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The Sinking Of The Titanic (1969- )
 
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The Sinking Of The Titanic (1969- )

Gavin Bryars/Philip Jeck/Alter EgoMP3 Download
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Price: £0.69 (VAT included if applicable)
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  • Original Release Date: 10 Dec 2007
  • Format - Music: MP3
  • Compatible with MP3 Players (including with iPod®), iTunes, Windows Media Player
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Customer Reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Desert Island Disc 22 Mar 2008
By Richard
Format:Audio CD
The first 4 minutes of this work starts with the sounds of crackling.An ancient blues record from the 20s?.The sound of ice breaking?
Not really its representative of the wireless static as the sounds of time passed and it plays a part in the story of the Titanic.
Gavin Bryars opus of trance inducing and dreamy evocation of the Titanic's final moments is a work of conceptual genius which began after being inspired by one Harold Bride the surviving wireless operator who half remembered the name of the hymn the orchestra was playing as the ship went down-the Episcopal hymn Autumn and this weaves in and out until the music ends.
Voices appear at times of survivors,sounds of morse code tapping and even bottles rolling across the deck.
This 2007 remake of the original Sinking of the Titanic is a collaboration between the Italian chamber group Alter Ego,the Danish experimentalist Philip Jeck and Bryars himself who plays bass.
And after a music box theme it stops dead
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Submerge once more . . . 19 April 2008
Format:Audio CD
There are four earlier recordings of this piece: the first from 1975 (to fit on one side on vinyl), the second from 1990. The 1990 version was an hour long track, and sonically 'challenging' - it was partially recorded in a huge water tank and the music evolves/degenerates into an atonal rumble that requires a good sound system. But it's a fascinating, raw, experience, if hard to find now. The 1994 Point Music version took elements of that recording and was a smoother experience, with lots of fascinating sound effects. It was handily divided into sections - my favourite being the one including bass clarinet, as it resembles Bryars's less experimental works, and is haunting all on its own. The Smith Quartet's 'Ghost Stories' album of 2007 included a fifteen-minute reworking. All of these versions are different, all valid, and can be bought safely without fear of duplication. The spoken samples on each, for instance, are obscured to different degrees, and the opening and closing sections each offer an alternative conceptual reading of the piece.
This new version is the most radical. The piece as already recorded does not even register as the same until over ten minutes in. Preceding it is a strange radio-static crackle not unlike that which opens Pink Floyd's 'Division Bell' - the idea of 'communication' being behind both. My copy does not have points, as Amazon indicates, but is one long seventy-two minute track. Sound effects and individual instruments are well defined, with some fascinating new additions and expansions.
What the piece has in common with the others is the enfolding string quartet wash. I am lucky never to have found it repetitive, but always curiously comforting. Long may this piece have even more interpreters!
This disc is packaged in a greetings card-sized folder, with the disc itself in a paper sleeve. Full notes are printed, to help newcomers understand the brilliant idea behind this ongoing aural artwork.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An evocative picture 30 July 2011
By Mondoro TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
As other reviewers have noted, the choice of sample for this download is unfortunate. Indeed, anyone approaching this piece for the first time needs to have patience as well as plenty of time. The introductory static lasts four minutes, to be replaced by low string sounds which develop into a sad, hymn-like tune of great beauty that is developed through the rest of the piece. Bryars has referred to the ship's orchestra which continued to play throughout the sinking. A listener might see this also as some kind of affirmation sustained throughout the process of dissolution, marked by events such the noise made by people scrambling for lifeboats when the order to abandon ship was given. There has been much debate about what they played, but as a passenger's testimony, quoted as the piece progresses, notes, they did play to the very end. In a later documentary (on YouTube) the composer explains the final section in terms of the ship's orchestra playing under the waves, a picture evoked in the 'watery' sounds he has created.

The approaching centenary of the 'Titanic' disaster makes this a timely offering from Amazon, available as a download at a knock-down price.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb hidden gem
Excellent, thoughtful music. Unusual, but very emotional. A piece to be savoured slowly over many many repeat playings. Buy, enjoy!
Published 1 month ago by I. S. Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars A bargain
I know the 25 minute version well but this is even better. I would suggest playing it on an aircraft, when all the other noises will just become part of the overall soundscape. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Clive B
5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly beautiful
I bought an earlier version of this piece on the Obscure record label back in the 1980s which I believe has been re-issued on CD. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chris
1.0 out of 5 stars Can I have a refund please?
As someone who enjoys the music of Gavin Bryars, this recording has made me either angry or upset - I'm not sure which. Read more
Published 10 months ago by N.A.M.
5.0 out of 5 stars On the contrary.......
.............. I only purchased this because of the preview - mind you the price for the download almost put me off!!!!!! Read more
Published 13 months ago by John Sarjeant
1.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally long and uneventful
I can't understand why this piece became so popular compared to other 'new' music around. I can only assume that the Titanic connection was sufficient to arouse interest. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr Bob
1.0 out of 5 stars Not a review of the piece but rather of the preview
What is the point of a preview of a 1 hr + piece that is merely a few seconds of static? You might as well not bother...
Published on 27 Dec 2010 by Roger Cawkwell
1.0 out of 5 stars Sinking of the Titanic
I purchased "Sinking of the Titanic' after hearing it played in the ABC- it sounded as though it would be wonderful for a contemporary ballet. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by Jennifer Howland
5.0 out of 5 stars La melancolía y la memoria.
Esta obra formidable me acompaña desde hace años.

En mi infantil imaginario el Titanic navegaba, y se hundía, ente juegos y sueños (me... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2010 by Eduardo Aguirre De Carcer
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