Bach Chamber and Instrumental music

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

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premont

Quote from: Que on April 13, 2008, 10:02:44 PM


BTW, is your favourite still Rachel Podger?

Q

She remains in the front row , and I am happy, that I own both her recording and Matthews´, - and many others.
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Bunny

Quote from: Que on April 14, 2008, 05:43:22 AM

(Bunny succeeded in moving the topic from those to the accompanied sonatas, luckily this is a more general thread. ;D)

Q



Oops!  With the thread entitled: Bach's Chamber and Instrumental Music, I didn't think this would be off-topic.

I've just been out of touch for such a long time that I missed the discussion of the Mullova.  I saw the C/T review, and became curious.  Btw, I had looked it up at the Gramophone website, and couldn't figure out whether they liked it or not.  In any event, I have the Ehnes/Beauséjour recordings which seem to be much in the same style, but with better reviews.

FWIW, I think C/T is endorsing any Baroque recording with vibrato... >:D

Again, apologies for going off topic!




Don

Quote from: Que on April 14, 2008, 05:43:22 AM
If you'd want your Bach straight and very sober IMO, it didn't do it for me.

What are your preferences on the solo violin sonatas and partitas, Don? :)


Blumenstock sober?  I find it more expressive and heart-felt than any other versions.

For the solo violin works, Matthews on Centaur is my favorite.  I also like the Podger, Schmitt, van Dael and Kuijken accounts.

Bunny

Quote from: fl.traverso on April 14, 2008, 11:06:04 AM
I think Denon will release it as a hybrid.  Ordering from amazon jp probably isn't very difficult...(I think  0:) )

Actually, finding out about this at Amazon JP is not that difficult; and the recording is in fact a hybrid. ;)

Just go to SA-CD.net; then follow the link to Amazon Japan.  When you get to that page, just hit the link which says "Would you like to see this page in English ? Click here" and presto!  The page has enough English information to facilitate the sale.

As I see it, the only obstacle is the miserable state of the US dollar.  :'(

FideLeo

#104
Quote from: premont on April 14, 2008, 11:36:42 AM
Thanks, hope you are right.






In addition to amazon jp, this is available from cdjapan.co.jp as well, which accepts even payment via paypal. 

ps. I am in the process of checking out Terakado's S&P for vn solo -- which, according to an amazon jp
review, has wonderful texture and low notes.  :D
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

premont

Quote from: traverso on July 01, 2008, 01:29:53 AM
ps. I am in the process of checking out Terakado's S&P for vn solo -- which, according to an amazon jp
review, has wonderful texture and low notes.  :D

You have to report, letting me know, if this is something to collect.
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FideLeo

#106
Quote from: premont on July 01, 2008, 08:07:11 AM
You have to report, letting me know, if this is something to collect.



A few selections from Terakado's recordings of S&P.   Incidentally, he appeared to use the same 1691 Giovanni Gracino violin which Sigiswald Kuijken used for his first recording (Kuijken's 2nd recording was made on a 1700 Gracino).  No description from me yet; dl and listen to the clips for yourself:

Along with the cello suites above, Terakado may be the first artist ever to have recorded all of BWV 1001 to 1012 in the original scoring.  :)
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

premont

Thanks, Traverso, for the selections. Very simple and unmannered playing. I think the Presto from the g-minor Sonata shines beautifully by this kind of treatement, the music so to say expresses itself. For the same reason I would expect his Fugues as well as the Chaconne to be very good. As to the Sarabande and Double from the h-minor Partita he surely plays in authentic tempo and informed light rhytm, but these movements do not IMO express themselves in the same immediate way as the Presto, so personally I prefer them played with a little more expression in the way Kuijken or Matthews do.
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FideLeo

#108
Quote from: premont on July 03, 2008, 08:17:22 AM
Thanks, Traverso, for the selections. Very simple and unmannered playing. I think the Presto from the g-minor Sonata shines beautifully by this kind of treatement, the music so to say expresses itself. For the same reason I would expect his Fugues as well as the Chaconne to be very good. As to the Sarabande and Double from the h-minor Partita he surely plays in authentic tempo and informed light rhytm, but these movements do not IMO express themselves in the same immediate way as the Presto, so personally I prefer them played with a little more expression in the way Kuijken or Matthews do.

Hello Premont thanks for what I think is a very proper description of the clips.  I have not listened to disc 2 yet but I suspect it will continue the rather un-romantic approach you identify above.  Incidentally Terakado, in the booklet note written by himself (unfortunately in Japanese only), emphasises the authentic mixing of various national characters in this music as well as the Japanese character of his own contribution to the interpretative history of this music.  These performances BTW are not that recent; made in 1999 in NL, Terakado's recording actually predates Kuijken's 2nd recording and, who knows, may have been made with K's participation.  So T's relatively straightforward playing may have been the result of a self-conscious decision. :)
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

FideLeo

As an addendum, it is interesting to note that more and more HIP recordings of JSB instrumental and chamber music use the low pitch of a=400 or lower.  The actual decision depends, in each case, on both the performer's interpretative needs as well as on the instruments being used: players with keen ears can tell what instrument sounds best at what pitch.  Among recordings of the S&P, Terakado's is pitched at a=405 (he tried a=400 but didn't find the combination to be ideal at all), and I believe Monica Huggett's rather relaxed account may be among the lowest pitched, at a=392.  In general I prefer low pitches in this music which tend to make the "bass" notes more pronounced and sonorous, and its implied polyphony clearer. 
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

premont

Quote from: traverso on July 03, 2008, 03:53:01 PM
Hello Premont thanks for what I think is a very proper description of the clips.  I have not listened to disc 2 yet but I suspect it will continue the rather un-romantic approach you identify above. 

Fortunately I happened to listen to the Chaconne and Gigue from the d-minor Partita, before the samples were deleted. And my general impression is unchanged. The interpretation is very neutral and unmannered and does not do much for me.
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FideLeo

Quote from: premont on July 10, 2008, 12:44:00 PM
The interpretation is very neutral and unmannered and does not do much for me.

May I conclude that you actually like your interpretations of these S&P mannered, tortured and biased?  ;)
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

Dr. Dread

Quick!

List your favorite full-cycle recordings of these:

1. WTC

2. Cello suites

3. Violin sonatas and partitas

Bulldog

Quote from: Mn Dave on February 27, 2009, 07:10:19 AM
Quick!

List your favorite full-cycle recordings of these:

1. WTC

2. Cello suites

3. Violin sonatas and partitas

Your mission is to acquire these as quickly as I write them:

WTC - Tureck/DG
Cello - Beschi/Winter & Winter (baroque cello)
Violin - Matthews/Centaur (baroque violin)

Dr. Dread

Quote from: Bulldog on February 27, 2009, 08:29:43 AM
Your mission is to acquire these as quickly as I write them:

WTC - Tureck/DG
Cello - Beschi/Winter & Winter (baroque cello)
Violin - Matthews/Centaur (baroque violin)

Thanks. I will wish-list them. I can't acquire anything for a little while yet.

Dancing Divertimentian

Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach


Antoine Marchand

#117
Quote from: traverso on July 03, 2008, 06:32:06 AM


A few selections from Terakado's recordings of S&P.   Incidentally, he appeared to use the same 1691 Giovanni Gracino violin which Sigiswald Kuijken used for his first recording (Kuijken's 2nd recording was made on a 1700 Gracino).  No description from me yet; dl and listen to the clips for yourself:

Along with the cello suites above, Terakado may be the first artist ever to have recorded all of BWV 1001 to 1012 in the original scoring.  :)

As far as I (did) know, Kuijken used the same 1700 Grancino violin in his two recordings of the S&P; unfortunately, I don't have my discs here.

Que

#118
Quote from: Mn Dave on February 27, 2009, 07:10:19 AM
Quick!

List your favorite full-cycle recordings of these:

1. WTC

2. Cello suites

3. Violin sonatas and partitas

1. Glen Wilson (Teldec) or Ottavio Dantone (Arts) (both on harpsichord! Check Bach on the Harpsichord (lute-harpsichord, clavichord, etc.)

2. Anner Bijlsma (Sony) or Paolo Beschi (Winter & Winter)

3. Sigiswald Kuijken & Gustav Leonhardt (DHM) or Florence Malgoire & Blandine Rannou (Zig Zag Territoires) EDIT: these or the accompanied violin sonatas! See my post below for the sonatas & partitas.

Your musical taste is going into interesting directions!  :)
Seems you've quite a Baroque & Early Music breakthrough?  8)

Q

Dr. Dread

Quote from: Que on February 27, 2009, 11:22:00 AM
1. Glen Wilson (Teldec) or Ottavio Dantone (Arts) (both on harpsichord! Check Bach on the Harpsichord (lute-harpsichord, clavichord, etc.)

2. Anner Bijlsma (Sony) or Paolo Beschi (Winter & Winter)

3. Sigiswald Kuijken & Gustav Leonhardt (DHM) or Florence Malgoire & Blandine Rannou (Zig Zag Territoires)

Your musical tast is going into interesting directions!  :)
Seems you've quite a Baroque & Early Music breakthrough?  8)

Q

Thanks, Que. I will add those to the list.

Yes, my tastes seem to be travelling backward through time.  8)  Chopin and earlier: that's pretty much me, lately.