Holger
Group: Members
Posts: 1506
Joined: Feb. 2003 |
 |
Posted: Oct. 09 2004, 17:30 |
 |
David Bedford was / is definitely a big Delius fan, and he's mentioned an influence on Mike several times. Maybe it's partly him interpreting something into Mike's music, but since David was probably the main factor at the time in introducing Mike to classical composers, he will definitely have heard Delius. I myself have to say, though, that I don't hear all that much Delius in Mike's music, and especially not in Tubular Bells. Hergest Ridge has perhaps more of that Delius touch. I believe Vaughan Williams and Holst, and obviously Sibelius, and probably Debussy and Ravel must have been other crucial influences from the classical world. Mike has also mentioned Stravinsky (though I have a hard time hearing him in Mike's stuff), and Bedford has mentioned Messiaen.
But Mike has always cited Sibelius' Symphony no. 5, performed by Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé Orchestra, as the most important influence on his music overall. About Tubular Bells, he once said (I'm quoting from memory here), "I just wanted to make something that sounded large-scale on my own. I wanted to prove that I was more than just a bassist, that I could be like Sibelius."
|
