# Music with rich harmonic textures?



## Don Quixote (Apr 12, 2010)

Hello, all,

I'm about to go to school to both study music composition and prepare for med school, and I'm interested in broadening my musical horizons. To be bluntly honest, I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to the classical idiom, but today I've come to fix that problem, if only in part.

I was wondering if anybody could recommend me composers or specific pieces that fit the parameters of the title (see above). I know that this isn't the most lucid description of what I'm looking for, so I'll try to help with a few examples: from what I've heard of them, Debussy and Ravel are wonderful, and for those of you familiar with jazz, I love the work of Maria Schneider, Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer. I guess you could say that I'm looking for Impressionistic harmonies, but I'm more than open to anything you feel stands out because of its harmony, regardless of "genre" (I know the esteemed French gentlemen didn't like being categorized). Don't hesitate to recommend me anything more modern in nature - as I said earlier, I fully intend to explore new musical dimensions - well, new dimensions for me, anyway!

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Definitely check out Charles Tomlinson Griffes for rich harmonies:





You might also enjoy the music of Frederick Delius if you like Debussy:





or Uuno Klami:





or William Grant Still for a slight hint of jazz:





and perhaps Hector Villa-Lobos:





These are but few. If they don't suit your tastes, there are plenty of other composers out there. The search is half the fun. Good luck.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

A lot of early music has rich harmonies, but in a choral setting. Some composers whose music I have heard are Byrd, Tallis, T. L. de Victoria, Josquin des Prez, Palestrina and (especially) Gesualdo...


----------



## rojo (May 26, 2006)

Hi Don, welcome to TC.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Bill Evans among your jazz favourites. Plenty of rich, Impressionistic harmonies in his stuff.

To answer the question, I'll go with Mahler, Bruckner and Wagner. Rich harmonies, although not really Impressionistic.


----------



## JAKE WYB (May 28, 2009)

*Arnold Bax* - 
Spring Fire
Nympholept 
Tintagel
etc...

*Scriabin*
Poem of Ecstasy

*Strauss*
Alpine Symphony


----------



## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

"Rich harmonic textures" is a rather vague term. But Wagner,Bruckner,Mahler,Richard Strauss, 
Debussy,Ravel, Karol Szymanowski, Arnold Bax, Fredrick Delius, Elgar, Alexander von Zemlinsky,
Franz Schreker,Franz Schmidt, Rachmaninov, etc would certinly fit the bill.
Others might include Ernest Chausson, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Ernest Bloch.


----------



## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Frankly, Haydn Mozart and Beethoven too employ rich haronic textures.


----------



## TWhite (Feb 23, 2010)

Several works of the Spanish composer Manuel deFalla employ extremely lush, rich textures. "Nights In The Gardens Of Spain" for piano and orchestra, and especially his ballet "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" (The Three-Cornered Hat), which has several sections in which he treats the full symphony orchestra like an enormous Flamenco guitar. Really wonderful and colorful stuff, IMO.

And in the same vein, the Arbos orchestrations of five pieces from the Albeniz "Iberia" Suite are like the best of Debussy and Ravel--colorful and exciting. 

Tom


----------



## anacrusis (Mar 21, 2010)

Scriabin, Sorabji, Ornstein, Roslavets, Feinberg, Griffes.....


----------



## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

Rasa said:


> Frankly, Haydn Mozart and Beethoven too employ rich haronic textures.


I was thinking the same thing, especially Beethoven.


----------



## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Rasa said:


> Frankly, Haydn Mozart and Beethoven too employ rich haronic textures.


It's actually harder to name composers who used poor harmonic textures.

What does 'rich' mean in this context anyway. Many? Remote? Complex? Foreign? Unusual? Strong? Pure? Beautiful?

Anyway for some composers not yet mentioned I'd recommend Franck, Brahms, Gershwin, Copland, Partch, Ligeti, Young, Stravinsky and the list goes on.


----------



## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

I also find it strange that Messiaen wasn't yet mentioned.


----------



## Eusebius12 (Mar 22, 2010)

Andre said:


> A lot of early music has rich harmonies, but in a choral setting. Some composers whose music I have heard are Byrd, Tallis, T. L. de Victoria, Josquin des Prez, Palestrina and (especially) Gesualdo...


I think Gesualdo has quite dissonant and chromatic textures, but along with those you have mentioned the gamba composers William Lawes and St Colombe, although not as dissonant, certainly expressed themselves in rich and unusual sound combinations. Dufay also, although very varied in style, may have been an inspiration to Lawes and St Colombe in some of his instrumental works.

Of course, Bach, the summit of classical music, expressed all facets of compositional resource, using heavy dissonance at times and a very full, varied and rich harmony when he wished to.


----------



## Eusebius12 (Mar 22, 2010)

Well, there are few more subversive uses of harmony than the finale of Mozart's 41st symphony, and few more captivating than 'Soave sia il vento' from Cosi fan Tutte. 

It depends what the OP likes, does he like counterpoint (the combination of different 'voices' or 'lines', combining with one another, most employed in baroque music, of which composers like Palestrina and Bach were the greatest masters), very chromatic types of harmony, the 'hothouse' style (favoured by composers like Wagner, Liszt, Scriabin, Franck, and others of the Franck school like Magnard, d'Indy, and Chausson) or Impressionism (of Debussy, Ravel, Ibert , and occasionally employed by a diverse range of composers including at times Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Liadov, Falla, Richard Meale, Cyril Scott and others).

It is worth noting that whatever style of composition or whatever era, good use of counterpoint is valued as perhaps the supreme employment of harmony....


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Scriabin's Prometheus, Feinberg's Berceuse and Piano Sonata No. 3, Henry Cowell's The Voice of Lir, Alfred Schnittke Symphony No. 8.


----------



## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

If you want exotic and unusual harmonies, definitely check out the Charles Ives orchestral works.. or for choral music, Carlo Gesualdo is about as chromatically dense as you can get..


----------



## Mariya786 (Apr 19, 2010)

*You have nice collections:*

Hi,

You have really nice collection

If you want more good and nice collection ten just have a look to Payloadz store.

You will enjoy it.

Thanks


----------



## robert (Feb 10, 2007)

Mariya786 said:


> Hi,
> 
> You have really nice collection
> 
> ...


This surely seems like a SCAM ?


----------



## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Reger's thick 'n' rich harmonically, as he piles up chords one upon another.
Check his String Sextet Op. 118 (F-major)--his masterpiece.


----------



## JoeGreen (Nov 17, 2008)

Rasa said:


> Frankly, Haydn Mozart and Beethoven too employ rich haronic textures.


Oh, com one, guys let's not make this difficult. I'm pretty sure when he said "Rich Harmonic Textures" he was in reference to _highly chromatic _music.

On that note may I suggest some of these lesser known composers?

*Frank Bridge
Arnold Bax
Hugo Alfven
Rued Langgaard*


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

JOE GREEN IS BACK 

s


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Try out some Enescu (not the rhapsodies, but the symphonies and chamber works are seriously colorful.

This is a great starting point... I'm actually going to perform this tomorrow!


----------



## Don Quixote (Apr 12, 2010)

Hey, guys,

Sorry I haven't really been around much- April's been my busiest month yet for a variety of reasons both enjoyable and unpleasant, and I intended to get back to you a substantial amount of time earlier.

I've listened to Messaien's Quartet for the End of Time, and I'm ashamed to have never heard of him until about two months ago. This is exemplary music. In all honesty, this is the only work of his that I've seen discussed on a regular basis so far. Any suggestions regarding his other work?

Also, I found myself listening to a bit of Eric Whitacre's choral works earlier, and for someone who I thought wouldn't really enjoy choral music, this is wonderful. Cloudburst, in particular, almost seems like the voice of the universe to me. Anything else even vaguely like this?!?!

I didn't mean to imply that I had a low opinion of the Older Composers by stating my preferences, but I'd love to hear your input regarding which works of theirs to check out - being a relative newcomer, trying to explore their achievements has been kind of intimidating for me.

I understand that what I've asked is vague in nature (to make an understatement), so I really appreciate everyone who has contributed to this thread so far. Thanks for making the most of my uselessness! I wish I can be more helpful, but to say any more on my part is to go into territory that I frankly don't understand very well.


----------



## Falstaft (Mar 27, 2010)

If you're still looking, the Second Viennese School's members all took contributed to that magnificently swollen brand of harmonic richness before their turn to atonality (it's actually a pretty clear trajectory when tracing their development from A to B). Might be worth checking out

Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht, Gurrelieder, Pelleas, 6 Orchestral Songs (not best recording, but you get the idea from 



)

Webern: Im Sommerwind

Berg: Actually, all of it, including the atonal stuff. Few composers with as expansive a pallet of tonal colors as him.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Suk or Dohnyani yet, two pretty good composers to consult for this kind of thing. Even Puccini might furnish some of the kind of music you're looking for, especially Fanciulla onwards.


----------

