Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I know a few of you must be familiar with this work, but I have just now heard it for the first time on Klipschorns. This is among my most favorite pieces by this composer, and it sounds enormous and beatiful through Klipschorns. Serious goose bump material! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Erik, What recording of the Adagio do you have? I have it by the L.A. Philharmonic on a Film Classics CD... I also have a choral version that makes the hair on your arm stand on end. I have grown fond of another Adagio for Strings... Albinoni's. It is a moody piece of music as well... I would love to hear both on the mighty K-Horns, but will settle for my Fortes for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I agree. I have several recordings of this. It's one of my favorite pieces of music. Another one that is similar, but much more difficult to find is "Lyric for Strings" by George Walker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Hi, Chuckears: This is on an EMI classics label. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. I would live to hear a choral version of it, and must check that out! I have a large selection of Abinoni's Adagios, and I agree they are moody and great music! I had listend to Barber's Adagio on the La Scalas, but I'm playing this quite loud, since know one is home but me! It is truly like being very close to a full symphony orchestra, and Klipschorns are able to reproduce the lower octaves very nice. Timpani is resonant and clear and very powerful! ...And I bit your Fortes sound fantastic! Thanks for sharing this with me, Chuckears, I didn't even know there was a choral version! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 artto: Thanks! I will look into that. I need to start spending more money on music and enjoying it, and get away from construction projects. I have three in the works right now, one for me and the others for whom I am very happy to put a couple of components together. But I need to get more involved with the music and listen to it for its sake rather than use it as a way to listen to what my amps and preamp sound like! I can't help that, though....it just happens, I guess because audio equipment is just fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 here I go.......again. Chuckears: first, great pictures of your system! I'm curious about the Kimber 4TC. Is it a Teflon insulated cable, do you know? I also like Nordost stuff, but just make most of my own cables very, very much on the cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 A seriously great world-class lament. If I recall correctly, it was played over and over again at Princess Grace's service,suiting the mood all too well. Starting life as the slow movement to his string quartet Op. 11, Barber re-orchestrated it for string orchestra, and sent it to Arturo Toscanini around 1936 or 1937. Toscanini premiered the string orchestra version in November, 1938, in an NBC symphony broadcast. It has been terrifically popular in the classical lit ever since. The quartet version has only 4 parts, of course -- most likely the usual 2 violins, viola and cello. The far more richly scored string orchestra version adds string basses, and frequently divides the cellos, violas, and/or violins into two parts, so that there are between five and nine string parts total in any one place! There are no voices or other instrumental parts in Barber's version. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Wasn't it played at one of the Kennedy's funerals as well? It's indeed a moving piece....time to give it listen....it's been a long time. Other interesting works by Barber: Piano and Violin Concertos, his operas Vanessa and Anthony and Cleopatra and, of course, Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Excellent information, thanks for sharing! If there is a choral transcription, I think the piece would lend itself extremely well, despite the fact that Barber's original score had no voices. Another example of something similar: I have a version of Bach's 'Goldberg Variations,' which is an absolutely outstanding transcription for guitar by artist Kurt Rodarmer. Since a standard 6 string classical guitar is not able to reproduce the lower octaves that can be obtained on a piano, he had guitars custom built for this project. Rodarmer is very talented performer, and did an incredible job with this piece of music. Historically, art seems to be derivative and vulnerable to interpretation. The piano version is of course really great, but I actually prefer the drive and energy in the above mentioned transcription for guitar. If none of you are familiar with it, it is well worth a listen. Again, thanks for teaching me some information about the history of this Barber Adagio! I have so much still to learn about classical music, and I must say it is so refreshing to talk about music instead of resistors, capacitors, input/output impedance, Miller effect, cathode followers, load lines and plate dissipation, etc.,etc. That aspect of audio can become so boring after awhile... Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Erik, The choral version of Adagio for Strings that I have is on a two-disc set called "Choral Moods" by the Choir of Trinity College (Cambridge), Richard Marlow, director; it is distributed by BMG on the Conifer Classics label (#75605-51308-2)... like most of my unique acqisitions, I heard it on public radio first. The Kimber 4TC is teflon-insulated; the wire is Vari-strand hyper-pure copper (not sure what all those adjectives mean), with Kimber's signature braiding. We are delving into fairly controversial territory here; a lot of forum members (on this, and some HT forums) do not buy into the better-cables-make-a-difference notion. I can tell a difference on my system, and I paid a relatively moderate price for that difference, considering the cost of my components. I upgraded from Monster to the Kimbers when I bought a $2400 McCormack amplifier. The McCormack, along with the Fortes, is very revealing, and seems extraordinarily sensitive to different cable configurations. Thanks for looking at the pics... I actually need to update them (and my sig). Last week, I took the Rotel off the rack (it's for sale! audiogon.com), and put in two McCormack units (DNA 0.5 and DNA-HT1), and have been reveling in the glory of 2 channel bliss again. (I foolishly sold my McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe over a year ago... it could bring tears to my eyes with certain musical selections). The Rotel is a great unit, especially for home theater, but the McCormack units really bring the performance into the house. Oh, and it's nice to hear all of the classical music recommendations... horns + classical = multiple ear-gasms! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I'm not sure because I don't recognize it by name but I think, "Adagio for Strings" may have been the theme music for the movie Platoon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 You are correct, boomac. Arranged and conducted by Georges Delerue in this instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Thanks, Chuckears! I've copied that Choral version of this piece. I'm very eager to listen to it, and maybe can find it at Barnes & Noble tomrrow morning. Since I'm off from teaching for the summer (I know, I know....my wife tells me every day how lucky I am -- and I worked hard for it, too!), I can go and have a look right when they open. Ok, thanks too for the info. on that cable. To be honest, I have never used anything other than that of my own making and experimentation. Maybe one of these days I will get brave and splurge on something from Nordost or Kimber just to see. Who knows, I might be pleasantly surprised. I can't say it's not worth the money, since I don't have much experienece. Some cable is insanely priced, but not the most basic Nordost and Kimber stuff. That could be do-able.! Boomac: the picture by your name almost makes me sad. I sold my kit in 1982 to help pay for a car to use for college transportation. I had been in a band in high school, with a very, very, very good guitar player. But things got difficult, and so I decided to 'make something of myself' and sold my drums -- custom-built natural maple Ludwig, with both concert and Roto toms (9 drums in all) and cymbals I collected over lots of years. Ugh....what a thought; and the car I bought (Chevy Nova) totally blew it's transmission a couple of months later! Such is life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 ---------------- On 6/2/2004 6:04:47 PM boomac wrote: I'm not sure because I don't recognize it by name but I think, "Adagio for Strings" may have been the theme music for the movie Platoon? ---------------- Yes... I think it was the first time I had paid attention to the work, and looked for a version shortly thereafter (the version on the Film Classics disc I have shows it as being from Elephant Man... but I haven't taken a look at this film for years). The iconic shot of Willem Dafoe's character on his knees and taking multiple rounds from behind sometimes comes to mind when I hear this work. I think one of the theater chains used to use the calm bit of music just after the climax of the piece for their trailer titles or their feature presention titles. If anyone remembers this, it would blow me away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 http://www.delosmus.com/item/de31/de3145.html Here's a different spin on this fabulous piece, performed by organist Todd Wilson on the grand Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. Read the link on the Delos website about this 2-CD set, and place your order today! I have Kimber Kable 8TC that I used with my McIntosh MC7200, and the Cornwalls didn't seem to agree with this combo...seemed to make the highs even more shrill than they already were with this direct-coupled amp! Once my 300B SE amp arrives, I'll try the 8TCs again. These are great cables with excellent reviews, and sounded fantastic with the Magnepans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 ---------------- On 6/2/2004 6:18:47 PM Erik Mandaville wrote: Ok, thanks too for the info. on that cable. To be honest, I have never used anything other than that of my own making and experimentation. Maybe one of these days I will get brave and splurge on something from Nordost or Kimber just to see. Who knows, I might be pleasantly surprised. I can't say it's not worth the money, since I don't have much experienece. Some cable is insanely priced, but not the most basic Nordost and Kimber stuff. That could be do-able.! ---------------- Erik, I am betting that the results from your home-made efforts is extremely competitive with some of the factory-terminated specialty cables. If you are pleased with the sound you have, then so much the better! The difficulty some of us have is part of the chronic up-graders syndrome. Just the idea that there is something better out there that will take us to another sonic peak drives us crazy. I have been reading reviews and looking at the classifeds and ebay for weeks and weeks, just to find something that would bring the music back into my house. If you can close your eyes, and be transported to the recording session, and place the performers in your mind's eye, you're on the right track. Sometimes, it all comes together to sound even sweeter than live, and I have literally been brought to tears with some music. More recently, it has been soundtrack recordings, and The Return of the King soundtrack specifically takes me to moments in the film that brought me to tears. When I heard some of the orchestral horns on a K-Horn setup in the local shop, I started looking seriously at the LaScalas... I had not heard French Horns sound that real since the last symphony I attended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Not only was it played in Platoon, but I believe it was played as the background music on 60 Minutes Sunday night as Andy Rooney showed the 800 pictures of soldiers killed in Iraq. I don't really know if they were trying to make a political statement, tying the U.S. casualties of Iraq to those of the Vietnam War using that particular piece of music but it certainly is beautiful regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 I appreciate all of your contributions to this post. I wasn't expecting so much, and I've learned things about both Samuel Barber and this particular piece I didn't know before. It's been helpful! Hey, Jim! How are you? Both the 4Tc and 8Tc sound like they might be just what I'm looking for in a cable, and will keep that in mind when I can think more seriously about them. My next main purchase is going to be very special, and will use tubes, but not for 2 channel stereo! As far as wire, I have made so many different kinds of cable that I have literally lost track of what sounded like what. In fact, I just made a pair of CAT 5 Teflon insulated cable this morning for another forum member, and I'm eager to get his impression of it. It cost only several dollars for the 9 foot, terminated pair. It's what I have been using in my own system for the past year, or so. With my Lowther horns and Moondogs, I'm using a twisted pair of 20AWG insulated copper magnet wire. Gosh that stuff is revealing, too, and very inexpensive. Both the Moondogs and amps I built last summer are also only good (and very good at that, IMO) for a few watts, so really heavy speaker cable is not needed. But, just out of curiosity, where might one find 4 or 8TC Kimber at a reasonable price? I believe Audiogon has a cable section, so maybe I'll have a look there just for fun. I window shop there daily! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 A beautiful piece of music. The use of it in Platoon was, for me, both good and bad. Good in that there is no finer piece of music to emote / express mournful introspection. The bad is that it was almost a cliche in that only an excerpt was used, and used repeatedly. Sort of a sound bite. - - - - I attended the openning night of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra just after 9/11. The program orignally planned was modified to include the Adagio (in full) and Shubert's Unfinished. A bit heavy handed, but memorable. Barenboim gave a talk which was longer than necessary. I'm not being critical of the Maestro or his choices. No words could do the situation justice. The music did. One remarkable thing was that the ushers passed around small baskets of American flag lapel pins. It reminded me of Gone With the Wind where at the ball, similar baskets were used to collect jewelery for the benefit of the war effort. Going back to the sound bite thing . . . to my unsophisticated sense of music, the Adagio ends with some resolution, not complete, of the shifting mournful chords used throughout. You don't get the whole effect in sound bites. Best, Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Yes, Barber's most famous piece. First heard it as a background to a WWII documentary. If you like that stuff, of course, I recommend (but you most likely already have) Ravel's "Pavane pour Infant Defunct", and "Daphne et Cloe", actually any of Ravel is awesome. If you want a real downer, try Gorecki... Definitely something that will pluck your heartstrings... DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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