Ok, some favourites. impossible to pick a single piece. The genre is so large and spans hundreds of years. Only the very best has stood the test of time. What other genre compares?
As an aside, Bach I regard as the greatest composer of all time. Simply in terms of quality x quantity. What a machine. But I won't quote any works here.
Oh ffs, yes I will. Bach - Cantata 140: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (1731)
Turn it up loud. The simplicity of the soprano line against the complexity of the rest. Gold.
Not globally acclaimed, certainly not well known, but a millimeter above anything else for me - just about anything from the Iberia Suite by Albeniz, piano or orchestrated versions. Both have their charms. You have to like Spanish/Andalusian music though I think to appreciate it. I certainly regard this is an absolute masterpiece for piano music, albeit it is terrifyingly difficult to play. Listening to this suite just puts me in another world. I can't fathom how a guy could sit down and write this sort of music. It is like he is painting in musical space. Musical impressionism at it's very best.
Jerez, in the suite, seems to stand out for me for an unknown reason. The ending is just divine.
I can't explain what draws me to this suite. I had to play one piece, El Puerto, back in the day, so I listened to it and eventually fell in love with the whole suite. But it took time.
it's evident that films are having a large influence people's choices. this is most people's primary exposure to classical music.
Why is classical music so prevalent in films in your opinions?
Anyway, I love talking classical music, especially with rugby league hard nuts. The contradiction is just delicious lol.
