Soler

[comme_le_vent]

does anyone like this composer?

i dont know much about him, but ive heard some harpsichord works and they sounded bodacious.

they reminded me of scarlatti, and i believe he was a baroque dude too.

so heres the dilly..

im chillin, not much illin, and im fillin like listenin to some soler on piano, any good recordings to recommend?
or thoughts on this righteous dude?

[bernhard]

I am delighted someone brought up Padre Antonio Soler’s (1729 – 1783) works!

Yes, you are right, his music is similar to Scarlatti’s and with good reason: he was his disciple. In fact there is a good chance that the manuscripts of Scarlatti sonatas were copied by him.

He is excellent, and as far as I know there are no piano recordings of his pieces, except for a few selections played by Martin Suter on the Christofori Fortepiano in the Metropolitan Museum in NY (the oldest piano still on working order). Good old Naxos has issued his complete works played on the harpsichord.

Like Scarlatti he was prolific (over 300 sonatas), and had a fondness for rhythmic vigour, harmonic surprises and wide leaps.

If you liked him, you may also like Carlos de Seixas (1704 – 1742), a Portuguese harpsichordist who was also believed to be a Scarlatti’s disciple. Unfortunately many of his pieces were lost in the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[comme_le_vent]

very interesting, i remember his works sounded really good, almost like a less delicate scarlatti(and i have a fondness for things with less delicacy).

im gonna chack out the harpsichord recordings, but is there any reason for noone playing him on piano?

i much prefer scarlatti and bach on piano so it puzzles me.

this reminds me that i really hate those ppl who say this kinda stuff shouldnt be played on piano...
they shall burn in the inferno that resides in my loins!

[thracozaag]

 I'm with you with Scarlatti sounding better on piano (I still prefer Bach on organ or harpsichord, though).  Soler is a fantastic composer--in addition to the sonatas, he wrote a wonderful fandango.  The music is less "pianistic" than Scarlatti, but in many instances quite daring harmonically.  I enjoy playing him as a change of pace from Scarlatti, or when playing a set of sonatas will include a Scarlatti with it for contrast.  


koji

[comme_le_vent]

so in terms of emotion who wrote more 'aggressive' music between soler and scarlatti?

aggression is often an undeniably strong factor in me liking a piece/composer.

and what about this seixas dude? whats his music like

can someone use adjectives describing their music, so i can decide who is more my kinda dude?

[bernhard]

Seixas is Ok.

Soler is better.

Scarlatti rules.  

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Antnee]

Hmm... Upon reading this thread i checked out some soler. All I can say is that even though Scartatti's music is still my favorite over his, Soler's music I heard seemed a bit more Personal than Scarlatti's, probably beacuse as Thracozagg said he is bit more daring.

-Tony-

[comme_le_vent]

i remember solor's music being more immediate.

could you use more descriptive adjectives bernie?

you often infuriate me  
then i look in the mirror - and cry.

[bernhard]

i remember solor's music being more immediate.

could you use more descriptive adjectives bernie?

you often infuriate me  
then i look in the mirror - and cry.

Most people would agree that grass is green.

However this is not true. Grass is not green. Green is the name we give to a visual sensation we experience when we look at grass. As such, “green” is not a quality of grass, but rather a description of one’s internal experience. It has nothing to do with grass and it has everything to do with one’s inner sensations.

Incidentally, a deep consequence of the above, is that there is no way to check that what everyone calls green, is indeed green, or even the same colour. By the way this has little to do with daltonism. If you find difficult to follow, I will elaborate.

The point of this apparent digression is that adjectives are never descriptive of the noun to which they are attached. Adjectives are labels for our inner experiences when faced with the realities nouns label.

Therefore, to say that a piece of music is beautiful says absolutely nothing about the music, and says everything about my reaction to it: On hearing that piece of music I experience an internal sensation that I learned to call beautiful. Adjectives are not about the thing being qualified, they are about the person doing the qualification.

So to apply adjectives to the composers above would be to talk about myself (a most uninteresting subject), not about the music. Besides there is no guarantee that my description of my reaction to the music would be accurate, or that you would experience the same sensations as I may describe.

If you now look at most of the threads dealing with favourite pieces, composers, religious matters, etc. you may be amazed that no one is really talking about these subjects. They are mostly talking about themselves and their reactions to these subjects. In fact you can learn quite a lot about each member of the forum by looking at their adjective usage. Once you become aware of this fact, you may wish to be very careful with the words you use. I am. (And if you could see me now, you would perhaps detect a sinister air about myself he he )

Best wishes,
Bernhard.