|
From the start of 2006 we have begun to compile here, an archive of some of the photos
and notes relevant to my Infotourist pieces as they are broadcast.
Climate change? What climate change?!! Well how about
the fact that you have to hike over and hour and a half to find the ice!
| Baregg |
|
| Thanks to Liz and Rod Cole for the photo! |
| Proving how we must 'put that bloody light out!' |
|
| Oh and don't forget the TV standby button!! Thanks to Liz and Rod again! |
| Hans Gerog Nageli 1773 - 1836 |
|
The last in this short 'season' of composers specials is dedicated
to those that have Swiss written on their passports. We look at the rise of Swiss classical music from early times right up
to the present time. Amoungst the music feast is Freut euch des lebens ( just catch my pronunciation...I
hope I didn't inadvertently swear!) by Hans George Nageli (as Mike reminds me don't forget the omelette over
the 'a' in Nageli).
| Rolf Liebermann 1910 - 1999 |
|
We also hear a chunk of Up and Down the Oberland taken from a suite on
six folk songs by Rolf Liebermann.
| Frank Martin 1890 - 1974 |
|
Beautiful sacred music has been a highlight of Swiss classical music and we play Frank
Martin's In Terrapax, a short oratorio based on biblical texts.
| Ernst Bloch 1885 - 1977 |
|
Ernst Bloch gives us the adagio molto from his Israel
Symphony No 1 Prayer in the desert.
| Joachim Raff 1822 - 1882 |
|
We finish with the rousing In den Alpen Symphony No7 by Joseph Joachim Raff,
Opus 201.
I hope you've enjoyed the run of classics on Infotourist. It's been fun making them... not
so sure about the endless hours of late night research and downloads though!
'Composers 4' starts off in Gsteig graveyard!! On another
special we looked at the world famous bells of Gsteig church and below you can reminisce on that wonderful sound. But on this
piece, it's more of the World's most beautiful music that catches our ear, all composed in the Oberland.
We recorded the bells of Gsteig on 5th January 2005, as church bells throughout Switzerland were rung
to commemorate the terrible Tsunami of the previous Boxing Day. Click below to have a listen to two minutes of their
wonderful sound, until they stop with St Michael's reverberation dying away.
| A glimpse of the biggest and oldest bell? |
|
| It's named after our Mike... St Michael! |
As I was lifting the sound of the bells from our camcorder, I thought I would also grab a few
picture stills from it as well, of the church and it's lovely stained glass.
| I couldn't resist a quick play. Click to hear! |
|
A bit cheeky but no one noticed. Anyway seeing an organ like this reminds me that this is a composers
special, so to the composers!
Composers 4 starts with 'Liedchen von Marie und Papa' by Robert Schumann. A little known
work it was very difficult to track down! Brahm's Piano trio in C minor Opus 101 is the main work we
feature having been written in Thun in the summer of 1886. Some years earlier, celebrated violinist Louis Spohr
settled in Thun ahead of a major Italian tour. Here he wrote his 8th Violin Concerto in A minor in 1816. So more good
tunes from Thun! What do you mean I've done that joke before!
This short 'season' of pieces about the great classical composers connected
with Switzerland continues with, yes you've guessed it, Composers 3!! In the piece you'll hear the following pieces... more of the world's most beautiful music!
String quartet no 6 in F minor by Felix Mendelssohn
As you know my favourite composer, but sadly one of his last works, written in September 1847
and published after Felix 'carped it'!
Symphony No2 Adagio by Rachmaninov regarded
as his most romantic work.
| It's all at the Coop now! |
|
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 18th variation
by Rachmaninov. The last great romantic melody of his career.
Melodie in G flat major by PADEREWSKI
Ignacy wrote a number of beautiful short piano pieces, and this is probably the best
known. While in Switzerland he founded the Polish War Victims Relief Fund.
Composers 2...part of my continuing soundtrack to the Bernese
Oberland.
More of those famous classical composers who, inspired by Switzerland, penned
some of the World's most beautiful music... and my word it is beautiful... the music... and the Oberland!
In case you'd like to listen to the full works, the running order of the extracts you'll
hear in the piece is as follows:-
Shrove Tide Fair from Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky 1910
Petrushka is a folk tale of a puppet who is only made
of straw and with a bag of sawdust as his body, but who comes to life and has the capacity to love. He is to the Russians
what Pinocchio is to the Italians—a not-quite-real “being” whose tragedy is his very real passion, which
make him yearn for an unattainable human life. His movements are sometimes jerky and awkward, conveying the torture of imprisoned
emotions within the body of a puppet.
Violin Concerto in D major by Tchaikovsky 1878
Switzerland was working it's magic, even on a stressed Tchaik.
He wrote ``For the first time in my life I have begun to work at a new piece before finishing the one on hand... I could not
resist the pleasure of sketching out the concerto, and allowed myself to be so carried away that the sonata has been set aside.''
String Symphony No 9 in C major Scherzo and Trio (La Suisse) by Felix Mendelssohn
Bartholdy. 1822/3 aged 14
String Symphony No 11 in F major Swiss Song Scherzo comodo. 1823. The
Swiss folk song was ‘Bin alben e warti Tachter gsi’
Waltz from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky.
Russia’s greatest composer wrote this glorious waltz for his opera... and I think... I LOVE
IT!!!
I hope you enjoy Composers 2. Number 3 is just around the corner!!
'The Hunters of
Interlaken'.
| Swiss Hunter J 4098 at Hermeskeil Air Museum |
|
| The largest private aviation museum in Europe! |
| My old haunt at the end of Interlaken Runway |
|
| The arrester nets have long gone. |
Last Summer I visited the Hermeskeil Air Museum in Germany where we captured the above a moment before the camera batteries gave up! (That's our excuse
for such a lousy photo), but it's enough for me to ramble about!
For a number
of us, and especially for those camping around Interlaken airfield, over 3 decades, the sight, and sound, of the Hawker Hunter
jet was quite familiar. It’s an aircraft much loved by many including me, so I was inspired to do a piece about the
old days when the valleys reverberated to the sound of the Rolls Royce Avon.
| T68 Landing |
|
| © Urs Stoller, from 'Ein jäger fur die Schweiz' (Borgeaud/Gunti/Lewis) |
In researching
the piece, I got in touch with Gordon Williams who created the fascinating website swisshunters.info dedicated to the 160 Swiss Hunters. On his ‘profiles' page there is a meticulously compiled list of all the aircraft
with their known histories.
I also had a chat with Peter Lewis, author of the 'definitive' work on the Swiss Hunters. He
has written two books on the subject, 'Swiss Hunter' and 'Ein Jäger für die Schweiz'. His website is goatworks.com.
Peter is a member of the Interlaken Hunter Club.
| J-4007 belongs to the Interlaken Hunter Club |
|
| © Urs Stoller |
|
