Gurn's Classical Corner

[Gurn Blanston]

Now Gurn - you're starting to go 'overboard' here about 'authentic' performances!     I also own those Haydn Masses and am perfectly happy w/ their performances and sound - recommended IMHO - 

I'm just up to Vol. 4 of the Clementi performances w/ M. on the fortepiano - guess that I need to add this 5th volume to my wish list - Dave 

No, no, Dave, I am not condemning them. That would be overboard!  I like 'em too, I just have some reservations about wholeheartedly loving them. You know, some things are so ingrained after a while that you can't shake it off. One's prejudices become the person.




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Now playing:
Constantino Mastroprimiano - Clementi Op 34 #2 Sonata in G 2nd mvmt - Un poco adagio

[Gurn Blanston]

I'm just up to Vol. 4 of the Clementi performances w/ M. on the fortepiano - guess that I need to add this 5th volume to my wish list - Dave 

You're gonna like 'em.



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Now playing:
Constantino Mastroprimiano - Clementi Op 34 #2 Sonata in G 2nd mvmt - Un poco adagio

[Leo K.]

Thanks for the heads up Gurn, regarding the Clementi set, I didn't know that was out there! I have one Clementi disk, Vol.2 of Howard Shelley's series, and I like it a lot, only it would be great to collect the fortepiano sets you speak about

[DavidW]

I found another gem I love-- this short little piece of Haydn's is a motet called Insanae et Vanae Curae, and it's a gorgeous heart felt piece.  Anyone else like it?   I'm going to have to see if I can find the history behind it in the liner notes.

[Leo K.]

I'm getting ready to make my purchase for May. These are the items I have decided on and placed in my cart.



I was going to also get a Czerny disk of Sonatas, but my budget will only allow for the two above. The Czerny will have to wait a month, but I am really excited to listen to these sonatas! I've been waiting a month to get these, and the time is very near 

[Leo K.]

I agree, I like those performances too. They have an odd position for me though; the period instruments and the singing are all very good, but in my head I feel that in order to be "authentic" (damn, what an awful word that is) they just shouldn't sound like they were being done at St. Stephen's in Vienna instead of the Martinkirche in Eisenstadt, which IS where they were played. But as simply performance of masses with no thoughts like that in my head at all, I think they are excellent!   



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Now playing:
Boston SO \ Munch  - Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 1st mvmt - Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso

That would be fascinating to hear a recording made in the Martinkirche in Eisenstadt. I'm all for that!

But yeah, this set is better than I remembered, as a matter of fact, I was totally blown away by listening yesterday, and totally enveloped in the music with the tangible organic quality of the period instruments. The singing is quite inspired too.

[Gurn Blanston]

I found another gem I love-- this short little piece of Haydn's is a motet called Insanae et Vanae Curae, and it's a gorgeous heart felt piece.  Anyone else like it?   I'm going to have to see if I can find the history behind it in the liner notes.

Yeah, that's a little motet from <>1795 or so. Was never much of a motet hand, but I liked that one. If it's 1795 it was probably related to London in some way, but if it's later, then Vienna. I'll look when I get home, I think I have a nice little writeup on it.

[Gurn Blanston]

I'm getting ready to make my purchase for May. These are the items I have decided on and placed in my cart.



I was going to also get a Czerny disk of Sonatas, but my budget will only allow for the two above. The Czerny will have to wait a month, but I am really excited to listen to these sonatas! I've been waiting a month to get these, and the time is very near 

I really want that Eberl. Let me know what you think. is that from Amazon?

[Leo K.]

I really want that Eberl. Let me know what you think. is that from Amazon?

Yes its from Amazon, and also, the pianist himself is one of the sellers  I let you know what I think as soon as I hear it.

[DavidW]

Yeah, that's a little motet from <>1795 or so. Was never much of a motet hand, but I liked that one. If it's 1795 it was probably related to London in some way, but if it's later, then Vienna. I'll look when I get home, I think I have a nice little writeup on it.

Well I looked it up and it is a D minor chorus adopted from his oratorio Il ritorno di Tobia.  If D was here, I bet he would totally dig it.

[Leo K.]

Notes on music I listened to today. 

Zelenka: Missa Circumcisionis (ZWV 11)
Cond. Konrad Wagner

Sounds like an early mass, and the baroque qualities are apparent, with the addition of daring harmonies, discernable melodic lines, which are memorable and beautiful. I particularly love the soaring harmonies, and festive orchestration.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Opus 58
Melvyn Tan/Roger Norrington

I simply love the sound of Tan and his fortepiano here. I have such an attraction to this performance. The sound hints at the feeling I perceive of the early nineteenth Century, and this recording is a big influence in how I imagine that era. The fortepiano is somewhat in the back of the sonic depth of this recording,  as if appearing from the midst of time. The way Tan he gets his tone from his fortepiano and projects the color timbres of this instrument are astounding.

Carl Loewe: "Le Printemps" Tondichtung in Sonatenform, Op.47 (a four movement work, in the traditional sonata format)
Cord Garben (piano) (on the CPO label)

I have become more entranced by the solo piano sonata over the years. Especially the sound of the sonata in the early Romantic era, but also from the Classical and Later Romantic eras. This started with Schubert's piano sonatas in 1996, which made me fall in love with the intimacy of the solo piano sonata. Because of the solo piano, there is the suggestion of an interior, a private place in a home. Perhaps, there is one person playing, or perhaps, one person is playing for a loved one or a group of friends. Carl Loewe's sonatas remind me a little of Schubert, but it's interesting to hear an unknown  composer's own voice, a voice from the past no longer in the mainstream, a voice here on this earth at one point in time, seemingly gone for a many, many years. This sonata has that dreamy Loewe sound, a little like an epic journey Schubert-style, but again, with his own voice, and perhaps with more virtuosity, but also very melodic. This music is music to dream to. I love the feeling I get from Loewe's sonatas, and the sound of the epic journey on such an intimate instrument in an interior space.

Friedrich Kuhlau: Flute Quintet No.1 in D Major, 51
Prospero Ensemble

A new composer to me (a contemporary of Beethoven and Schubert), and this is my first recording of his works. I have only heard the work mentioned above, but I'm excited on discovering this flute quintet, which is a good spirited work, with moments of reflection and melancholy. Highlights are the Minuet and Adagio, which, like the other movements, provide a well balanced  meal of high classical and early romantic eras. Throughout the moments of light humor, there is an undertone of unrest, such as the trio of the Minuet, a brief glimpse of what lies under the surface.

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.98 in Bb Major
Cond. Franz Bruggen

I'm loving Bruggen's set of Haydn's London Symphonies. There is texture in the sound of this orchestra that is positively organic and rustic. I love the drive and power of the music, as heard on period instruments. There are some details I always look forward to in a Haydn symphony; the melodic material of the slow introduction (if there is one), the second subject in the exposition, the slow movement, and what he does with the minuet and trio. This no-name London has the usual refined but rough and ready melodic material, with the humor and graceful touch Haydn excels and glorifies us with, especially with the orchestration of the finale.

Czerny: Sonate Pastoral, Opus 121 (for piano four hands)
Diane Anderson, Daniel Blumenthal

A tightly structured piece, and very light with humor. The length is around 19 minutes or so, a lighthearted romp through fields of green.

Boccherini: String Quartet in Eb Major, Opus 32 No.1
Quartetto Borciani

The first movement is a structured working out of interesting melodic ideas. At certain moments with complexity and playfulness, such as the thematic material of the first subject.  The short third movement, "Grave" is amazing in atmosphere and mood, dark, and reflecting, played beautifully by the Quartetto Borciani (on Naxos). The minuet and finale very lighthearted and full of action. This quartet is a fine jewel. Absolutely stunning in every respect.

CPE Bach: Sonata in E Minor
Mikhail Pletnev

A stunning performance on the modern pianoforte, of an intimate piece, full of reflection and movement. Short but powerful. CPE Bach's music has so many imaginative twists and turns of phrases.

Matthias Monn: Symphonies in G, Bb, Ab, and Eb Major
L'Arpa Festante (CPO Label)

I'm suddenly in the mood for these early Viennese symphonic works by Monn. Monn is rather new to me, and I love what I'm hearing here. These short symphonies are chock full of atmospheric orchestration, melodic wit, interesting phrasing, and a sense of search, or adventure.

Johann Muthel: Sonata No.1 in F, Sonata No.2 in G Major, Sonata No.3 in C Major
Menno van Delft (clavichord)

I can't praise this recording and these sonatas enough. Where van delft goes with Muthel and the clavichord, into the depths of human experience and questioning, is such a experience to behold. The music is subtle, serious, pondering and other qualities the sensitive listener will receive with beauty and reflection.

[Leo K.]

This morning I am listening to:



Johann Gottlieb Naumann: Mass No. 18, in D minor (1794), Mass No.21 in C Minor (1786-1806)
Collegium Instrumentale, Dir. Peter Kopp

These works are modest masses with great beauty. The period instruments, and the clarinets in particular, give the flavor of autumn to the orchestration. I really love this recording, and this is a very valuable addition to my 18th Century Mass collection, of which I turn to all the time for peace and reflection. Naumann's liturgical music is not flashy, but solid and very devotional.

Here is a review from fanfare:

Although little known today, during his lifetime Johann Gottlieb Naumann (1741–1801) occupied a very respected niche in the world of late 18th-century music. Born and raised near Dresden, his career was largely made there; after moving to northern Italy in 1757 for further musical training (his teachers there included Padre Martini), he was called to the Saxon imperial court in 1764 on the recommendation of Johann Adolf Hasse as second church composer, attaining promotion to Kapellmeister in 1776. Between 1777 and 1786 he was also active as a musical reformer of opera along Italian lines in Stockholm and Copenhagen; to retain him in Dresden, the Saxon elector promoted Naumann to Oberkapellmeister in 1786. Naumann remained there for the rest of his life, dying a wealthy and respected man. (For further details see Brian Robins's review of the composer's oratorio Betulia liberata in Fanfare 30:2.)

Much of Naumann's oeuvre remains unpublished; a catalog compiled by Heinrich Mannstein in 1841 lists 27 Mass settings, of which those in D and C Minor presented here are numbers 18 and 21. However, since it was a customary practice of the Hofkirche to combine parts to various masses by different composers for liturgical use, manuscript dates suggest that individual Mass movements may have been composed at various times and only later assembled into complete Mass settings. The D-Minor Mass is an apparent exception, with all its movements bearing the date of 1794; the various parts of the C-Minor Mass, by contrast, range from 1786 to 1801. The D Minor was once a well-established work; between 1876 and the mid 1930s it was performed almost annually on December 26, following a Mass on Christmas day by Hasse, and evidence suggests the practice may go back to Naumann's own lifetime. Psalm 96 dates from Naumann's return to Dresden in 1786, and Psalm 103 and the brief one-movement cantata Kommt herzu from 1790. While Naumann himself was a Protestant, the Dresden court was Catholic; Psalm 96 and the cantata are rare instances of Naumann having an opportunity to set German-language texts for Protestant devotions—the psalm for Duke Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the cantata for the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde of the Moravian Church, inspired by a visit of Naumann to that devout Pietistic community (after its founding in 1727 it practiced an uninterrupted watch of prayer by its members for 100 years). Gustaf Wasa, an opera on the Swedish king who liberated his country from Danish thralldom, was for decades after its premiere the Swedish national opera (ArkivMusic has reissued the complete Virgin Classics recording with Nicolai Gedda). For unknown reasons the 1803 Breitkopf & Härtel edition of Psalm 96 included the opera's overture as a musical preface, and so it is offered here.

During a visit to Dresden in 1789, Mozart peremptorily dismissed a Naumann Mass as "very poor stuff," and doubtless that verdict affected Naumann's posthumous fortunes. A typical representative of the galant style, his music is neither fish nor fowl for typical expectations regarding either Baroque or Classical-era music; its straightforward simplicity lacks the complexity of the former's use of polyphony and the latter's emphasis upon extended thematic and formal development. Even in his own day, Naumann's music was stylistically in the conservative rearguard (which ideally suited him for the Dresden court); the Wasa Overture sounds startlingly like a work of Handel, and the various psalm and Mass movements demonstrate only a nodding acquaintance with the music of Haydn and no contact with that of Mozart. The harmonies are unenterprising, the melodies ordinary, the rhetorical gestures predictable. Somewhat surprisingly, however, Naumann's music is not dull; while only moderately pleasant rather than memorable, it fulfills its intended ecclesial functions ably and even winningly. Unlike, say, the Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi Requiems or Beethoven's Missa solemnis, these are psalm and Mass settings that are subordinate to liturgical purposes; they do not draw attention to themselves in ways that distract one from devotional concentration, but rather humbly support it. They simply are not constructed to sustain the concentrated scrutiny of independent listening in the concert hall, and this as much as other factors explains why they have fallen largely into oblivion.

These two CDs are reissues, the first originally released in 1996 and the second in 1999. All the recordings are premieres and remain the sole versions available. The performances (by the same groups in both cases, despite their changes of names) leave nothing to be desired. The instrumental ensemble uses period instruments and plays with refined polish; the chorus is first-rate in every way; the soloists (Kai Wessel and Werner Güra having since achieved greater prominence) without exception all sing their brief parts ably. The digipaks contain informative booklets with texts in the original German and Latin with English translation. An online search has also located these two releases as a combined two-CD budget set for about the same price as each item individually, though I was not able to determine any product details such as inclusion of libretti. For those interested in filling in their collections with music from the secondary ranks of later 18th-century music in general and the galant composers in particular, these discs can be safely recommended.

FANFARE: James A. Altena

[Gurn Blanston]

Oy, Leo, you are having a great weekend!  I've been too busy for more than a passing glance, I'm afraid. I am greatly enjoying this Munch 9th though, it was a good rec for my Sunday morning pleasure.  

This afternoon though, some new to me things that I will post on afterward.





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Now playing:
Boston SO \ Munch  - Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 4th mvmt - Presto - Allegro assai - Recitativo: 'O Freunde, nicht diese Töne' - Allegro maestoso

[Leo K.]

Oy, Leo, you are having a great weekend!  I've been too busy for more than a passing glance, I'm afraid. I am greatly enjoying this Munch 9th though, it was a good rec for my Sunday morning pleasure.  

This afternoon though, some new to me things that I will post on afterward.





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Now playing:
Boston SO \ Munch  - Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 4th mvmt - Presto - Allegro assai - Recitativo: 'O Freunde, nicht diese Töne' - Allegro maestoso

I am indeed! Despite being at work a lot of the time. These spreadsheets are monotonous and demand headphone listening 


Boccherini's string trios...WOW.

[DavidW]

Leo, where did you get that Bruggen set of London symphonies?

[Leo K.]

Leo, where did you get that Bruggen set of London symphonies?

A friend of mine burned me his set   

[Gurn Blanston]

I am indeed! Despite being at work a lot of the time. These spreadsheets are monotonous and demand headphone listening 


Boccherini's string trios...WOW.

Yeah, don't have that one, have this one though:



and this one with those same guys:

[asin]B000B0WOHQ[/asin]

I like trios too. Like the balancing act the composer has to do to make them sound right. Boccherini did it better than most.

Leo, where did you get that Bruggen set of London symphonies?

Is it from the Big Brüggen Box of all his Haydn symphonies? Or single disks? Or is there an actual London Symphonies box out there that I've never seen?




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Now playing:
Pinnock, Trevor/English Concert - Hob 07g C1 Concerto in C for Oboe 3rd mvmt - Rondo: Allegro

[DavidW]

A friend of mine burned me his set   

  That's a nice friend.

[DavidW]

Is it from the Big Brüggen Box of all his Haydn symphonies? Or single disks? Or is there an actual London Symphonies box out there that I've never seen?

Well there are philips duos of the Londons, but if there is a huge Bruggen box out there... that would be nice *cough* if it's in print.

[Leo K.]

Well there are philips duos of the Londons, but if there is a huge Bruggen box out there... that would be nice *cough* if it's in print.

Gurn, it's the Phillips Duos I have of the Bruggen Haydn London symphonies. By the way, I would love the complete symphonies box from Bruggen!