Bach Chamber and Instrumental music

Started by Que, May 24, 2007, 11:21:14 PM

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aukhawk

Quote from: Mandryka on March 22, 2018, 10:16:22 PM
I didn't know about this organ and violin recording from Lotsberg and Nordstoga.



(Includes the version of 1019 with the keyboard solo, and yes, it works well on an organ  :))

Rewinding to this - well the good thing is it made me want to listen again, whereas up to now I've always found the music for violin and keyboard rather unremarkable, by the high standards of JS Bach.  Nordstoga is immaculate, as is the organ and the general recording and presentation of it.  The violinist by contrast does not sound a good match - somewhat un-HIP in style I think, I kept hearing irritating mannerisms, vibrato and even occasional portamento.  And yes I'd prefer him just slightly further back in the mix. 
But maybe contrast is the point - a held vibrato-less violin note and a held pipe organ note are perhaps too similar.  Still, I'd like to hear someone try it.

Mandryka

#381
Quote from: aukhawk on November 23, 2018, 09:44:58 AM
Rewinding to this - well the good thing is it made me want to listen again, whereas up to now I've always found the music for violin and keyboard rather unremarkable, by the high standards of JS Bach.  Nordstoga is immaculate, as is the organ and the general recording and presentation of it.  The violinist by contrast does not sound a good match - somewhat un-HIP in style I think, I kept hearing irritating mannerisms, vibrato and even occasional portamento.  And yes I'd prefer him just slightly further back in the mix. 
But maybe contrast is the point - a held vibrato-less violin note and a held pipe organ note are perhaps too similar.  Still, I'd like to hear someone try it.

I agree with this, th violinist is a problem for me. You can hear Alice Pierrot play it much less romantically with Martin Gester on the organ - it's  good.

I've grown to love these sonatas. In my opinion they really do demand a HIP treatment.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

#382
Quote from: Mandryka on November 23, 2018, 01:28:58 PM
I've grown to love these sonatas. In my opinion they really do demand a HIP treatment.

Tend to agree. Still BTW I enjoy many pre-HIP interpretations like Lautenbacher/Galling, Szeryng/Walcha, Schneiderhan/Karl Richter, Menuhin/Malcolm and Barchet/Veyron-Lacroix.
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Mandryka

#383


Really very nice and expressive, pretty middle of the road performances, of the Bach gamba sonatas, nice instruments and well recorded too. So why should anyone be really interested in this rather than any other equally central HIP recording? Well one answer is that the same two performers recorded the same sonatas on the same instruments before, in 1992, here



Why have they bothered? Why rerecord it? One answer is that they now want to play the slow movements more expressively. Another is that the tone that Rasi makes seems lighter to me, maybe he's now bowing less like Savall and more like Pandolfo. And I'm sure the improved recording quality is a main factor too.

This is the sort of thing that streaming is good for.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka



I think this is very good, I've only just discovered it, light and serious (oxymoron there), intelligent harpsichord part and lyrical violin part, very well balanced in terms of sound. Johannes Leertouwer has also recorded some Mozart violin sonatas, not with van Delft but with a (forte)pianist called Rumiko Harada, and some nice Schumann with Julian Reynolds playing some sort of c19 instrument. All sound like very good things to explore to me - they also recorded the Beethoven.

Clearly Globe, like Novalis, were up to interesting things.

I don't have the booklets for any of these, so I don't know if there's anything interesting therein.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

milk

Jaroslav Tuma and Ivan Zenaty back in 1993. This recording sounds quite good. I don't know this violinist but I'm noticing a bit of a similarity between him and Malgoire in the sound of the bowing. It's a light touch and the violin is similarly atmospheric. I'm not sure what to say about the performances yet beyond my feeling that it's very promising. 

Mandryka

Quote from: milk on September 26, 2019, 02:01:23 AM
Jaroslav Tuma and Ivan Zenaty back in 1993. This recording sounds quite good. I don't know this violinist but I'm noticing a bit of a similarity between him and Malgoire in the sound of the bowing. It's a light touch and the violin is similarly atmospheric. I'm not sure what to say about the performances yet beyond my feeling that it's very promising.

Funny old rubato on that sometimes - 1018/i, 1019/ii
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

milk

#387
Quote from: Mandryka on September 26, 2019, 05:46:58 AM
Funny old rubato on that sometimes - 1018/i, 1019/ii
I like the intimacy of it. I don't like it when people make these pieces too beautiful or grand. They seem like night pieces to me. Pensive. They do make some odd choices with tempo.

milk

Quote from: Mandryka on September 26, 2019, 05:46:58 AM
Funny old rubato on that sometimes - 1018/i, 1019/ii
I'm listening to this again currently. I'm again curious about the violin and the basis for the way Zenaty plays. Again, it links with Malgoire but I'm interested also in how Tuma/Zenaty are different than Rannou/Malgoire. The violinists have something in common which I don't hear on other recordings. I have to go back to Rannou. So far it seems like Tuma/Zenaty take things slower. Maybe they're gloomier? I'm loving this - if you can't tell.

Mandryka

#389
The balance between violin and harpsichord is very well done, at least in 1018, which I just heard.  That makes quite a difference to the effect of the music.

The set includes 1021 and 1023, with organ this time. I don't know that music very well at all.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Quote from: Mandryka on February 18, 2019, 02:22:47 AM


Really very nice and expressive, pretty middle of the road performances, of the Bach gamba sonatas, nice instruments and well recorded too. So why should anyone be really interested in this rather than any other equally central HIP recording? Well one answer is that the same two performers recorded the same sonatas on the same instruments before, in 1992, here



Why have they bothered? Why rerecord it? One answer is that they now want to play the slow movements more expressively. Another is that the tone that Rasi makes seems lighter to me, maybe he's now bowing less like Savall and more like Pandolfo. And I'm sure the improved recording quality is a main factor too.

This is the sort of thing that streaming is good for.

I've enjoyed revisiting the later recording, it's a good one. And my comments made 9 months ago seem right.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

milk


milk

I don't know why this is. I stumbled upon it by accident.

Mandryka

Quote from: Mandryka on May 04, 2021, 12:08:18 AM


(Smith is one of my favourite gamba players so I will give it time soon.)

First impressions not positive. Seems to be dominated by the gamba - and the gamba is not played in a very distinguished way to boot.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on May 10, 2021, 10:31:04 PM
First impressions not positive. Seems to be dominated by the gamba - and the gamba is not played in a very distinguished way to boot.

Got a similar impression by listening to clips. Shall pass this by.
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Mandryka

#395


This contains something unusual which I've not seen on a commercial release -- Andrew Manze's transcription of BWV 565. The CD is on symphonyshare if anyone's interested.  (I don't like it!)
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on May 25, 2021, 12:27:41 PM


This contains something unusual which I've not seen on a commercial release -- Andrew Manze's transcription of BWV 565. The CD is on symphonyshare if anyone's interested.  (I don't like it!)

It was released by HMF or HMUS several years ago. Nor do I like it (the 565) but find it more plauible and listenable than the absurd flute version you posted elsewhere.
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Que

Quote from: Mandryka on July 26, 2019, 03:48:57 AM


I think this is very good, I've only just discovered it, light and serious (oxymoron there), intelligent harpsichord part and lyrical violin part, very well balanced in terms of sound. Johannes Leertouwer has also recorded some Mozart violin sonatas, not with van Delft but with a (forte)pianist called Rumiko Harada, and some nice Schumann with Julian Reynolds playing some sort of c19 instrument. All sound like very good things to explore to me - they also recorded the Beethoven.

Clearly Globe, like Novalis, were up to interesting things.

I don't have the booklets for any of these, so I don't know if there's anything interesting therein.

I have Leertouwer's Schumann and Beethoven - more than excellent!  :)
And his Mozart concertos, though that's not on Globe.

Would be interested to hear his Bach, though I always considered him to be a Classical era violinist.

Mandryka

Quote from: Que on May 25, 2021, 11:38:20 PM

Would be interested to hear his Bach, though I always considered him to be a Classical era violinist.

Don't know about classical era, I think he plays violin in the Bach like he's playing Brahms. But it's pleasant enough and Menno van Delft is very good indeed, imaginative alert harpsichord playing
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Que

Quote from: Mandryka on May 26, 2021, 09:49:51 AM
Don't know about classical era, I think he plays violin in the Bach like he's playing Brahms. But it's pleasant enough and Menno van Delft is very good indeed, imaginative alert harpsichord playing

That's what I kind of expected.

Every violinist wants to play these pieces, but IMO the real stand outs are genuine Baroque violinists.