea, Apr 1, 2013
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  8. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Wrong smiley ?
     
    techneut, Apr 1, 2013
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