Prince Charles On Hubert Parry

[poliphilo]

Prince Charles was on TV last night, presenting a programme about the composer Hubert Parry.

I can't get terribly excited about Parry. To me he sounds like wallpaper. Pink floral wallpaper with big, droopy roses. 

As for Charles-  how sure he is of his reception, how endearingly he twinkles, how wry his mouth becomes when it has to utter disagreeable words like "Modernism" and "Stravinsky"!   If it weren't for composers like Parry, he said, we wouldn't understand the human condition.

Hello, Head of Arts Programming? We haven't met, but I'm an old man with time on my hands and a thing about Victorian music. (No, sorry, I don't have any relevant qualifications). Please give me half an hour in the middle of the evening to talk about a composer who doesn't get played any more.

Comments

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

I've seen that prog. It was about [$length of programme] too long.

What IS it about Prince Charles? About his very presence that just...irritates so much one wants to throw something at him? Hard. His posturing about shit he knows nothing about? His embedded self-pity that shines anew out of every pore with every interview? His utter pointlessness?

Along with Karl Lagerfeld (see recent comments) he's one of those people who makes me wonder "What is he FOR?" And rest assured there's no Irish nationalistic sentiment behind my query. We were delighted to see the Queen last year. It's just him/

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He's self absorbed, he's patronising, he's not very bright but thinks he is. This is all very annoying

But I think it annoys me even more that the people at the BBC can't/don't/wont say "no" to him and his vanity projects.

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

It annoys me too and I don't even pay the damn licence fee.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid we're going to have a lot of this kind of programming in Diamond Jubilee year.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

If you don't like the sight of BBC noses pressed hard into royal bottoms, you may want to look away from your television until 2013.

[jfs.livejournal.com]

No, it's okay - we've got the Olympics to distract us!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

So very true. "Sigh".

[theperfectfool.livejournal.com]

"Tonality Elephantiasis" Edwardian Edition

I don't mind Parry in small doses - about 2-3 pages of unaccompanied choir is about right--but any more than that is like Elgar with more arrogance and less inspiration.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Before last night the only Parry I was conscious of having heard was his setting of Jerusalem. Nice tune.

More arrogance and less inspiration

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

btw I like the look of your blog and observations. If you don't mind my rather frequent posts I should like to add you to my list. You don't have to add back or anything like that.

[theperfectfool.livejournal.com]

Yes! A great tune, one of THE great tunes. I do like Parry's "Lady Radnor Suite" for strings because it seems unpretentious. Perhaps because it was written for amateurs? That's behind "Jerusalem" as well.

Re: More arrogance and less inspiration

[theperfectfool.livejournal.com]

Sure. Most entries are locked, do I'll add you. Just ignore the occasional emotional venting -- I sometimes use LJ as an outlet for things I can't safely say elsewhere.

Pleased to meet you.

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

I use Lj for the same purpose and it has become a place where I say the things I can't always talk about to people in my day to day life.

Also I talk about my writing and stuff in progress. A lot. A good chunk of my FL skips those entries and that's fine.