# Help me as a newbie describe my taste please



## steph01 (Dec 21, 2016)

I am a classical noob and very much in the stage of figuring out what I like to listen to and what I don't.

I like most baroque music I hear, from Albinoni to Vivaldi, and I've been lapping up Renaissance music enthusiastically.

However I have been listening recently to Mozart's Requiem and also Haydn's Nelson Mass. Whilst I am sure they are both very good, and there are some moments in each that I enjoy, I general find them too..dramatic(?) loud(?) full-on(?) for enjoyable listening at home. 

I seem to prefer music that's perhaps more "understated" than this. What's the right way to describe this please? I get to the Credo in the Nelson Mass and I think Oh for God's sake shut up.


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

steph01 said:


> I am a classical noob and very much in the stage of figuring out what I like to listen to and what I don't.
> 
> I like most baroque music I hear, from Albinoni to Vivaldi, and I've been lapping up Renaissance music enthusiastically.
> 
> ...


That's my reaction to a lot of Handel! Oh dear, I'll be persona non grata now.
Do you only want suggestions for vocal/choral music?


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## steph01 (Dec 21, 2016)

LezLee said:


> That's my reaction to a lot of Handel! Oh dear, I'll be persona non grata now.
> Do you only want suggestions for vocal/choral music?


I'm fine on finding the music, I just really want some adjectives to describe it e.g. "I don't like a lot of Mozart and similar music of that period because I find it too XXX for my tastes". Perhaps there are some musical/technical terms I can use so as to not sound like a Philistine?


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

steph01 said:


> However I have been listening recently to Mozart's Requiem and also Haydn's Nelson Mass. Whilst I am sure they are both very good, and there are some moments in each that I enjoy, I general find them too..dramatic(?) loud(?) full-on(?) for enjoyable listening at home.


Performances can vary a lot. You might try HIP (historically informed performance) versions of such works, which use period instruments and generally relatively smaller forces for both orchestral and choral music. Herreweghe, for example, has a very tactful performance of the Requiem:






Or you may just not like the work--have fun in your explorations, in any case!


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I think you just don’t like the fanfare. It may also be the interpretations, maybe they are using modern instruments instead of historically informed period? Those are generally lighter and less dramatic, and can make a huge difference. I’m a big fan of Monteverdi’s Vespers and Victoria’s Requiem.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I certainly wouldn't give up on Mozart. Try the clarinet concerto and clarinet quintet. If you like those, there's a lot more chamber music, as well as music for winds. Then maybe onto the violin and piano concertos (but not the ones in minor keys ) and then, and then . . .


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## steph01 (Dec 21, 2016)

Phil loves classical said:


> I think you just don't like the fanfare. It may also be the interpretations, maybe they are using modern instruments instead of historically informed period? Those are generally lighter and less dramatic, and can make a huge difference. I'm a big fan of Monteverdi's Vespers and Victoria's Requiem.


It is HIP recordings I have, but listening to Agnus Dei from the Requiem again, the drums, strings and chorus at the beginning is just annoying 

Which is strange because I enjoy dramatic baroque pieces like Lully's March Pour La Cérémonie Des Turcs

I love Monteverdi's Vespers, that's got dramatic parts but there's nothing in there I don't like. Haven't heard Victoria's Requiem yet but on the strength of your post i just bought a copy.


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## Botschaft (Aug 4, 2017)

steph01 said:


> It is HIP recordings I have, but listening to Agnus Dei from the Requiem again, the drums, strings and chorus at the beginning is just annoying


But then that movement was written not by Mozart but by Süßmayr.


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## steph01 (Dec 21, 2016)

jegreenwood said:


> I certainly wouldn't give up on Mozart. Try the clarinet concerto and clarinet quintet. If you like those, there's a lot more chamber music, as well as music for winds. Then maybe onto the violin and piano concertos (but not the ones in minor keys ) and then, and then . . .


Well that's quite nice, will listen to it a few times and follow your advice.

I should say there are dramatic parts of Mozart's Requiem I like, basically the Offertorium, which I am happy to have on repeat.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Other than just isolated incidents in the music you don’t like, based on some of your examples maybe it’s some of louder tuttis, where all parts of the choir sing a certain theme together for dramatic effect where it becomes too much?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Listen to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and the Berlioz and Verdi Requiems. Then go back to Mozart and Haydn. You will find them "understated."


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I stopped trying to narrow down my taste. It's all over the place and sometimes not very logical. Don't limit your listening. Tastes change. I used to not like Symphony Fantastique then one day I heard a recording on the radio and liked it. 

Some things you may never like. I like some Mahler symphonies but can't imagine I will ever like his 8th or 9th. I think please get to the point every time I listen. 

Keep exploring.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Words to describe classical music: http://www.words-to-use.com/words/music/ Many more could be added, such as blissful and heavenly, energetic and explosive. What words have been left out? Any suggestions or additions?


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Try the Monteverdi's _Vespro della Beata Virgine_ and his madrigals.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Why bother giving it a name? Just like what you like, keep listening, and if over time your tastes evolve to encompass things you didn't like before, so much the better.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Try Debussy Piano Music. His Preludes, in particular, are a wonderful example of "Less is more". You may also like the Piano Music of Erik Satie or Mompou


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

You sound like you enjoy music that is Baroque in nature -- similarity in tempo relationships and not too much variance in emotional temperature -- and don't much care for Romantic music -- great variance in emotions. If so there's plenty of music to discover beyond the Baroque though there is much great Baroque music that will help pave your way to later stuff. If you haven't tried them already, hear Bach's Brandenburg concertos and four Orchestral Suites.. Your taste will probably broaden as you listen to more over time, as well. Try some early Classical era music -- maybe Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 6,7 and 8 that are often grouped together on recordings, or perhaps Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 8, 15, 17 or 22. I think this music has the qualities you seek but is beyond the Baroque in terms of emotional range. The Mozart Requiem and Haydn Nelson mass come from later in both their careers and border on the dramatic Romantic era. Based on what you described, most Haydn should suit you, I think.


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