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Posted: |
May 28, 2017 - 12:47 PM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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In the early days of mono LPs, sides could be very long, easily going over 20 minutes - please see Frank Sinatra "Wee Small Hours" - and even approaching 30 minutes per side in some extreme cases. When stereo LPs came into vogue, companies began cutting the grooves of the mono LPs to conform to the stereo technology, so the same cartridge and stylus could be used for either mono or stereo. Around this time, someone figured out that 18 minutes was the maximum length for an LP side without sound degradation. While there continued to be longer LP sides, lengths of 16, 17, and 18 minutes became very common. Which brings us to our hero, Igor Stravinsky. In 1913, he conceived an LP titled "Le Sacre du Printemps," or "The Rite of Spring." The LP ran approximately 35 minutes at typical tempos, consisting of two 17-odd-minute LP sides. So, 35 years before the invention of the LP, Stravinsky understood that this medium would offer the ideal timespan for presenting and experiencing music.
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Alternatively, if the composition of Le Sacre du printemps simply had happened to yield a runtime duration of 79 minutes, then would Igor Stravinsky have invented the Compact Disc?
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So 35 years before the invention of the LP, Stravinsky understood that this medium would offer the ideal timespan for presenting and experiencing music. I'm not aware of LPs prior to 1953. I'd say the time period between 1913 and 1953 = 40 years. As for ideal timespan ... I do not subscribe to notions that suggest that the human attention span for listening to (and digesting) music must fall into the range between 25 minutes and 40 minutes in length.
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OnyaBirri: Here is book you'll find fascinating (assuming you aren't aware of it already.):
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In the 1500s, Henry VIII had the foresight to consider the limitations of 45rpm singles when he wrote songs and tunes of around three minutes. I laughed out loud seeing this and the other comments about the cd and 45s. Infact here it is: LOL! Only fair to share it with you.
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So I stand by my assertion: Igor Stravinsky Invented the LP. We all stand by ours asses (and they by us if we're talking about the 4 legged kind). Levis invented the smart phone because their pants have pockets. My stomach invented food. My eyes invented everything I see. My colon invented the FSM message board. I know Onya was just having some fun, but I'm reminded of the urban legend (or fake tech news) that the size of the Space Shuttle was essentially dictated by Roman chariots....because train axle length were derived from chariot wheel distance, and the shuttle was constructed in parts which would (ironically) have to fit on trains. Turns out this is complete BS: http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp Also from Snopes: "Roddenberry’s gain was Star Trek‘s loss. Courage scored only a few episodes of the series’ first season before commencing work on the feature film Doctor Dolittle. Afterwards, associate producer Robert Justman was unable to secure Courage’s composing services for Star Trek‘s second season, something Justman attributed to Courage’s lingering disappointment over the royalty issue." Snopes is dead to me now. Sorry, back to the topic.
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Consulting spreadsheets on my classical music collection, I gathered the works below based upon a runtime duration between 34 and 36 minutes: 34 minutes (approximately) Sancta Civitas by Vaughan Williams Symphony No.6 by Vaughan Williams Belshazzar's Feast by Walton Vincent d'Indy's Symphony No.3 (1918) Walton's Violin Concerto Symphony No.3 by Villa-Lobos Berio's Sinfonia (1968) Enescu's Sonata for Cello & Piano Symphony No.5 by Tournemire 35 min (approx.) Choros No.12 by Villa-Lobos Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams Genesis by Wuorinen Pagan Symphony by Bantock Piano Quintet No.1 by Bloch Symphony No.2 by Frankel Concerto for Piano by Chavez All these should fit OnyaBirri's 'ideal' listening length as well as onto LPs with around 17 minutes on each side.
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Alternatively, if the composition of Le Sacre du printemps simply had happened to yield a runtime duration of 79 minutes, then would Igor Stravinsky have invented the Compact Disc? No- that honor goes to Beethoven, who wrote his 9th symphony purely as a demo/standard for the coming technology. If Beethoven had extended the 2nd movement by three more minutes, CDs would have been long enough to hold Goldsmith's entire score to 'Lionheart'. But alas, the two never talked.
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