Weihnachtslehre

December 15, 2020 9:42 AM

Composer David Bruce has posted a delightful video of The 12 Days of Christmas in the style of twelve (actually, thirteen) 20th-century composers, from most to least tonal. Play along and see if you can guess the composers! (Answers at the end of the video.)

David Bruce's entire channel is quite interesting and worth exploring if you are interested in western art music.

posted by Johnny Assay (13 comments total)

another great Youtube channel I am way behind on following
posted by thelonius at 9:48 AM on December 15, 2020

I really enjoyed this! I'm definitely checking out more on this channel.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:04 AM on December 15, 2020

I guessed 4 (without the clues, even!), which was better than I expected.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:28 AM on December 15, 2020

This is really fun! Certainly didn't know that Charles Ives' 'Life Insurance with Relation to Inheritance Tax, published in 1918, was well received. As a result of this he achieved considerable fame in the insurance industry of his time.'
posted by of strange foe at 10:41 AM on December 15, 2020

I got four (Ravel, Shostakovich, Nancarrow, Cage). I thought the Reich one was Glass but I can see where I went wrong.
posted by capricorn at 11:47 AM on December 15, 2020

I got 8, missing the first two (never heard of the second one) and the last one with Prokofiev for Shostakovich, reminded me of the 7th piano sonata. Oh, also got the bonus! This was fun.
posted by less of course at 12:16 PM on December 15, 2020

Ives was pretty easy. Lead you down a lyrical path and then shove you off of it. Repeatedly...
posted by jim in austin at 1:33 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

I got six (Ritter, Glass, Ravel, Copland, Shostakovich, Reich and Ives), which is at leas double what I thought I'd do.

Fun!
posted by thivaia at 2:12 PM on December 15, 2020

I got two, if by "getting" one you mean knowing Ravel and guessing Philip Glass for about 8 of the rest of them and one of those happening to be right.

Then again, I went into this assuming I only knew one atonal composer, and it turns out I actually knew a lot of them, I just had no clear idea of what they sounded like.
posted by Mchelly at 2:30 PM on December 15, 2020

I got 7. Missed the first two and didn't get Ferneyhough, but that makes sense in retrospect. I always forget about Ferneyhough and then I'm glad when I stumble across him again.

Not sure I have the same definition of atonal though, or even dissonance. I don't tend to think of many of these composers, and particularly Glass or Reich, as either of those things.

Certainly didn't know that Charles Ives' 'Life Insurance with Relation to Inheritance Tax, published in 1918, was well received.

I love Ives and there's something sort of heartbreakingly American about him. America's first real composer and he worked in insurance his whole life until he sort of melted down.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:56 PM on December 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

I got five. Would have been seven but i swapped Reich and Glass. The video clues helped.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:58 PM on December 15, 2020

Somewhat to my surprise I got ten, but I didn't get the bonus one. If I hadn't mostly used the cues I'd be feeling quite smug...
posted by Fuchsoid at 5:08 PM on December 15, 2020

This was enjoyable. I got 9 (Glass, Ravel, Copland, Shostakovich, Reich, Messiaen, Nancarrow, Ives, and Cage). It helps that several of my favorite composers were included.

Favorite Charles Ives quote: "Perhaps the birth of art will take place at the moment in which the last man who is willing to make a living out of art is gone and gone forever." Essays Before a Sonata (1920)

Conlon Nancarrow's player piano compositions are the only pieces of music in my record collection that freak my cat out.
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 11:09 PM on December 15, 2020 [2 favorites]