An Idiot Listens to Western Music: Coll (2021) - Music Diaries

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

J. S. Bach: Mass In B Minor by Otto Kle... Orchestra

Era: Baroque
Year: 1749
Form: Mass
Score: 90
Thoughts: Wow. Just wow. This is easily the greatest mass ever written. I didn't know this, but this really is basically a culmination of Bach's life works (figuratively and literally in a piecemeal fashion). Bach took bit he had written as early as 1724 and through the 30s and 40s added even more to culminate in the extremely powerful and dense work. Some of the work here you can hear influence music for centuries to come. Easily the best written piece of music I've visited along this journey. I love how the different mass sections take on significant emotions of joy or sadness or conviction. The instrumentation is superb and the vocals ring into centuries of influence. Mentally and emotionally inspiring.

EDIT: after 8 listens, I have yet to find any extremely memorable melodies. Amazing musicality, just no "tunes" - for me rhythm and melody are super key to my musical analysis, so I dropped this to a 90 (still best thing I've listened in this log). I'm also comparing this to the Messiah, which is full of tunes... but if taken the wrong way could also feel like a hallmark card... more on that soon.

Info from Archivmusic.com:

Quote:

In 1962, Walter Legge invited Klemperer to make a recording of Bach's Mass in B minor for EMI. Although the Mass was a work that Klemperer was strongly drawn to, he nonetheless declined the offer. He was reluctant to conduct the work using the vast forces that were typically employed for performances as he believed it should be performed with numbers similar to those that Bach would have envisaged. Several years later he proposed a recording of the piece using "authentic" forces of a choir of 48 and under 50 instrumentalists - hence this recording.

The Mass is an extremely important work. Bach originally composed a short version in 1733 as an offering to the new Elector of Saxony. The great composer then spent a decade studying Mass settings by composers both living and dead and only in 1748-9 did he complete the full version of the B minor Mass, recycling some of his best music thus far. To this day it remains a mystery why he composed the work, given the fact that it wasn't commissioned. It is suggested that he saw it as the highest musical form, setting the greatest of Christian rites and therefore both a personal statement of belief and the pinnacle of his life's work.

The Mass clearly meant a great deal to Klemperer, also, who stated that "for me Bach's B minor Mass is the greatest and most unique music ever written". On top of his "authentic forces" condition, Klemperer was very picky about way it was recorded and the choice of soloists. He worked hard to ensure that he captured the musical and dramatic effects he wanted - for example, making the choir sit down for Et Incarnatus Est to create a disembodied, ethereal sound - which works brilliantly.

The outcome is a wonderful recording. The Mass opens with the Kyrie, taken at a steady pace, which unfolds nicely and is appropriately full of pathos. The soloists are all excellent - Baker with her rich, mature voice outstanding in Laudamus Te, the tenor Nicolai Gedda quite - but not too - dramatic with just the right amount of vibrato, and baritone Hermann Prey and bass Franz Crass both lyrical and dexterous. Baker, meanwhile sings the stunningly beautiful Agnus Dei with an incredibly deeply-felt searing intensity. The singers work well together in the duets - particularly Baker and Giebel in a gorgeous rendition of Et In Unum Dominum.

The BBC Chorus are excellent, producing a gloriously full sound in Gratias Agimus Tibi, in an incredibly passionate Cum Sancto Spiritu, and in the exultant Sanctus, full of joy and glory - they are also wonderfully otherworldly and eerie in Et exspecto resurrectionem Mortuorum. Nor does the New Philharmonia Orchestra let the side down - listen, for example, to the beautifully gossamer instrumental introduction to Domine Deus or the tender, melting strings in Agnus Dei.

Klemperer has the balance just right in this performance - it is neither soupy and sentimental nor cold and clinical, but retains a wonderful dramatic quality without ever going overboard. The individual lines are allowed to sing out with clarity, and Klemperer's respectful approach does justice to the spirit of the piece as well as to the written music itself. Overall, this performance is full of a sense of radiance, beauty and nobility and is one I can heartily recommend.

-- Em Marshall, MusicWeb International

Info from Author: Nicholas Anderson

Quote:

Neither of these versions of Bach's Mass in B minor will make much, if any appeal to readers who appreciate developments which have taken place in the performance of baroque music over the past 25 years or so. Yet there are qualities, above all in the Klemperer version, which command our attention and sometimes deeply impress our sensibilities. I would, for example, always prefer Klemperer's monumental, grave and to my ears over-ponderous Kyrie—all 24 minutes of it—to some of the hurried, scrappy and superficial readings on period instruments which I have heard in the concert hall and occasionally on disc.

Klemperer's concept of the Mass is awe-inspiring not because it is slow (that to my mind is one of its serious drawbacks), but because it is thought out in meticulous detail with careful and consistent phrasing, has the clear articulation of an orator and comes over as both lovingly and deeply felt. Furthermore, instrumental playing is disciplined and crisp in ensemble and the line-up of soloists fascinating to anyone with a lively interest in the evolution of vocal techniques: Dame Janet Baker never sang more persuasively than at this stage in her career and Agnes Giebel, though past her best form, gives a fair account of the ''Domine Deus'' with Nicolai Gedda. Sadly, it is the BBC Chorus which I find least acceptable here. It sounds vast and has all the shortcomings of very large choirs—spongy entries, blurred focus, raucous tenors and stentorian, growling basses. The New Philharmonia Orchestra is on the excellent form which typified its playing in the 1960s; the brass and timpani are thunderous in the Gloria but there are many instances of delicately shaded passages from the obbligato players, above all Gareth Morris playing a wooden Rudall-Carte flute, although he is inclined to hurry, and Sidney Sutcliffe and Michael Winfield on oboes d'amore. The continuo group is much too stern and unyielding for my taste but it never could be accused of failing to do its job.

Robert Shaw recorded his version of the B minor Mass last year, although there is little here to suggest that it belongs to any other era than that of Klemperer. Shaw's tempos are in almost every instance faster than Klemperer's, though as often as not insignificantly so; the Atlanta Chamber Chorus sounds pretty sizeable to me, and pretty lacklustre, too—indeed, the Kyrie, though almost five minutes shorter than Klemperer's seems interminable with long drawn out legato phrases which are lamely articulated. The ''Christe eleison'' section comes over more convincingly though the upper strings sound scrawny and the rhythm is not steady.
The soloists provided my chief source of enjoyment. The two sopranos are well matched, John Aler has a fine voice and William Stone is impressively resonant. The Agnus Dei is well sung by Marietta Simpson though she is no match for Dame Janet Baker in the Klemperer. The instrumental- ists also comprise a strong and unified team with an engaging, lightly articulated violin solo in the ''Laudamus te'' and a jaunty inegale reading of the ''Domine Deus''. But the good intentions of the soloists are not enough to rescue the performance as a whole from seeming bland and comparatively aimless. That could never be said of Klemperer whose concept of the music and his evident familiarity with every architectural detail impose themselves on the listener right from the start. Klemperer, too, is better served by EMI's recording which is closer than the Telarc balance though in no way constricted.

In conclusion, I must say that neither of these versions is for me; I shall happily return to Andrew Parrott (EMI) or Gustav Leonhardt (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi/BMG) for period-instrument performances with scaled-down forces; and should I want to hear one with modern instruments and a larger choir then it would probably be the mid-price Karl Richter version (Archiv Produktion (CD) 427 155-2AGA2), though it, too, is patchy.'

Last edited by RoundTheBend on 11/30/2018 04:54; edited 1 time in total

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

Handel: Messiah by Sir Neville Marriner...the-Fields

Era: Baroque
Year: 1742
Form: Oratorio
Score: 95
Thoughts: Funny enough I started listening to this the day after thanksgiving like many people's traditions are to start the whole Christmas thing (which I personally don't subscribe to, but found that serendipitous). Anyway, this work made me rethink the melodies of Bach's Mass in B Minor and found this album chalk full of fantastic melodies. I also really like this recording. The vocal and instrumental performances are spot on and provides a full performance (beware of the 45 minute Messiah performances... they are cutting it waaay down). At times this could feel like a hallmark/aunt betty greatest hits... but really when you listen to it in it's entirety you get this full picture of Christianity... the hope and despair... the mysticism revealed, etc. What I love most about it though is it's knack for creating invigorating music for nearly 2.5 hours. I never really feel likes this drags on. And for this time period, that really is something to accomplish... but really for any. I later learned that many, including Mozart, have spruced up this work and it makes me wonder what version was recorded here. According to the following, this recording is the original work. The recording really is probably the best there is due to it's authenticity of arrangements/etc., as well as superb performance/mix.

Info from asmf.org:

Quote:

This edition of Handel’s Messiah is a landmark recording both for the Academy and in the history of the work, being both the first recording made with the Academy’s own chorus, and the first (and as far as we are aware, only) recording of the version used by Handel for the work’s 1743 London premiere. Sir Neville Marriner’s deliberate choice to break with the massed-choir treatments of the past was greeted enthusiastically by the public, selling over a quarter of a million copies in the first three years, and leading Fanfare’s Michael Carter to remark in 2010:

“There have been many recordings of Messiah since this 1976 release and there will no doubt be many more to come, but few, if any, will match, let alone surpass, this of Marriner.”

The featured soloists are Elly Ameling (soprano), Anna Reynolds (alto), Philip Langridge (tenor), and Gwynne Howell (bass).

Info from arkivmusic.com:

Quote:

In the years after Handel’s death in 1759, Messiah was seen as the epitome of the oratorio genre. The monumental Westminster Abbey Handel commemoration in 1784 employed some 500 performers and went a long way to firmly implanting Messiah at the center of English musical life. In the 19th century its fame grew as did the number of performers. The Crystal Palace performance in the 1870s boasted 3,500 participants, 3,000 of them in the choir! And there was a time when many of us—primarily us baby boomers and our parents—were spiritually enriched by what I term this “traditional” version of Handel’s Messiah . Whenever we went to a live performance or heard it broadcast, we were—more often than not—seated in or listening to a performance from a venue with a large symphony orchestra, a chorus of a hundred or more voices, and a conductor using an edition prepared by an Englishman with the Dickensian-sounding moniker of Ebeneezer Prout, an edition far removed from Handel’s original.

In the middle of the last century, and predicated on the assumption that less is more, smaller orchestras were assembled and they began making use of Handel’s original orchestration. The choirs were also pared down, some to the point that they could fit comfortably into your garage. But contrary to what many of us might think, this approach was far from new. It was first taken up in the last years of the 19th century and therefore predates the small-ensemble approach by almost two generations! In June of 1894, Arthur Henry Mann, organist and choirmaster at King’s College, Cambridge, conducted a performance that swept aside generations of accretions. Mann reverted to Handel’s original instrumentation, restored the original texts, and used forces that matched those pressed into service by the composer. The performances took place at Cambridge Town Hall and received high marks in the Musical Times , but it took more than half a century for Mann’s carefully researched efforts to take root and to flower.

At some point after the end of World War II things began to change. Spurred by musicological research and a quest for Handel the way Handel may have heard and performed it forever altered the musical landscape, not just for Messiah but for Baroque music in general. Musicians began to resurrect instruments from the Baroque and to reinstate the performance practices of the day in what has become a never-ending quest for what is an unattainable authenticity. The bottom line is this: The best we can achieve is what I prefer to term an enlightened approximation.

As the end of the first decade of the 21st century draws nigh, and as a result of the musical archaeology of recent decades, most of us are aware that there is no definitive version of Handel’s Messiah , but there are probably others who need to be enlightened. A respectable number of selections, particularly the arias, can be found in different versions. These date from Handel’s time and were tailored for the abilities of specific soloists, a process that was a given in the 18th century. During the last 17 years of Handel’s life, Messiah was performed again and again, so for a variety of reasons a change in soloists was inescapable.

One characteristic that makes this easier and also makes Messiah unique among Handel’s oratorios is that there is no cast of characters. The story of the birth, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is told in narrative form, so transferring an aria from soprano to tenor or alto to bass could be accomplished without worrying about disturbing a dramatic structure. Messiah would undergo further changes by other hands as time passed. The two most notable were Mozart’s 1789 re-orchestration for a performance in Vienna and the aforementioned Prout edition, which dated from Victorian times and is still in print today.

While there have been many recordings of various versions of Messiah in the last quarter-century, Neville Marriner gave us the first—and to my knowledge the only—recording of the version used by Handel for the 1743 London premiere, on vinyl in 1976; this was rereleased on compact disc as part of London’s specially priced Double Decker series in 1995. Marriner’s choice of music used by Handel for the London premiere contains several items that differ drastically from the versions on which many of us cut our musical teeth. I have broken them down according to the parts of the oratorio.

In part I, the opening and closing ritornelli of No. 3, “Ev’ry Valley,” contain two measures that Handel cut after the Dublin premiere and restored later. “But Who May Abide” (No. 6) is totally different and furthermore it is missing the prestissimo section of the later version for alto. It should be noted here that part of the aria was written for the great castrato Gaetano Guadagni; there is absolutely no evidence that the longer version of the aria was ever assigned by Handel to a bass. The soprano version of this aria (found on Guild GMDD 7112/13) is almost never heard, even to this day. It had been transposed by Handel to a key that disturbs the flow from the A Major of “And the Glory of the Lord” to the D Minor of “Thus Saith the Lord” and “But Who May Abide.” The gigue -like quality of No. 18, “Rejoice Greatly,” is totally different from the common-time setting most of us know. “He Shall Feed His Flock” (No. 20) is here set for alto alone as opposed to the better-known version for soprano and alto.

In part II, the sequence of Nos. 29–32, later assigned to a tenor, are—in the original London version—sung by two soloists to enhance what Christopher Hogwood calls the contrast of desolation and optimism. “Thou Art Gone Up” (No. 36) was swapped about among bass, alto, and soprano in Handel’s time. Next comes No. 38,“How Beautiful Are the Feet,” which Handel set for soprano and alto, and concluded with a choral passage, “Break Forth.” No. 39 (“Their Sound Is Gone Out”) is a simple recitative. The well-known bass aria that follows (“Why Do the Nations”) is shorter and more dramatic than the later version and runs into the following chorus, “Let Us Break Their Bonds.”

As for part III, No. 50, “O Death, Where Is Thy Sting,” was cut roughly in half by Handel after the Dublin premiere, but the majority of manuscript sources retain the longer version recorded here. Finally, No. 52, “If God Be for Us,” is for soprano in some of the early versions, but it was sung by alto Susanna Cibber in both Dublin and London.

All of the variants used by Marriner and others prepared by Handel, save one, are contained in the appendices of the recording by Nicholas McGegan on Harmonia Mundi (HMU 907050/52). The missing item is a duet version of “How Beautiful Are the Feet” for two altos and chorus, which is not included in the Watkins Shaw edition of the score that holds the rest of the different versions.

This has been my personal favorite for many years, followed closely by the scaled-down and tastefully ornamented 1966 release on Philips conducted by Colin Davis. Marriner’s soloists were the best available, and all were Messiah veterans who took the music and the message to heart, drawing the listener in and holding them without exceeding taste or tradition. Elly Ameling’s “Rejoice Greatly” is a model of its kind, the gigue rhythm dancing its way along, and Gwynne Howell’s “The Trumpet Shall Sound” makes one think the Last Judgment is at hand! Anna Reynolds, too, is stunning and her reading of “He Was Despised” may be the most soulful ever recorded, save that of Kathleen Ferrier. Finally, the late Phillip Langridge perfectly captured the contrasting moods in “Ev’ry Valley” and “Thou Shalt Break Them.” Marriner’s choir (prepared by László Heltay) is adept and alert, performing with enviable agility, impeccable enunciation, and the required emotional gravitas when necessary. One need not comment on the contributions provided by Marriner’s Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, for the name says it all.

I have used a lot of space for this piece, and certainly appreciate the editor allowing me to indulge, but in my opinion, it was necessary to delineate the artistic strengths found and esthetic choices made. There have been many recordings of Messiah since this 1976 release and there will no doubt be many more to come, but few, if any, will match, let alone surpass, this of Marriner. It is truly a masterpiece!

FANFARE: Michael Carter

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations; Italian...or Pinnock

Era: Baroque
Year: 1741
Form: Aria and variations thereof
Score: 85
Thoughts: I really like this version (even though everyone loves the Glenn Gould version. Not only is it on the originally intended instrumentation (harpsichord), but I found the performance more lively. At first listen I'll admit the first track or two was an acquired taste for the harpsichord, but as the variations ensued, it clearly is the better rendition. It reminded me of that scene in the movie Amadeus where he meets Salieri and takes his tune and multiplies it's complexity without having to learn it. The "simple" aria then takes on 30 or so renditions of the same concept in amazing variations of complexity. Pretty cool musical idea. Having said that I will say I liked the Italian Concerto a bit more because it felt like it had purpose instead of different ways to do a math problem, if that makes any sense. Amazing playing and totally tickled my ears and brain.

Info from Arkivmusic.com:

Quote:

Trevor Pinnock's playing will have any perceptive listener eagerly sitting on the edge of his chair and demanding more: its bubbling vitality gives the set a cheerful, light-hearted character that is altogether unusual.

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg must indeed have been a remarkably precocious keyboard virtuoso if these superb variations were written for him to play to his master, Count Kayserling, for they were already published by the time that, at the age of 15, he became a pupil of Bach's. (There is an unsolved mystery here, since although Bach received for them a golden goblet filled with 100 louis d'or, no dedication or mention of Kayserling appears on the printed edition.) Forkel said that they were put to practical use to combat the Count's insomnia. One recording, by an artist whom gallantry prevents me from naming, would have sent the Count to sleep from sheer boredom; he might well have taken refuge in sleep as a means of escape from another, by a player living further north.

But to come to the present case, Trevor Pinnock's playing would not only do nothing to induce slumber, but on the contrary would have any perceptive listener (as the Count was) eagerly sitting on the edge of his chair and demanding more: its bubbling vitality and spring-heeled rhythm are immensely engaging, and the generally very fast speeds adopted give the set a cheerful, light-hearted character that is altogether unusual. (They also enable repeats of just over half the variations to be included on a single disc.) These lively tempi—Variations 3 (the unison canon) and 14 are perhaps the most extreme—are nevertheless mostly convincing (though the French Overture surely needs greater breadth?), and No. 7, which recent research has discovered to be marked Al tempo di Giga, trips along on the lightest of toes; which makes it all the odder that Pinnock plays the theme so slowly and with so much rubato. I feel, too, that in its context the No. 21 minor variation is too suddenly slow, and I'm personally convinced that the 'black pearl' No. 25 can exercise its full emotional effect without making the rhythm too elastic. But, taken as a whole, this set, recorded with lifelike fidelity, is a feather in Pinnock's (and Archiv's) caps.

– Gramophone [12/1980]
reviewing the original LP release of the Goldberg Variations

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

Vivaldi: Musica Per Mandolino E Liuto b... Lislevand

Era: Baroque
Year: 1741 (for 532 and 425 in 1725)
Form: Aria and variations thereof
Score: 90
Thoughts: This also seemed to be quite the authentic recording. I was pleasantly surprised with the Andante of 532 as it's one of my favorite tracks on a Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin album I've listened to since I was a kid. Vivaldi is potentially a forgotten composer who did much more than write the 4 seasons (in comparison to Bach and Handel). This is easily on par in regards to the humanity it portrays, the amazing melodies and textures and layers of beautiful music built here. At times it reminded me of some flamenco or similar. Easily the best lute music I've heard so far, but more important than the instrumentation chosen, the melodies and vibrant textured sounds developed here are simply amazing.

AllMusic Review by James Manheim

Quote:

The Vivaldi Concerto for mandolin and orchestra, RV 425, was an essential component of the 1970s classical LP collection -- with the mandolin amped up so loud in order to compete with a large orchestral string section that it sounded like an electric guitar blazing through an arena rock concert. Things have improved a bit since then, but balance between soloists and ensemble has always been a problem with the works featured on this release. The problem has rarely been solved so nicely as it is here. The group of string players used, a fine pan-European set of historical-performance specialists, is not especially small, and lutenist/guitarist/mandolinist Rolf Lislevand is elegant and clean but not arresting on his own. The key is how the whole ensemble works together to bring out the solos, sensitively shaping lines while keeping dynamic levels low enough to set off the soloists -- and, in trio-sonata works, defining the relationships among the soloists themselves. Especially attractive here are the two comparatively rare concertos and two trio sonatas that involve both lute and violin or viola d'amore (the final concerto, RV 93, is for two violins, lute, and continuo). Setting a sharp boundary between the realms of the plucked instruments and the bowed strings here is a real challenge. In a way, it's harder for the mandolin or lute to stand up to a single violin than to a whole group of them. But Lislevand and his cohorts bring it off in very carefully controlled environments in which the lute or mandolin is a full participant in the dialogue, a graceful dancer to the singing violin. Superb sound engineering from a Swiss studio also counts as part of the success of the performance; the temptation to use the resonance of a church to amplify the plucked instruments has wisely been resisted. This is a good addition to any Vivaldi concerto library and a very pleasant set of pieces for anyone who likes the mandolin or lute.

From Arkivmusic.com

Quote:

As part of their Vivaldi Edition, Naïve enables the collector to explore the extensive variety of the composer’s output from the collections housed at the National University Library in Turin. Described by Naïve as “The greatest recording venture of the 21st century” they are in the process of recording by category (sacred music, opera, concerti for winds, concerti for violin, cantata, etc.) the 450 manuscripts from the Turin collection. These manuscripts are from Vivaldi's personal collection of his own, hand-written music scores; his own private library at the time of his death.

One cannot help noticing Naïve’s strategy of using glamorous young photographic models on the front covers of their Vivaldi Edition. Although totally irrelevant to the music this imaginative approach is proving to be an inspired and successful, if controversial and highly recognisable, marketing exercise. I can vouch that Naïve are using the finest possible period-instrument ensembles, eminent baroque vocal specialists and the best choral ensembles in the field of historically informed performance. On this release, Rolf Lislevand is the soloist who presides over cutting-edge interpretations, employing a talented group of specialist period-instrument performers.

Lislevand first came to my attention a few years ago with a revelatory recital of unaccompanied seventeenth century French lute music titled ‘La Belle Homicide’ on Astrée Naïve E 8880. This superb release, recorded in 2003 at Maguelone Abbey in France, won my vote as a ‘2003 Record of the Year’.

The six attractive scores on the disc follow Vivaldi’s usual three movement fast-slow-fast design. The first work is the outstanding Concerto for 2 mandolins, strings and basso continuo, RV 532 with its buoyant and vivacious opening Allegro. The central Andante contains an intimate dialogue between the mandolin soloists and the final Allegro is quite stunning being packed with incident. The Trio for violin, lute and basso continuo, RV 85 is a generally introverted score and barely decorative. The Larghetto is tender and meditative with a closing Allegro that just bursts with energy.

The Concerto for mandolin, strings and basso continuo, RV 425 is an excellent score with vigorous and rhythmic outer Allegros and an enchanting central Largo of contemplative and nocturnal quality. Throughout the Mandolin Concerto one cannot help but notice the richly written parts for the string section. In the Concerto for viola d’amore, lute, strings and basso continuo, RV 540, the unusual blend of the two solo instruments is entrancing. The tender central movement Largo is evocative of a musical interchange between two lovers. I loved the playful Allegro that closes the Double Concerto.

I found the Trio for violin, lute and basso continuo, RV 82 an impressive score. It contains two good-humoured examples of the Allegro movement placed either side of a relaxing and affectionate Larghetto lento. The final score is the Concerto for 2 violins, lute and basso continuo in D major, RV 93. The melodic and memorable outer movements consist of an exciting and spirited opening Allegro giusto with a closing Allegro high on joie de vivre. The finest of all is the central movement Largo with one of the most beautiful melodies ever played on the lute. This is a score that could certainly be regarded as one of Vivaldi’s greatest hits.

Lislevand is an outstanding baroque guitarist who commands respect from the first note to the last with stunning interpretations that are awash with colour. He is at one with the emotional and technical demands of the music and I loved the way he imparts a spiritual, almost ethereal quality to the slow movements. The accompaniment is of the highest quality and I especially enjoyed the rich and varied basso continuo.

The Naïve engineers have provided especially warm and detailed sonics. The very close sound-picture at times even captures the breathing of the soloists and the operation of the instruments but the ear soon becomes accustomed.

Lislevand displays his impeccable credentials on this superbly performed and recorded release of Vivaldi mandolin and lute works from Naïve.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

Rameau: Pièces De Clavecin En Concerts...ko Perkola

Era: Baroque
Year: 1741
Form: Chamber Music
Score: 80
Thoughts: hmm... hard to say if this is a bad performance, I just got done listening to some of the best music of the period, or if this really is as mediocre as it sounds. It's not bad by any measure, but really lacks something to make it anything worth listening to again. It's "nice" arrangements of a harpsichord violin and the viola da gamba. Seems like perfectly harmless music nobility might have playing in the background.

Quote:

Every so often a recording comes out of left field to take me completely by surprise. Such is the case here, a stunning new version of Rameau’s most popular (and only) set of chamber music from a trio of virtually unknown Finnish artists. Harpsichordist Aapo Häkkinen has been mentioned a few times in the pages of Fanfare , mostly as an accompanist, although he does have one solo album, a recording of the Goldberg Variations that Jerry Dubins raved about in Fanfare 33:3. These performers certainly don’t come out of a vacuum; like any modern-day European nation, Finland has been very active for many years in the period instrument/early music arena. The most conspicuous sign of this, perhaps, is the 14-year-old Helsinki Baroque Orchestra; Häkkinen serves as its artistic director.

The five suites of the Pièces de clavecin en concert are Rameau’s own arrangements of some of his most famous harpsichord music, and as such, the performances must center on and be driven by the harpsichordist. Häkkinen clearly is in charge: He adopts tempos that are often faster than the norm, imparting a wonderful freshness and verve to the music, yet amazingly, nothing ever sounds rushed. The string playing is the perfect complement to the keyboard work. Considering that the gambist must play a dual role in this music—as continuo bass to the harpsichord but also as a duet partner in the upper register with the violinist—Mikko Perkola’s contribution is memorable; seldom have both aspects of the part been so well realized or so clearly audible. Violinist Petri Tapio Mattson plays with grace and lovely tone, darting in and out of the musical fabric as needed. About all that’s missing is the optional flûte traversière part that Rameau indicated in about a half-dozen of the slower pieces; had the producers seen fit to include the flute, this recording would have gone straight to the top of my preferred list.

The recorded sound is amazingly clear and realistic, another compelling reason to buy this disc. I’m not quite ready to give up my previous favorite, a Channel Classics SACD with Trevor Pinnock and Rachel Podger. Nor would I want to be without the wonderful Das Alte Werk LP (was it ever released on CD?) that brought together Gustav Leonhardt, the Kuijkens, and Frans Brüggen, a classic if there ever was one.

FANFARE: Christopher Brodersen

Quote:

I’ve become increasingly fond of Aapo Häkkinen’s recording of the Goldberg Variations since reviewing it in 2009, and I was therefore more than happy to see his name appearing against some further favourite repertoire. Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin en concerts were written and published when his reputation as a composer of opera was already well established, and the nature of the music follows patterns which might relate to Couperin’s Concerts royaux and composers such as Mondonville. The character titles given to each movement also follow a tradition seen in Couperin and continued with composers such as Balbastre. Without such titles we might not ‘get’ each musical remark from the music alone, but given the association it’s not hard to hear the pecking provocations of L’Agaçante or the circular repetitions of La Timide. Rameau might not have given this music titles himself, “Several persons of taste and skill have done me the honour of naming some of these pieces”, but they do reflect the kinds of taste and subject of gossip with which he would have been only too happy to be linked. The basic content of the movements are the usual dance forms, but given the substance and contrasting variety of each Concert – a title which refers to ‘ensemble’ rather than performance context – there is a huge amount of lively and affecting entertainment to amuse even the most jaded of listeners.

The players on this recording have a fine synergy, and the blend and adaptation of the string instruments to the harpsichord – the composer’s stated intention – is expressed well both in the performance and the recording. Häkkinen and Perkola have worked together before, making their mark with a Bach release on the Naxos label. The Konsertihovi acoustic is not hugely resonant, so there is certainly no issue with clarity, though a margin of extra atmosphere might have been desirable. This is very much a question of individual taste; the recording is by no means dry or unattractive. The SACD layer opens out the spatial effect and definition of the instruments in the recording a good deal, though plain stereo is perfectly acceptable as well.

There are numerous recordings of this set of works around, and the lukewarm reception given by Kirk McElhearn to the London Baroque recording of this music on the BIS label (see review) is contrasted with plaudits given to alternatives such as that with Christophe Rousset on Harmonia Mundi’s bargain Musique d’abord label. The SACD recording is also not a unique selling point for this release from Alba, there already being a nice version on the Challenge Classics label with Trevor Pinnock and Rachel Podger.

I have very much enjoyed the Häkkinen/Mattson/Perkola trio’s performances, but would also encourage interested collectors to investigate versions which include transverse flute as part of the ensemble. Rameau himself doesn’t specify exact instrumentation in his published score, but the flute adds an extra element of colour to the sound, and can heighten the ‘doloroso’ effect of the more lyrical pieces. Of these, the Accent label has a nice recording with flautist Barthold Kuijken with other Kuijken family members and harpsichord player Robert Kohnen.

Dominy Clements

Read more: http://www.musicweb-international.com/c...z5YPYhWeFT

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J. S. Bach: 3 Concerti by Trevor Pinnoc...sh Concert

Era: Baroque
Year: 1748 (published)
Form: Concerto
Score: 83
Thoughts: It was much better than the Rameau works and features some incredible keyboard works. Some of it felt familiar, although I don't remember specifically listening to it. Curious if the below info gives reason as to why.

Info from wikipedia:
Bach based the Triple Concerto on two earlier compositions. The outer movements of BWV 1044 are based on a lost model which was also a model for the Prelude and Fugue in A minor for solo harpsichord, BWV 894.[1] However, BWV 894 is listed as the model for the outer movements of BWV 1044.[2][3] The middle movement of BWV 1044 is based on the middle movement of the Trio Sonata for Organ in D minor, BWV 527,[3][4][5][6] or on an earlier model for the middle movements of the concerto and the organ sonata.

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Domenico Scarlatti: Sonatas by Ivo Pogorelich

Era: Baroque
Year: 1740 (Sonata K.487 C)
Form: Keyboard Sonata
Score: 82
Thoughts: My first thoughts were: 1) this sounds incredibly modern, 2) This literally could have been written in the classical period or romantic period even. I don't know anything about Scarlatti before listening to this, but I was impressed by this. Now this could be because it is a modern interpretation, etc., but nonetheless I was impressed. As impressive as it was not impressed, however, in the overall experience though. While it sounded more modern than Bach, and could be mistaken for something less well known by Mozart or something, it somehow didn't reach great heights.

Quote:

Although this anthology is weighted towards more familiar sonatas, the programming is sufficiently intelligent and varied for one to sample a fairly comprehensive range of the composer's keyboard style. Five of the sonatas, at least, featured in Horowitz's repertoire, and consequently one is rather tempted to compare the two pianists. Pogorelich really does not come off too badly.

The CD opens with the E major Sonata that was popularized as the second item in Tausig's Pastorale e capriccio (in which the Pastorale was transcribed into E minor). I don't think Pogorelich is quite fast enough for-the presto marking here and some rests in the-opening passages strike me as being fractionally too long. The Pastorale turns up as the third sonata, and in it I thought that some of the loud notes were slightly too insistent; I would recommend the listener to keep the volume control low throughout the CD. Overall, however, this is an attractively played collection, with stunning articulation for the ornaments and plenty of sparkling fingerwork to bring Scarlatti's vivid personality to life. Listen to the D major, Kk119 for a lovely mezzo piano singing tone juxtaposed with bubblingly alive fast passages—then again, the autumnal pathos of the B minor, Kk87 is equally affecting.

Perhaps one could have wished for greater humour and more exploitation of the passages that lend themselves to climaxes, but one respects that Pogorelich has his own way of doing things, and this is without a doubt both musicianly and intelligent. For me, the penultimate sonata of the anthology, a less than familiar one in B flat, Kk529, with its playful leaps and general lightheartedness, demonstrates Pogorelich's style at its best: a unique combination of sophistication and innocence. I didn't care so much for the interpretation of the famous E major, Kk380 that concludes the release—the tempo changes are not wholly convincing to my way of thinking. But this is a fine CD that can be warmly recommended.

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [1/1993]

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J. S. Bach: Harpsichord Concertos by An...korchester

Era: Baroque
Year: 1739
Form: Concerto
Score: 84
Thoughts: A nicely sandwiched collection (Concertos 1 and 6 were my favorite). Unbelievable/mind boggling runs on the harpsichord at times. It's like time stood still for a moment. Concertos 1 and 6 seemed to be the best put together. In honesty though some of this melted together/certain musical elements weren't unique enough. It was good but also kind of felt it was presenting a math problem instead of actually elevating (bar 1 & 6 of course, those were quite amazing). There were times I had wished the mix was better between the instruments, but perhaps this was on purpose.

Quote:

The seven concertos for harpsichord, alongside the five multiple works for two to four ‘cembali’, survive as transcriptions of original (and mainly violin) concertos probably from Bach’s earlier postings in Weimar and Cöthen. As is usual in Bach’s recast works, provenance is of no further concern; whether performed these days on the piano with an ultra-sleek modern chamber orchestra or, as here, with a state-of-the-art Baroque orchestra, the reforged versions make for perennially effective keyboard works.

Andreas Staier’s studied claveciniste dexterity and rich-paletted approach reinforce the matter with his deeply resonant Parisian copy of a Hass instrument from Hamburg, dating from exactly the time when Bach, his sons and pupils would have been dancing their way through these works in Zimmermann’s Coffee House on Sunday afternoons. Dancing, however, is not a primary ingredient in Staier’s vocabulary, and it takes some time to adapt to a deliberate conceit of sustained rigour and gravitas. At its best, the focused determination in the great solos of the D minor (BWV1052) wrest this music from glibness or mannerism towards Bach’s core contrapuntal and harmonic priorities.

Likewise, there’s a gloriously authoritative narrative brought to the concise F minor (BWV1056), through Staier’s cultivated means of connecting ideas without yielding to sentimentality. The line is often fine, because the G minor (BWV1058, a parody of the A minor Violin Concerto) feels as if a mathematical proof is being presented, the orchestra too easily alighting on tried-and-tested instincts. Both these concertos, incidentally, introduce cadenzas in their last movements (where the quasi-fermatas would suggest) to great effect.

Despite the driven and occasionally frenzied bass-lines and the prevalence of couplings that give the harpsichord an unusual presence, the thinned-out E major Concerto parades a conceit of true elegance. The courtliness of the middle movement finds a stately cousin in the burnished reading of the D major (BWV1054), despite a return to the decidedly scrambled and anti-balletic approach to the last movement. Indeed, the refined etching of the second movements – relatively speaking those places which Bach finds least arresting – is one of the greatest achievements of Staier and his colleagues: the D major example is a dark lamentation of profound affect, highly wrought by the soloist’s deft timing and the orchestra’s ambition to enter his still emotional world.

If you’re looking for fun, abandon, lyricism, radiant lift-off (which I miss most of all in the A major, BWV1055) and luminosity, then maybe this is not for you. However, it’s still probably the most brilliantly executed of any version in the catalogue, one whose tough, intellectual, aesthetic and geometric logic celebrates Bach with sustained and impressive consideration.

- Jonathan Freeman-Attwood (Gramophone)

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Handel: Xerxes by Ivor Bolton / Bayerische Staatsoper

Era: Baroque
Year: 1738
Form: Opera Seria
Score: 78
Thoughts: A tale of unrequited love mixed together with a small hint of todesliebe. A famous aria, "Ombra mai fu" is part of this 3 hour opera seria. I'm not certain I'd listen to this again. Much to put into this, yet I felt I got little out of it in regards to emotional or intellectual enlightenment.

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Handel: Complete Organ Concertos by Tre...sh Concert

Era: Baroque
Years: 1738-1751
Form: Concerto (near chamber music)
Score: 83
Thoughts: I've always been a fan of his 6th organ concerto, but it was nice to finally hear them in context of others he wrote. Some of which I really liked and some of which were really just chamber music for "nice evenings" and didn't really move me much. Some of which were direct melody rewrites either first here and then in The Messiah or originally thought up from the Messiah and then re-written here. I don't know enough about both works to know which came first, but at least 4 melodies were direct melodies reused/stolen from The Messiah. Overall it was a nice experience, but really most of the time thought of some rich people getting together and listening to this in the background. At times great, but probably as much as 70% wasn't terribly unique musically, mentally, or emotionally. At times I liked it when some woodblock type organ stuff would come about... shook it up... hehe. Because this was basically a box set... it was a lot to digest. 2 hours of a single work somehow is easier to digest than 15 separate works in a 3 hour box set. After 3 listens, it still didn't lift off for me as great, but definitely quality. Also, while quality, his arrangements aren't nearly as interesting as Bach's - even if possibly more pleasant at times.

Info from wikipedia:

Quote:

Handel's prowess as an organist had already been demonstrated in Rome in 1707 in a contest with the composer Domenico Scarlatti, when his playing on the organ was rated higher than Scarlatti's playing on the harpsichord; his reputation as a great organist had already been established during his one-year position as cathedral organist in Halle in 1702. Handel's organ concertos thus have a special place in his oeuvre. They paved the way for Mozart and Beethoven, who like Handel achieved fame in their lifetimes as composers and performers of their own concertos.[2]

In the sinfonias of some of his cantatas, Johann Sebastian Bach had already introduced concerto movements for organ and orchestra. However, Bach's organs in both Weimar and Leipzig were large organs with double keyboards and pedals, powerful instruments that could only dominate a baroque orchestra. Bach's organ writing in the sinfonias lacks the complexity of his writing for solo organ; it is in two parts, as if for harpsichord, with the bass line doubling the continuo. The small English chamber organs at Handel's disposal, with a single keyboard and no pedals, produced a softer sound that could be properly integrated with a small orchestra, making possible a unique form of concerto close to chamber music.[3]

Info from guest on Grammophone:

Quote:

In this CD of highlights from The English Concert's classic 1984 recording of Handel's organ concertos, the deficiencies noted in the original review concerning the balance between organ and orchestra seem happily to have been resolved. The differences between the recording venues—the relatively dry acoustic of the Finchcock's Museum in the Op. 4 Concertos to the sumptuous sound of the Staffordshire church used for the recording of the two later works—are, on the other hand, emphasized by the critical quality of the CD.
Inevitably in the circumstances the rapport between organist and orchestra is close. Trevor Pinnock's sparkling and precise interpretation of Handel offers the sort of support a virtuoso of Simon Preston's calibre thrives on: in the virile ritornellos of the allegros they play with vigour and brilliance, in antiphonal passages such as the rhetorical opening of Op. 4 No. 1 they are especially alert to the seams, and in the slow movements—for example, the well-paced and elegant orchestral accompaniment to the Siciliana (Larghetto) of the 1739 Concerto in F (The cuckoo and the nightingale)—they support their organist well.
Simon Preston plays with wit and charm; the ad libitum passages are models of taste and discretion. The discrepancies between autographs and printed editions were resolved by Anthony Hicks, whose explanations appear in the booklet accompanying the CD. With so many movements either derived from other familiar works by Handel or the inspiration of others, this offering to CD collectors should win instant popularity.'