Thread: Which era do you listen to least?

Inspired by the other thread.

(Sorry about the inconsistency between the "ands" and the slashes. Careless and sloppy.)

Probably early baroque. I don't really like the sound of early Baroque orchestras (that majestic old trumpet sound, makes me think of Louis the V or something, if ya know what kind of sound I'm talking about). I don't really like the sound of the harpsichord either, but I definitely overlook that when it comes to the best of the Baroque era (Bach, Handel, some Vivaldi, some Telemann). Most of the ones I like, as you can see, are more in the late Baroque though.

I guess Medieval and Renaissance. I've listened to enough Romantic though so can't put that down. I've heard some modern as well.

Originally Posted by violadude

Probably early baroque. I don't really like the sound of early Baroque orchestras (that majestic old trumpet sound, makes me think of Louis the V or something, if ya know what kind of sound I'm talking about). I don't really like the sound of the harpsichord either, but I definitely overlook that when it comes to the best of the Baroque era (Bach, Handel, some Vivaldi, some Telemann). Most of the ones I like, as you can see, are more in the late Baroque though.

I guess you are referring to composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully?

Up till now its been the renaissance, but im definitely beginning to gain interest

Originally Posted by neoshredder

I guess you are referring to composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully?

Perhaps :P I don't know enough Lully to know if I am or not.

I am referring to this kind of majestic trumpet sound.



Has a pompous flavor to it that I am not fond of.

By the way, not bashing that opera in any way. It's a really important opera and I love other parts in it, just using it as an example for that kind of sound.

I accidentally voted Late Romantic / Modern (c. 1890 to c. 1950) because I can't read. Should have been Medieval and Renaissance (before c. 1600) .

I've done that in polls lots of times.

Baroque. Can't stand it.

Originally Posted by Polednice

Baroque. Can't stand it.

Please, elaborate lol

I don't listen to much released before c. 1700. I know that a lot of religious/choral music from before then is probably as equally moving as the later works I like but some of the instrumental stuff I've heard sounds just too 'courtly' for my liking so I've never pursued that era. The oldest repertoire I have is a disc of choral works by Charpentier from the late 17th. century - the singing's nice but I can't say I'm a fan of the style of accompaniment.

I voted "Baroque and early Classical". Bach has become a recent favourite of mine, partly because contrapuntal forms like the fugue have started to fascinate me after reading Coplands chapter on musical forms in "What to listen for in music". So I think I'm going to invest more in other composers of the Baroque period.
As for the Classical period, I listen to Haydn once in a while and appreciate the classical Beethoven, but most Classical music never holds my attention for a long period of time. I have a hard time staying focussed when listening to Mozarts piano sonatas for example - though there a quite a few exceptions, of course, he wrote so many.

I'm not sure which is least in my CD player; I have favorites in every era. I voted post-1950, but that's before I figured out David Diamond, Arvo Part, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and lots of other composers have written music in that era that I'm very much taken with. Oh, well, that's the problem with polls.

Probably pre-baroque, with some exceptions (Monteverdi mostly), though I have quite a few cds with music from composers of that era, among them De Machaut, Byrd, Palestrina, etc. Second place would be for post-50 music, with emphasis on extremely experimental, totally atonal, or aleatory music. There are tons of, to put it simply, more "conventional" music still being composed after the 50s so I can't throw everything in the same bag.

Originally Posted by violadude

Please, elaborate lol

You really dared to ask? Well it's obvious! Baroque "music" is just a load of emotionless fannying about with uninteresting harmonies, grating instrument sounds, and half-interesting melodies spoiled moments after their appearance by layers upon layers of thick, muddy counterpoint.