tangotreats
01-31-2016, 12:53 AM
TOLGA KASHIF
Queen Symphony (2002)
(featuring melodies composed by Queen)
OK, before we go any further... YES, this is a repost. I uploaded The Queen Symphony in August 2010, in MP3 format. TazerMonkey did a FLAC upgrade in 2013 but he has since retired and deactivated his links. So, here's a nice, new rip - in FLAC - with a few super "bonus features"...
If you're expecting just another "classic rock" album, with limp orchestrations of well-known songs, your expectations will be exceeded. Tolga Kashif's work is, in fact, a fully fledged six movement symphony - constructed from the ground up with Queen's raw material. Some people say this is the biggest piece of crap ever made. Some people say it's 21st century classical music's finest masterpiece. It is neither, of course; it is what it is - a massive symphonic love letter to Queen. It's heaps of fun, and it's well worth your time - even if you don't consider yourself a big fan of Queen. If you can appreciate a heart-wrending melody or two, and a massive symphony orchestra doing what a massive symphony orchestra does best, you'll find something worthwhile. This is not simply a collection of arrangements of Queen songs - it is, as the name implies, a coherent concert piece in its own right that utilises the melodies and harmonies but turns them into something completely different.
The style is shamelessly filmic - some have noted this as a weakness, and at least one typically foolish Amazon reviewer has written it off as "funeral music" but in my opinion they're rather off the mark.
Julian Kershaw, who orchestrated the piece from Kashif's very detailed sketches due to time constraints, frequently works with George Fenton - his work can be heard on The Blue Planet, Deep Blue, Planet Earth, and Earth - amongst others, and for other composers, Stardust, Around The World in 80 Days, and Dinotopia.
So, what we have here is an hour of hopelessly romantic, grandoise, sweeping, fun, and not at all tawdry, symphonic music - which really allows the source material to shine. It has been repeatedly noted over the past thirty years that Queen's music beats with a symphonic heart - so of course it made sense that a piece like this should be written sooner or later!
If you have the opportunity to hear it in the concert hall, as I did in 2007 (in Northampton's Derngate Theatre, with the Royal Philharmonic and Kashif conducting) it is well worth getting along to it. It's performed sporadically in the United Kingdom though not as often as it should be, and still from time to time around the world as well.
In my 2010 post, I apologised in advance for the poor quality of the scans and I will repeat that apology now. They're all crinkly and horrible. Somehow, the CD and the jewel case were separated in 2003. The case was destroyed and subsequently replaced, but the booklet disappeared for many years and eventually appeared, all screwed up at the bottom of a bag of old Christmas decorations.
I have tried to clean the scans up a little bit (I've included the 2010 scans so you can compare them) but they're not perfect and if you increase the brightness you'll see artifacts all over the place. Readable, but not pristine. I worked hardest on the front cover image, which is a rather nice embossed cardboard package and I'm glad to say the scan does it justice.
Original 2002 CD Release
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (leader: Rolf Wilson)
The London Voices (director: Terry Edwards)
The London Oratory School Schola (director: Michael McCarthy)
John Lenehan (piano)
Nicola Loud (violin)
Fran�ois Rive (cello)
Tolga Kashif (conductor)
Julian Kershaw (orchestrator)
FLAC with scans: https://mega.nz/#!Jhoy1ZCQ!30Z4sVsS9OdaPDjYVxm95nEU1RjSR7pQmPYRUzgGIzE (298mb)
This is the CD that's been uploaded before. It's a studio recording (Abbey Road) of the piece, made a couple of months before the premiere in August 2002.
Mini Documentary
H264 video, AAC audio: https://mega.nz/#!h8gFAQrA!SjsguEjM7_CLTGGtVilkmBZ_Jz1QBMQ0j2OKtSoZY4k (39mb)
EMI Records released this short (four minute) mini-documentary to promote the piece. It has some footage of the recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios and a brief conversation with the composer.
Live Concert Performance
A DVD of the world premiere performance (held on 6th November 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall) was released in 2003. The performers are the same as those on the studio recording.
High Quality - H264 video, FLAC audio: https://mega.nz/#!JoIA2SiY!o5XWJx9nnKWGZt15EfKBM8tVEWc6xh5fPUwAuLo6jNo (1.23gb)
Standard Quality - H265 video, AAC ~128kbps audio: https://mega.nz/#!RkpTBKoA!GcyOxtMsh3LaPIPLx42pticluCokG9K_3loVCPabjTQ (310mb)
Tolga Kashif's Original Synthesizer Sketches
FLAC: https://mega.nz/#!584CgBhb!0UAIQ_eLtH-afY8iYVH4xCee2sWIaB9e8-SuTQyoc6g(210mb)
One of the bonus features on the DVD is the ability to hear Kashif's early "sketches" for the work in synthesizer mockups. In actuality, the "sketches" add up to an hour of music and present the complete symphony. The synthesizer is utterly dreadful, but it's fascinating to hear an earlier "incarnation" of the piece and note the differences. For example, in the fifth movement we learn that Kashif originally planned a considerably lighter arrangement of "We Are The Champions", featuring a new-agey percussive beat. It doesn't fit with the piece but I actually find it quite a lovely interpretation of the song.
Erik Somers' Transcription for Concert Band
FLAC with scans - 318mb https://mega.nz/#!Q05XEaLR!OG2I0CQvr4-lb5RXpJN2aNh_CVblof7oNpB6I3Aheow
Banda Sinf�nica "La Art�stica" Bu�ol
Orfe�n Universitario de Valencia (conductor: Constantino Martinez Orts)
David Soliva (piano)
Francesc Navasquillo (violin)
David Barona (cello)
Henrie Adams (conductor)
Erik Somers (transcription)
This arrangement (by Dutch composer Erik Somers) was recorded by in Spain by Banda Sinf�nica "La Art�stica" Bu�ol, conducted by Henrie Adams. The CD recording is stitched together from the "best bits" of three live concerts given on consecutive days in May 2008. The three concerts were all played in different venues in different cities, unfortunately - though the recording engineers have done a very good job under the circumstances. The recording is a little bit rough and ready, but I find the arrangement fascinating.
Enjoy. :)
TT
Queen Symphony (2002)
(featuring melodies composed by Queen)
OK, before we go any further... YES, this is a repost. I uploaded The Queen Symphony in August 2010, in MP3 format. TazerMonkey did a FLAC upgrade in 2013 but he has since retired and deactivated his links. So, here's a nice, new rip - in FLAC - with a few super "bonus features"...
If you're expecting just another "classic rock" album, with limp orchestrations of well-known songs, your expectations will be exceeded. Tolga Kashif's work is, in fact, a fully fledged six movement symphony - constructed from the ground up with Queen's raw material. Some people say this is the biggest piece of crap ever made. Some people say it's 21st century classical music's finest masterpiece. It is neither, of course; it is what it is - a massive symphonic love letter to Queen. It's heaps of fun, and it's well worth your time - even if you don't consider yourself a big fan of Queen. If you can appreciate a heart-wrending melody or two, and a massive symphony orchestra doing what a massive symphony orchestra does best, you'll find something worthwhile. This is not simply a collection of arrangements of Queen songs - it is, as the name implies, a coherent concert piece in its own right that utilises the melodies and harmonies but turns them into something completely different.
The style is shamelessly filmic - some have noted this as a weakness, and at least one typically foolish Amazon reviewer has written it off as "funeral music" but in my opinion they're rather off the mark.
Julian Kershaw, who orchestrated the piece from Kashif's very detailed sketches due to time constraints, frequently works with George Fenton - his work can be heard on The Blue Planet, Deep Blue, Planet Earth, and Earth - amongst others, and for other composers, Stardust, Around The World in 80 Days, and Dinotopia.
So, what we have here is an hour of hopelessly romantic, grandoise, sweeping, fun, and not at all tawdry, symphonic music - which really allows the source material to shine. It has been repeatedly noted over the past thirty years that Queen's music beats with a symphonic heart - so of course it made sense that a piece like this should be written sooner or later!
If you have the opportunity to hear it in the concert hall, as I did in 2007 (in Northampton's Derngate Theatre, with the Royal Philharmonic and Kashif conducting) it is well worth getting along to it. It's performed sporadically in the United Kingdom though not as often as it should be, and still from time to time around the world as well.
In my 2010 post, I apologised in advance for the poor quality of the scans and I will repeat that apology now. They're all crinkly and horrible. Somehow, the CD and the jewel case were separated in 2003. The case was destroyed and subsequently replaced, but the booklet disappeared for many years and eventually appeared, all screwed up at the bottom of a bag of old Christmas decorations.
I have tried to clean the scans up a little bit (I've included the 2010 scans so you can compare them) but they're not perfect and if you increase the brightness you'll see artifacts all over the place. Readable, but not pristine. I worked hardest on the front cover image, which is a rather nice embossed cardboard package and I'm glad to say the scan does it justice.
Original 2002 CD Release
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (leader: Rolf Wilson)
The London Voices (director: Terry Edwards)
The London Oratory School Schola (director: Michael McCarthy)
John Lenehan (piano)
Nicola Loud (violin)
Fran�ois Rive (cello)
Tolga Kashif (conductor)
Julian Kershaw (orchestrator)
FLAC with scans: https://mega.nz/#!Jhoy1ZCQ!30Z4sVsS9OdaPDjYVxm95nEU1RjSR7pQmPYRUzgGIzE (298mb)
This is the CD that's been uploaded before. It's a studio recording (Abbey Road) of the piece, made a couple of months before the premiere in August 2002.
Mini Documentary
H264 video, AAC audio: https://mega.nz/#!h8gFAQrA!SjsguEjM7_CLTGGtVilkmBZ_Jz1QBMQ0j2OKtSoZY4k (39mb)
EMI Records released this short (four minute) mini-documentary to promote the piece. It has some footage of the recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios and a brief conversation with the composer.
Live Concert Performance
A DVD of the world premiere performance (held on 6th November 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall) was released in 2003. The performers are the same as those on the studio recording.
High Quality - H264 video, FLAC audio: https://mega.nz/#!JoIA2SiY!o5XWJx9nnKWGZt15EfKBM8tVEWc6xh5fPUwAuLo6jNo (1.23gb)
Standard Quality - H265 video, AAC ~128kbps audio: https://mega.nz/#!RkpTBKoA!GcyOxtMsh3LaPIPLx42pticluCokG9K_3loVCPabjTQ (310mb)
Tolga Kashif's Original Synthesizer Sketches
FLAC: https://mega.nz/#!584CgBhb!0UAIQ_eLtH-afY8iYVH4xCee2sWIaB9e8-SuTQyoc6g(210mb)
One of the bonus features on the DVD is the ability to hear Kashif's early "sketches" for the work in synthesizer mockups. In actuality, the "sketches" add up to an hour of music and present the complete symphony. The synthesizer is utterly dreadful, but it's fascinating to hear an earlier "incarnation" of the piece and note the differences. For example, in the fifth movement we learn that Kashif originally planned a considerably lighter arrangement of "We Are The Champions", featuring a new-agey percussive beat. It doesn't fit with the piece but I actually find it quite a lovely interpretation of the song.
Erik Somers' Transcription for Concert Band
FLAC with scans - 318mb https://mega.nz/#!Q05XEaLR!OG2I0CQvr4-lb5RXpJN2aNh_CVblof7oNpB6I3Aheow
Banda Sinf�nica "La Art�stica" Bu�ol
Orfe�n Universitario de Valencia (conductor: Constantino Martinez Orts)
David Soliva (piano)
Francesc Navasquillo (violin)
David Barona (cello)
Henrie Adams (conductor)
Erik Somers (transcription)
This arrangement (by Dutch composer Erik Somers) was recorded by in Spain by Banda Sinf�nica "La Art�stica" Bu�ol, conducted by Henrie Adams. The CD recording is stitched together from the "best bits" of three live concerts given on consecutive days in May 2008. The three concerts were all played in different venues in different cities, unfortunately - though the recording engineers have done a very good job under the circumstances. The recording is a little bit rough and ready, but I find the arrangement fascinating.
Enjoy. :)
TT