Friday 28 March 2008

Norwegian thoughts

Probably following on from Delius, I've had Grieg's Solveg's song in mind today. Grieg was a big influence on Delius: a magical, enchanted, starlight world full of mystery and promise. And I loved Norway. So this is similar to Solveg's song, with chromatic harmony, slow chromatic rising arpeggios (Verdi), etc. I'm very attracted by this because it's produces such a human and visceral yearning, almost sexual... completely unlike the 'iron stomach' music of the Birtwistle crowd (although that has its place..) It could be accused of escapism. I'm not sure. It could be allegorical, and that's very different. C.S. Lewis remarked that his conversion centred on his realisation that allegories were real...

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