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What are some late romantic mega pieces?

1.8K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  Josquin13  
#1 ·
I’d love some recommendations for pieces similar to Mahler’s 8th, Gurrelieder, or Havergal Brian’s Gothic symphony. Cheers!
 
#6 ·
Try Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass, a triumph of a quirky late Romantic genius and one of the few works to apply late Romantic idioms to sacred music effectively, even though Janácek stated that his purpose in composing the Mass was patriotic, rather than religious: “I wanted to perpetuate faith in the immutable permanence of the nation. Not on a religious basis but on a rock-bottom ethical basis, which calls God to witness.”

It's scored for 4 flutes (2nd, 3rd, 4th = piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets (3rd = bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3rd = contrabassoon), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, tam-tam, triangle), 2 harps, celesta, and strings, with solo organ, solo quartet, and mixed chorus.

 
#18 · (Edited)
Siegmund von Hausegger: Natursymphonie, Barbarossa*
Florent Schmitt: Psaume 47 for soprano, chorus, organ and orchestra (don't miss this one!)
Granville Bantock: Omar Khayyám
Rued Langgaard: Symphony No. 1 'Klippepastoraler'*
Ottorino Respighi: Sinfonia Drammatica*
Josef Suk: Ripening, Epilogue
Karol Szymanowski: Symphony No. 3 'Song of the Night' (also impressionistic)
Walter Braunfels: Te Deum, Grosse Messe
Hans Pfitzner: Von deutscher Seele
George Enescu: Symphony No. 3

*no choir/vocal forces included
 
#23 ·
Interesting. I never viewed Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem as a "mega piece" or, at least, defined by the OP. It's not a spectacular choral/orchestral extravaganza. There are some climatic moments in it, but they're not really what I'd imagine the OP is looking for, because the general tone of this work is more reverential and subdued. An exquisite work, IMHO, but a "mega piece"? I'm not so sure.
 
#33 ·
A great work for sure, but presumably too early in the Romantic timeline to fit in with the original request.
 
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#35 · (Edited)
Has anyone mentioned Walton's Belshazzar's Feast?


I apologize if any of these works have already been mentioned:

Holst: Hymn of Jesus.


Howard Hanson composed some great music for chorus and orchestra. One of my favorites is Song of Democracy.


Randall Thompson The Testament of Freedom. I could not find a decent recording on you tube. I found some recording of the version for band and chorus.
 
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#39 ·
Late Romanticism is a relative term. In some ways, certain composers today are still influenced by late Romantic works, & you can find strong romantic elements in many early modernist and so called "impressionist" works...

Schoenberg's Gurrelieder was influenced by Wagner and Richard Strauss, so you might want to focus on them, if you've not already done so ...

I'll provide various links to top, recommendable recordings for each work below, and supply you more options when it is appropriate to list multiple recordings for a master work.

I. Not quite Late Romantic, but...

--Mendelssohn - Die erste Walpurgisnacht (a secular cantata for a large chorus and large orchestra)

If you like this work, Mendelssohn's St. Paul and Elijah oratorios might interest you too.

--Berlioz - Requiem (huge chorus and very large orchestra)

--Liszt - Faust Symphony (male chorus, large orchestra)

--Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (solo singers, chorus, and mind blowing orchestral writing--for example, have a listen to the Liebestod, & I'd suggest that you turn up the volume):


Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90 - Prelude to Act 1. Langsam und smachtend
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90 - Prelude
- YouTube

II. The Late Romantic era:

--Brahms - A German Requiem (soprano, baritone, large mixed choir, large orchestra)
- YouTube

--Verdi - Requiem (four solo singers, double choir, and large orchestra)--this should be very close to what you're looking for: for example, have a listen to the wild Dies irae:

Verdi: Requiem: II. Dies irae

- YouTube
Messa da Requiem: I. Requiem

--Bruckner - Te Deum (quartet of solo soloists, large choir, large orchestra)
Bruckner - Te Deum in C major - Jochum & BPO (1966) [remastered by Fafner]

--Puccini - Turandot (his last opera) - if you like this opera, you might try La Boheme as well, etc.,
- YouTube

--Schoenberg - Friede auf Erden, Op. 13 (the 1911 version for choir and orchestra):
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG FRIEDE AUF ERDEN OPUS 13 1911

--Zemlinsky - Die Seejungfrau, or The Mermaid (no voices, but this symphonic tone poem is a quintessential Late Romantic work with a large orchestra)
- YouTube

--Szymanowski - Symphony No. 3 "Song of the Night" (solo tenor, chorus, & large orchestra with piano, celesta, and organ)
- YouTube

--Scriabin, Symphony No. 1 (mezzo soprano, tenor, large choir, large orchestra)
Scriabin - Symphony No. 1 [1900] (w/ Score)
Symphony No. 1 in E Major, Op. 26: I. Lento

--Scriabin, Preparation for the Final Mystery (soprano, large mixed choir, large orchestra with piano)
- YouTube
Scriabin: 3 Pieces, Op. 52 - Orch. Nemtin: No. 3 - Poème languide - pas vite (Nuances No. 1)

If you like this music, I'd suggest that you also check out these other works by Scriabin, even though they don't use a chorus,

--Scriabin - Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 43, "Le Divin Poème"
Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 43 "Divine Poem": I. Lento & II. Luttes
Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 43, "Le Divin Poème": I. Introduction. Lento - Luttes...

--Scriabin - Le poeme de l'extase
Scriabin: Le poème de l'extase, Op. 54
- YouTube

--Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade (no choir or singers, but Rimsky does use solo instruments to represent the characters in the story, such as a solo violin and harp for Scheherazade, etc., and it's a big Late Romantic orchestral masterpiece, so it might interest you, if you don't know it...)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 - 1. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship
- YouTube
- YouTube
- YouTube

--Strauss - Also Sprake Zarathustra (again, no voices, but Strauss calls for a huge orchestra, and it's another big, Late Romantic orchestral masterpiece)

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
- YouTube
- YouTube
- YouTube
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30: (Sehr Breit)
R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30: I. Prelude. Sonnenaufgang

--Strauss - Ein Heldenleben (ditto what I wrote above)
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: I. Der Held
Kempe & the Staatskapelle Dresden live in concert: Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) , Op. 40, TrV 190

--Strauss - Eine Alpensinfonie, or An Alpine Symphony--a large orchestra--about 125 instruments. Strauss dedicated this work to the Staatskapelle Dresden, with whom he'd had a close working relationship for over 5 decades:

- YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzSf3WK_5g&list=PL8teASWjuj2FdSQuiBLfk608w8P2aFdR9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I038S1eWLDo&list=OLAK5uy_kuyl-7desLFzp9DYhJl4NC7_SFUD8gm38&index=2

--Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder, or Four Last Songs (soprano with a large orchestra): Here's my top ten list of recordings, in no particular order:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwSXprS0FHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdJpFSRIpo4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flq9LitDKeA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KT5xx_Tzmw&list=OLAK5uy_mrK7w6bLPjqqPlYB9E9ZuuM3W7W700kwY&index=13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKD3IayknEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y63k4LfMem0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXP568ppU-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoPII73y3Cg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWMV_CNQa4Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoEGxA1--_M

--Mahler - Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" (likely inspired by Beethoven's 9th, this work is scored for a huge orchestra, two solo singers--a mezzo soprano and a soprano, and a large mixed chorus)--if you don't know Mahler's 2nd, it should blow you away, particularly if you hear a great world class orchestra perform it live in concert,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkLIKptIqGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7116asiGmI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As5s3K9z0wk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fbXBG3lNnU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF_pWIBTWw8

--Mahler - Symphony No. 3 (alto solo, women's choir, boys' choir, large orchestra)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MBCiPICPLs&list=PLe5JL7lnvlzDI_Mn2dXGm6iOj1EZ05lWk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NumMD91i200&list=PLBrs-r77FPJL-kAj2_lKeY_2zBhe69y9j
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9fCQL6COFQ

--Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde (alto solo, tenor solo, large orchestra)--for all intents and purposes, this is Mahler's true 9th Symphony. But he was so afraid of the 'curse of Beethoven's 9th"--i.e., that a composer dies after they finish their 9th Symphony--that he didn't call it a "symphony". Yet the curse of the 9th got him anyway, since he died before he could finish his 10th Symphony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow8Hq8U2ZcQ&list=PLxV6VwFCe968Q4OSqoudtoszUfZXUejCX

(By the way, you should also know Mahler's 9th Symphony, if you don't already, since for many listeners, including myself, it's one of the greatest symphonies ever penned.)

--Debussy - Trois Nocturnes (maybe not a Late Romantic work, but the large wordless womens' choir and nuanced orchestral writing in the 'other worldly' 3rd "Sirènes" movement should be heard because it heavily influenced both Ravel and Tcherepnin in their two Late Romantic ballets listed & strongly recommended below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y0RjeEamjI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv6b87_bPZQ&list=OLAK5uy_k4WO2m2iMf9uZzDZnaCEfIJobOUCbZJy4&index=2

--Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe (large wordless mixed chorus, huge orchestra--an orchestral masterpiece)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tDTDAyXNmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZjBg_RcESE

--Stravinsky - The Firebird (no singers, but like his teacher Rimsky's Scheherazade, Stravinsky uses a large orchestra and the complete Firebird ballet is another big, Late Romantic orchestral masterpiece)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjjwn5j8big
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZu9sSrHXwI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFEUfvMnCmM&list=PLt_iN-ytBvZxkr4sS-It8d8rvDDhuu1VI

--Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si6fn8x1aVA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpDnFrL9FBA&list=PLExdRU27xbS1qO_viaLdDXmhY6e7U1MsJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftOSMCPLRGg&list=OLAK5uy_lHzL5B26p9XjBvgDxVoh7q-wyZYfpGtco&index=20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGu-PZ2H82A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_pfLM6tq2g

--Stravinsky - Feux d'artifice, or Fireworks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaU0Vqz22UE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMnZPWmktm4&list=PLabUwu_IeFjw95_6MenMNrLIRq-Q_B2Rf

--Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms (this is not a Late Romantic work, as it is composed more in Stravinsky's later Neo-classical style; however, Stravinsky does use a large chorus and orchestra--with no violins and violas, but with expanded wind instruments, and it might interest you...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgUypqFRoBY

--Stravinsky - Le Rossignol (Stravinsky's first opera is written for solo singers, chorus, and orchestra--this is a very underrated work, IMO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRMHcl0OZxk

--Nikolai Tcherepnin - Narcisse et Echo (like Debussy and Ravel, Tcherepnin uses a wordless chamber choir and large orchestra in his ballet--it is another underrated Late Romantic work, IMO, which was shamefully neglected work until conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky gave its world premiere recording on the Chandos label,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luz-_IlZvgg

--Pierne - Cydalise et le chevre-pied (yet another French composer that wrote a ballet for a large wordless chorus and orchestra)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2Hf74kyk8&list=OLAK5uy_mk7bpaCnPDBHbjKBeyAx6Auu9VTORE4kk&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9nIvn16Ne4

--Saint Saens - Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" (solo tenor, choir, organ, and an orchestra that includes a brass ensemble, timpani, piano, & harps--this is another big Late Romantic work that employs a huge orchestra that prominently features a pipe organ!)--this symphony should be close to what you're looking for, I expect ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqMElHf6xmE&list=PLa1rC97wRkZg4BdDcImAQlDZOFtKQVdml&index=17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKtv1qr9-HY&list=OLAK5uy_nD0V8HhJhCeaJvIhmJqLFsSHfu1KDA32c&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4EIkj-JhAk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOn5uSfaZzk&list=OLAK5uy_kSlR8hDceQKVEXJPu_DF61tum9uGxxUbY

--Ropartz - Symphony No. 3 (a choral symphony with a huge orchestra & choir)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unMoHJZ04dU&list=OLAK5uy_mOlUPG64-Am6h4UVOXwLdhQFvDA8xA5WA&index=2

--Sibelius - Tapiola--before Sibelius wrote Tapiola, no composer had ever used an orchestra like this,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JPIgLMtKw4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8noD7PhA-po
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXIFPhRcQUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG2RF6j5BT4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy0_zqEOp4A

--Sibelius - Symphony No. 7 --the following are the two most essential recordings of this work, in my opinion--by Berglund live at the Barbican in London & Segerstam: The 7th is the symphony where Sibelius most utilized his brass section, & it's a towering masterpiece. For me, it is one of the greatest symphonies ever composed. No wonder he couldn't finish his 8th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfeJxTnBOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnvPk47b-rk&list=OLAK5uy_mH44BxfRvwxBn3KdUncFamQX0vuF6WLLo&index=5

--Langgaard - Music of the Spheres (for soprano, choir, & orchestra) - for much of the work, this is probably not quite what you're looking for, that is, until the final movement,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atFAnUYzz30&list=OLAK5uy_mPCRr5PQWLb4B7m7MRVeYXyJUwpIPZau8&index=1

--Hindemith, Symphony "Mathis der Mahler":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6p3NQ1_wvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4mKtynKays&list=OLAK5uy_lreCPhG4fSdXy9eGJTpff23sGaD-vs5x0&index=2

--Pfitzner - Von deutscher Seele - a "romantic cantata" about man and nature that is unfortunately sometimes associated with the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich because it met with their approval, even though it was composed long before Nazism. While Pfitzner was allegedly an anti-semite, his association with the Nazis is more debatable (see the Wikipedia article linked below, if the subject interests you).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aORbZXICFM&list=OLAK5uy_l5EPWQXLk2UUJYJhgmcYS3od_D006ToPo&index=2


--Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3MekBxEjg4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjulS1m7zaU&list=OLAK5uy_kLqLOPHE3LzWz3bdy_F4tLhbWnDQkK8hk

--Rachmaninov - The Isle of the Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S3pZ87h-FI

--Bela Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin (maybe more modernist than a late Romantic work, but Bartok uses a mixed choir offstage, and large orchestra. This ballet is a stupendous work!, one of Bartok's finest creations, IMO. Interestingly, I once heard of a patient in a mental hospital that played Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin over and over and over again, and wouldn't listen to any other music! There are a bunch of excellent recordings to mention,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzLi8EFERTI&list=OLAK5uy_kMOl2YhcubM3A5FT-gpwwmkxKdpHOerCs&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cROk7194cBs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5FWGQswsr0&list=OLAK5uy_kxfec_AiwLBk4oobvZisAdmQJapgWrFo8&index=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrWvTD_aDhg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlcnJd5QNvY

--Bela Bartok - Duke Bluebeard's Castle (a one act Gothic drama opera)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsqcVfqjrKk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OBv52AzTGs&list=OLAK5uy_nO10nyCR5DCf8IHbjid13aLeL6WYRENHE&index=2

--Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 7 "Sinfonia Antarctica"--Vaughan Williams created this symphony from his score to the film "Scott of the Antarctic" (solo soprano, 3 part womens' chorus, large orchestra, & some recordings employ a narrator--such as Boult using Sir John Gielgud in his 1953 recording, and Previn using Sir Ralph Richardson in 1967, & some don't, like Boult in his 1969 recording, and Haitink in 1984, etc.): this is perfect music to listen to on a icy cold, desolate winter's day...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH06ko447II&list=OLAK5uy_lwDJWGDRE9471WAL5blnMPVLm1kT-zzYk&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5kyPYyyArI&list=PLkAUJkbhd-Rg2jeta2BKWY3B716iihfTP&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv6YBg7PLag

--Vaughan Williams, Symphony No. 1 "Sea Symphony" (a large choral symphony--not my favorite work by RVW, but...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_BM5KNAU78&list=PLSp-wJ4HEku3V-edWnSwp7b5Z0hKnlqM1

--Sir Granville Bantock - Omar Khayyám
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeu7SxdDcHI&list=OLAK5uy_njO5K4xzHxkCXZsIBDEashAyF9ZGaQS64&index=2

--Holst - The Planets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtCNUEAVXbM&list=PLgTPaaiUsFv_ZRMLOeHtWXyhr2cQsUiBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKUVemPLAbw&list=PLjY-VMwEmi_ZOwL8RlfoRWhBMbvEUZ53h

--Arnold Bax - Tintagel (if you like this orchestral tone poem, you might also check out "The Garden of Fand")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG-Sm-TjvUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl7vDbZYjU8

--Arnold Bax - Symphony No. 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpGcRL2PkBE

--Britten - War Requiem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJwaF1Kb_i8&list=PLntD4v5IQmdUtS2TRooTNlYzuAxJikZi5

--Prokofiev - Symphony No. 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=553PovHqHPE&list=OLAK5uy_mup87cyOZe5dw-IlwUEXPh736nMYBBrFw&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP5LSJ-5e40&list=OLAK5uy_l-VTkxLcGRMC4GxiForePYcAcLgHZKofM&index=34

--Prokofiev - Scythian Suite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_O6gFm7srA&list=OLAK5uy_mY6oMVFiBipJu8y_oPzPcFm7oWZc1a0hc&index=8

--Orff -Carmina Burana (huge orchestra and choir)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg3B97_O9R4&list=PLa1rC97wRkZi0J0dDr5_hFV5sgFxK2lTM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTNm7Niockk&list=PLt_iN-ytBvZzElZUWzh6HmfekrIdUJ2lI

III. Late Romanticism in modernism: beyond the two Holmboe recommendations & the Henze ballet below, you may find the other 5 suggested works too modern...

--Holmboe - Symphony No. 8 "Sinfonie boreale"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHQsAClZYY&list=OLAK5uy_niR7SmqlQudhi9THXRVoBVjTHNrUiGUVw&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtkzETdOa9E

--Holmboe - Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia rustica":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNgNuaBi4bY

--Henze - Undine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdZu4foowIY&list=OLAK5uy_m04u0o0fb8TqeayV9ZI7RzLUw090gWWFQ&index=1

--Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphonie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABHU3OaDAhI&list=PL4IxQ8y_gjKgPYTelYhCU0HBG3jciG_Io

--Pettersson - Symphony No. 7:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1nzIReSbe8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymq1bruOayo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQyUzOXPiY

--Pettersson - Symphony No. 4 - the composer considered this work his best symphony,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9C0UPlAQWs

--Pettersson - Symphony No. 11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s0giWQjUiE

--Nørgård - Symphony No. 3 (for choir, vocal ensemble, and orchestra)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6_3Kgy-Jyc&list=OLAK5uy_nWTEu18IhMFTTB-J1y6mvUPKJ1UXF0nOU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FtLRMYdi8&list=PLu6D2w79TomKgLXYiw8HE1jn-YDQ-k8g5&index=3

Hope that helps. Though of course I don't intend that you tackle my list above all at once, but rather over time, at your leisure, if interested. In other words, it's intended as a reference guide, more or less.