Synthesized "classical" music

[Tusker]

I was struck by the intricacy and beauty of some Bach pieces recently, and I remembered Switched On Bach as a watershed for me. It was the perfect fit: symmetries from Bach, fresh timbres from Moog and brilliant artistry from Wendy Carlos. But it seems the synthesizer didn't prove itself suitable to all the classical terrain. Isao Tomita was brave enough to take on French impressionism, but in a creative manner which was sometimes hit and at other times miss. Youtube is filled with barely adequate offerings and also some interesting ones.

 

Are you listening to any synthesized "classical" music? Making any?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[DeltaJockey]

I remember back in the 70's, I had a copy of Isao Tomita's Pictures at an Exhibition on a JVC CD4 discrete quadraphonic record. I used to sit there amongst all my speakers playing at high volume with it beating my chest. It was truly spectacular in surround back then.

The heavy symphonic classics he did were truly inspirational achievements for demonstrating what synths could do for symphonic classicals.

[Thethirdapple]

YUP!

 

listening to “all” of it! For myself, as well, these composers were instrumental (all puns intended) in my appreciation and permission to explore this crazy and relatively new form of musical instrument.

 

the mighty humble synth!

 

Also then realizing how Ms. Carlos’ compositions and renditions were in all my favorite movies (approved and unapproved)… Tron, Clockwork Orange, 2001, The Shining…

 

Tomita exemplified the “lighthearted” aspects of synth creation, his explorations of sound sculpting continues to inspire. Leading to all sorts of discoveries and both in the attitude and musical creations have inspired generations!!!

 

This is the album which introduced me to a whole new world of creating sonic possibilities 

 

 

PEACE

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[rogs]

I can recall the first time I heard Walter (later Wendy)  Carlos and the Bach/ Moog experiments. 

They made a big impression - at first..... I found  they became quite 'tiring' to listen to, after a fairly short while?.....

Same with Tomita. 

Synths were still quite new then of course, and the possibilities seemed endless. 

They've since gone on to diversify into  2 distinct areas. ...   Sounds that are intended to sound like synths, and sounds that are definitely designed to copy other intruments.

Some of the new classical software sampling programs can produce some impressive 'orchestral' music ...... (and save cheapskate film makers a fortune when recording film scores!  )

 

[JamPro]

I enjoy listening to classical music, and I sometimes surf thru YouTube checking out various synth offerings on classical music.  Some of them I enjoy, and some I do not.

 

Traditionally, we expect Back keyboard music to be played on harpsichord or organ.  The synthesizer can produce other sounds, and what sounds are chosen by the artist for which passages has a large impact (I think) on whether the synthesized version of Bach's music succeeds or not.

 

I am not surprised there is a modern proliferation of synthesized classical music.  It is a fun idea playing homage to classical composers and synthesizers both.  Modern musical technology makes it much easier to complete and share a synthesized classical work than in Wendy Carlos' day.

[cphollis]

Too funny!  I went to udio seeing what generative AI could do with the meme "synthesized Bach".

 

It told me it couldn't copy actual artists without their permission.  That's gonna be hard in this case.

 

The resulting compositions were quite pleasant to listen to, as you can frequently spot where the LLM has copped its bits from elsewhere.

 

I was able to come up with a half-dozen pleasing pieces, but -- unfortunately -- they all sounded derivative of each other.

[Ed A.]

I think Wendy Carlos was at her best when she wasn’t doing synthesized classical music, maybe with the exception of the Clockwork Orange soundtrack. I liked her original compositions like Sonic Seasonings, Tron, Digital Moonscapes, Beauty In The Beast, and The Shining soundtrack more than I liked SOB. But I guess that might have been the better choice to expose the public to electronic music than something like Silver Apples Of The Moon by Morton Subotnick.

[mate stubb]

Check out Patrick Gleeson's take on The Planets. A bit rigid in the timing but the synthesis is masterful.

[marino]

A couple of my humble attempts from a distant past

 

 

 

[The Real MC]

I love listening to synthesized classical music - Carlos, Tomita, etc.  One of the recent ones is Amin Bhatia playing "Bolero".  His "Interstellar Suite" is quite good too.

Putting classical music to synthesizers is one of my favorite pastimes in my studio.  JS Bach's organ pieces are fun, especially his Gigue Fugue.

 

One of my ambitious projects is orchestrating The Nutcracker on synths and romplers.

[Shamanzarek]

Which reminds me I have a sealed vinyl copy of Digital Moonscapes which I somehow acquired in the 80s when I didn't have a turntable. Hate to open it now in case it has collectible value.

 

I loved Tomita's Snowflakes are Dancing and Firebird when I heard them in the 70s.

[CyberGene]

Wendy is a genius! I love her Bach arrangements, such an inspiration ❤️

 

To me Bach is the GOAT and what I think makes him great is how absolute his music is, it’s all about the music and much less about the instrumentation and timbres. That’s why it works so well with synths. I’m yet to hear another classical composer work that sounds even half decent on synths. 
 

Here are some of my own attempts at classical on synths.

 

This one is played live in two separate parts which is why there are a few unsynced notes:

Here’s an attempt to do some small intro from Bruckner’s Eighth on synths:

And here’s something I believe works well, a compromise approach: piano + synth:

 

[ksoper]

I'm still a fan of classical music on the synth. Carlos and Tomita pretty much had the category wrapped up early and there wasn't any real reason to keep reinventing the wheel. That hasn't stopped me, though.  I love the sound of Bach on the synth and am currently working on the Fantasia portion of BWV 542. (The fugue was completed in 2008. It's an on-again-off-again kind of thing.)  I agree that Carlos' better work was original, though the Clockwork Orange soundtrack was and continues to be pretty damned amazing.  

 

While there were many pretenders to the throne, I think only Hans Wurman came close with "The Moog Strikes Bach" ('69). Some really fine moments on that album.  

 

 

[Tusker]

On 8/8/2024 at 5:00 AM, Thethirdapple said:

This is the album which introduced me to a whole new world of creating sonic possibilities 

 

Ha. 😅 Must have been a jolt when Wendy's "Take no prisoners" Brandenburg kicked in the end.

 

Thanks for sharing this. I had never heard this album, with Bach juxtaposed in this way. Stokowski's orchestration of the D Minor Toccata and Fugue doesn't hurt a bit either.

[Tusker]

20 hours ago, Ed A. said:

I think Wendy Carlos was at her best when she wasn’t doing synthesized classical music, maybe with the exception of the Clockwork Orange soundtrack. I liked her original compositions like Sonic Seasonings, Tron, Digital Moonscapes, Beauty In The Beast, and The Shining soundtrack more than I liked SOB. But I guess that might have been the better choice to expose the public to electronic music than something like Silver Apples Of The Moon by Morton Subotnick.

 

Beauty and Beast was my favorite Carlos album. I agree, Subotnik is a challenging listen. It's a path I'd like to see explored more: sparse purposeful sketches on empty canvas rather than a wall of sound.

[Tusker]

19 hours ago, mate stubb said:

Check out Patrick Gleeson's take on The Planets. A bit rigid in the timing but the synthesis is masterful.

 

Thanks! I dropped the needle on Jupiter which was great. I'll put the whole album on my listening list. He says he is using an "eMU Polyphonic Synthesizer" but they were doing modulars at the time weren't they? Some of the parts (woodwind choirs, etc) sound like they were performed with two hands.

 

I wonder if he rigged his own polyphonic modular or whether they had an analog polysynth on the market that I don't know of.

 

 

Looking forward to responding to more of these wonderful posts....

[Bobby Simons]

I was indoctrinated by Clockwork and Switched On, but Tomita's music had more life to me - I just could not believe what I was hearing. I'll still play his Pictures, Planets, Firebird. . . wonderful headphone fodder. About twenty years ago I went through a phase where I would import classical music midi files into Garageband 2 and revoice the parts in a manner heavily influenced by Isao. Here is the Presto movement of Ravels's Piano Concerto in G, I remember spending nearly a month and a few bottles of Scotch on it. . . 

[marino]

1 hour ago, Bobby Simons said:

Here is the Presto movement of Ravels's Piano Concerto in G, I remember spending nearly a month and a few bottles of Scotch on it. . . 

 

Wow, a nice job, and really Tomitesque. A bit heavy in quantization perhaps (I guess because of the Midifile origin), but absolutely brilliant and fun.

[mate stubb]

2 hours ago, Tusker said:

 

Thanks! I dropped the needle on Jupiter which was great. I'll put the whole album on my listening list. He says he is using an "eMU Polyphonic Synthesizer" but they were doing modulars at the time weren't they? Some of the parts (woodwind choirs, etc) sound like they were performed with two hands.

 

I wonder if he rigged his own polyphonic modular or whether they had an analog polysynth on the market that I don't know of.

 

 

Looking forward to responding to more of these wonderful posts....

 

It was a giant EMU modular, made polyphonic with their ground breaking 4060 keyboard/sequencer. That's right, they invented the microprocessor poly 1V/Oct keyboard scanner that we all take for granted today. Before that there were only a couple synths with polyphony - Yamaha CS series which was brute force logic chips and Polymoog, with divide down organ technology.

 

The EMU technology was licensed to Oberheim for the 4 and 8 voice, and the rest was history. I worked in a recording studio extensively which had a big EMU system that was partially made up of Pat Gleeson's rig. We also had it controlling an ARP 2600 and several SEM modules. There were 16 voices to go with the 16 note polyphony of the kbd/sequencer, but no velocity sensitivity.

 

Pics and more info here: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/patrick-gleeson

[NewImprov]

A few years ago, a coworker of mine scored a free Pioneer 707 reel to reel deck, and a box of tapes, including an original Switched On Bach. He gave them to me! I’ve had many copies of SOB over the years, vinyl and digital, it’s one of the records that turned mo on to synths. I have never heard a better version than the reel to reel, it sounds absolutely amazing!

[El Lobo]

I listen to a lot of classical music, but not any done recently with synths. I'll look into that some more, thanks to this thread. Tomita's Snowflakes Are Dancing was a favorite in the 70's. It still brings back happy memories of being with a certain lady in a cabin in the woods, especially this version of Clair de Lune:

 

[CyberGene]

I’ve never been a huge fan of Tomita, he strays from the original classical works too much for it to be considered merely an arrangement. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but I’m still rather purist (in a thread about classical music on synths, yeah I know 🤣)

[Thethirdapple]

Humans being…

 

 

 

 

PEACE

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[MorayM]

Check out the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble (yes, him from Goldfrapp) for a group doing this sort of music in the present day. They play it live too, and commission new work!

[Bobby Simons]

18 hours ago, El Lobo said:

I listen to a lot of classical music, but not any done recently with synths. I'll look into that some more, thanks to this thread. Tomita's Snowflakes Are Dancing was a favorite in the 70's. It still brings back happy memories of being with a certain lady in a cabin in the woods, especially this version of Clair de Lune:

 

I always thought it hilarious that he thought of a mellotron as an 'accessory'. Indeed.

[Tusker]

Carlo, CG and Bobby, I was hoping to hear your unique take on the music you love. That you did and more with your brilliant performances.

 

Carlo, your attempts are not humble but beautiful renditions of this music we love. Both fugues were crazy fun to listen to. It was an unexpected artistic choice to hear the piano tackle the fugue after the synth prelude. It's more common to explore the synth's timbral range in a contrapuntal setting, but here the piano wanted to speak and speak it did. The delicate inner movements of the voices came through in your hands.

 

CG, you put the synth on the spot with the Tchaikovsky, with a beautiful lyrical tune so many great tenors have sung. What a challenge. But the synth came through. I love that you created a voice not overly brassy but with a hint of the woodwinds vulnerability. I agree the piano is a great combination. Like Carlo your pianist touch is part of who you are, and really helps the romantic spirit of the piece. Thank you.

 

Bobby, you crazy man you. Ravel would be proud you matched his outlandishness note for note. For sure, I hear Tomita's timbral freedom, but bro I am hearing you as well. I think you might have moved this piece from a Jazz age to a Rock age? In any case, we can tell how much you enjoyed startling us every step of the way to the climax.

 

It's a joy to hear your music and your love for it. With much respect, thank you. 

[Tusker]

19 hours ago, El Lobo said:

... especially this version of Clair de Lune:

 

Yes, there's a remarkable wistful feeling which comes through in his timbres. Perhaps it's a celebration of what might have been...

[El Lobo]

On 8/8/2024 at 10:46 AM, CyberGene said:

And here’s something I believe works well, a compromise approach: piano + synth:

 

I liked the Tchaikovsky so much, I posted it to my Facebook page for my music appreciator friends to hear piano & synth and enjoy

[CyberGene]

2 minutes ago, El Lobo said:

I liked the Tchaikovsky so much, I posted it to my Facebook page for my music appreciator friends to hear piano & synth and enjoy

Wow, thank you! 🍻

[Bill H.]

I remember when I first played Switched On Bach I was living with a bunch of UW music majors. They laughed their heads off. To them it was just another novelty LP in the vein of Bach on Tubas, Bach on Bagpipes, Bach on Kazoos... 

 

Novelty LPs were rather popular in the 1960s. Fortunately Switched On Bach and the entire genre of synthesized classical music has outgrown the category, and endured as serious music. 

 

Sorry guys just a random thought that popped into my head on a Saturday afternoon.