Hi folks. Oh man, Wednesday came about quickly, eh? But, I’ll tell you what, I’m very glad we had the Bank Holiday this week. Who doesn’t love a 4-day work week? Not us, that’s for darn sure.
Today’s playlist has the potential to split opinions down the middle. We’ve always said we’re all for diversity, and we really, truly mean that. We don’t want a hundred playlists all identically sounding and made up of ‘in’ bands. So, I for one am very excited about today’s effort by Spotisfaction contributor Mike Sheldrick. I encourage you to listen to this one even if it’s not normally your cup of tea. If you still don’t approve, fair enough, but feel free to let us know why in the comments!
Anyway, I’ll hand over to Mike for his blurb below:
[Dave]
Mike says:
Greetings, fellow travellers of the sound waves. And in this episode, we”™re going to do things a little differently. In a break from the more traditional style of playlist we”™ve come to know and love, I wondered perhaps if you”™d like to join me on a little journey, back to the oh so simple days of childhood (well mine to be precise). Back to when I were a wee young lad. Times were simple back then, I”™d go to school, come home, do my homework (yeah right), rinse and repeat as necessary. But I digress. Back then, I also played the trumpet. I spent many of my former years attending local orchestras and brass bands, and because of that, I was exposed to a lot of classical music.
The idea of this playlist came to me one afternoon with the radio on. 5 Live presenter, Richard Bacon launched a provoking texter for the day “Is classical music reserved mainly for the upper class and the elderly?”. And it got me thinking. Today, I have lovingly prepared for you a selection of some of my favourite pieces of classical music from yesteryear. A lot of the music in this compilation I have come to know first hand having played them at one time or another. Please don”™t be put off by the classical music tag either. These pieces I”™ve chosen remain fresh in my mind to this day. They captured my imagination for different reasons, and I”™ll try and show you why.
We start with the somewhat fitting ”˜Also Sprach Zarathustra”™ The dramatic fanfare made famous in the epic ”™2001: A Space Odyssey”™. The overture to ”˜Oberon”™ synopsises the legend of the King of Fairies (most commonly paralleled in Shakespeare”™s Midsummer Night”™s Dream), segued into another fine example of orchestral storytelling. Picture all the scenes as you follow ”˜Vltava”™ the meandering river, on its way from the source all the way to the sea. A lot of the works featured in the list are well known, like Ravel”™s notorious ”˜Bolero”™ of Torvil and Dean fame. I”™ve selected the later numbers in our collection to get us to reach an epic climax. Cue the cannons for the 1812 Overture and the rousing gallops of the Willam Tell. And to top it off in the true spirit of Great Britain, we conclude with the finale of all finales. Lift your spirits and proudly put your hand to your heart to the emphatic spirit of our very own ”˜Land of Hope and Glory”™. It”™s the last night of the proms in your own living room – yes folks, the Pomp and Circumstance March! I”™m certain you”™ll agree that there is no better way to end. I sincerely hope that you give this one a go, even if it”™s just the once. The tracks in the list really demonstrate the immense power of an orchestra. I hope you enjoy listening to this compilation as much as I”™ve enjoyed making it.
