What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[bart]

Originally Posted by tima

You don't run across The Tempest very often - not previously on SACD (to my knowledge) - so that plus Okko Kamu and I had to let amazon send it to me. A commission to S from the Royal Theater in Copenhagen for a production of the Shakespeare play. The Overture is weather incarnate - very unusual. Followed by two suites, each with about ten different parts, some develop characters, some help set scenes. Excellent sonics and performance. Kudos to BIS for doing this.



Next in the queue...



ABM is something of a piano god in my listening room. If you are not familiar with his playing, despite what folks say about his Debussey, I insist that you start here :

Thanks Tim, for the tips!
I adore Sibelius.
And I like Michelangeli's Debussy! It often plays in my waiting room

[AudioNut]

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

The review links to the Philips CD and my comments are based on the Philips SACD auditioned in MCH (SA-CD.net - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Borodin, Balakirev - Gergiev). Which copy is yours?

My copy of eh Gergiev/Schehrazade is the original Philips CD that I bought about 6-7 years ago.

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . . Music for a Glass Bead Game

Arturo Delmoni, Violin
Nathaniel Rosen - Cello



A very "real" sounding recording of a violin and cello played by masters and very well recorded by John Marks Records.

[jdandy]

Now playing: Janine Jansen - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Hybrid SACD)

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by bart

Thanks Tim, for the tips!
I adore Sibelius.
And I like Michelangeli's Debussy! It often plays in my waiting room

Tim, yes, thank you!

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . . La Folia - Gregorio Paniagua

A Harmonia Mundi Recording -
Re-Mastered and Issued by ATR Master Cut Recordings in as a 180g LP



This LP is unbelievable - One of the most dynamic recordings I've ever owned.

From the Audiophile USA web site where i got the cover art. . . '

"Description: Deadly Rare 1985 180gm Master Cut Remastered Version Of The Stunning Harmonia Mundi LP.
The Last Copy We Had In Stock Was 2006 And Sold For $200."

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky - Film Score - An Athena LP Limited Edition Analogue Master Recording - produced in 1991.

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Leonard Slatkin, Conductor



A very dynamic recording - Great Sonics - Good Demo Record

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . . Massenet - Le Cid - Ballet Music -
Scenes Pittoresques,
The Last Sleep of the Virgin

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Louis Fremaux, Conductor

A Limited Edition Klavier Recording on LP (my copy is # 2582)



And, while I'm in the mood for dynamic music . . . Here is another excellent example of music guaranteed to keep you awake!

"...the whole recording is demonstration class-brilliant without sounding too close up. So is the conducting. Recordings of Massenet orchestral music are rare enough. Recordings this good are almost too much to expect. Grab it!" - American Record Guide, Jan./Feb. 1989. This record is on HP's list.

[bart]

This choral music is of sheer beauty.
Very well sung, terrific sonics.
Arvo Pärt was born in '35, in Estonia; he still composes.
This review comes from the CD-version:
I will be the first to admit that I have not been a particular fan of the trend in contemporary choral music that partakes rather heavily of ancient methods--music like that of Pärt and John Tavener--and have tended to steer clear of them after a few exposures. I liked Pärt's 'St. John Passion' but felt it went on too long and was just a bit monochrome. I have also not been a big fan of trance music, of which some of this music seems to take part. But for some reason I have really responded positively to this release of choral music by Pärt. Perhaps it is because the performances are so wonderful. The Elora Festival Singers are a group made up of professional singers from Toronto, mostly from, I think, Toronto's well-known Mendelssohn Choir. I have been impressed with other recordings they have made and I suppose that's why I gave this CD a listen. Some, or even perhaps all, of these pieces have been recorded before, some several times, and some by such wonderful groups as the Hilliard Ensemble, the group that first recorded the 'St. John Passion.' Perhaps my positive response also has something to do with the fact that there are several shorter pieces here, pieces that one can easily imagine being performed as part of a church service, rather than an evening long work like the Passion. Amazon has not, as of the date of this review, listed the individual pieces included here. They are:

Cantate Domino Canticum Novum (Psalm 95) (1977, rev. 1996)
Berliner Messe (1990-91, rev. 1992)
De Profundis (1980)
Summa (1977)
The Beatitudes (1990, rev. 1991)
Magnificat (1989)

The largest piece here (23 minutes long) is the seven-movement 'Berliner Messe' which exists in several versions. The one here is for string orchestra and choir. The orchestral accompaniment is very spare (and very lovely) and, as with most of Pärt's choral music, the choir sings a kind of extended Gregorian chant with much unison singing but also with austere choral harmonies that often include added-note triadic chords. The effect is prayerful and serene. The 'Credo' is a rewriting of the earlier 'Summa,' which also appears here as a separate piece. In both the 'Credo' and the earlier 'Summa' there is a medieval-sounding etiolation of Lutheran chorale tunes. The 'Agnus Dei' is particularly haunting.

The setting of the 'Psalm 95' ('O sing unto the Lord a new song') is a simple chant-like setting for four-part chorus and organ with changing harmonies and spare organ accompaniment. 'De Profundis' ('Out of the depths I have called unto Thee') does indeed rise out of the depths, with tenors and basses intoning the main theme; quiet bass drum strokes and a recurring single tubular chime note against a wavering organ ostinato create an incantatory effect. 'The Beatitudes' and 'Magnificat' (the latter possibly the most performed of all of Pärt's choral pieces) are in like vein. The seven-minute 'Magnificat' alternates solo and choral sections and perhaps provides a bit more contrast than others of his works.

Although I have not heard other recordings of these pieces, I cannot praise too highly the limpid, lightly inflected, and reverent singing of the Elora Festival Singers, along with the excellent support of their partners, the Elora Festival Orchestra and organist Jürgen Petrenko, led by their conductor (and Elora founder) Noel Edison. This is music-making at the highest level.

Recommended.

Scott Morrison

[bart]

Originally Posted by tima

- Thank you Bart !!

Most welcome Tim!
Glad you're here!