Hector Berlioz

[André]

Glad you liked it, Mike !

Greg, let us know what you make of it when you have a chance !

[TheGSMoeller]

Glad you liked it, Mike !

Greg, let us know what you make of it when you have a chance !

A great performance of an amazing piece. And such a refreshing experience!
I feel as if there are very few Requiem recordings that truly stand out to me, the majority of them seem bland, rushed, or without offering, or adding, a unique experience compared to others. Even the past decade or so there have a good handful of new releases, but nothing has urged me to repeated listening, other than McCreesh, but even that has cooled down for me.
But Scherchen & Company have done it. Perhaps it's the more relaxed tempo through most of it, this for a work already filled with relaxed tempos, but I felt very at ease. This was also the slowest Quaerens me I've encountered, which felt more zen, it flowed at a less structured pace and I loved it.  Giraudeau's solo in the Sanctus was just the right tone, it was like a prayer rather than an aria. And the final Amen to close out the work was perfect, it truly ascended the work to it's final destination. This is the pinnacle moment of Berlioz' lyrical writing abilities, and it should treated as such, which Scherchen does.

Andre, you mentioned how the music stops at times,  especially during the Angus Dei several times throughout there are these pauses that add such depth to the overall atmosphere, and I love when conductors emphasis these pauses. Norrington does this with great effect in his recording, and the same applies here. The only real downside, as you also alluded to, was the lack of definition with the sound quality, which a movement like the Dies irae and its multiple brass ensembles heavily benefits from newer recording procedures, but Scherchen, the orchestra and choir perform with such heavy passion that any sound issues are placed in the background.

Thanks for the rec, Andre! I went ahead and bough the MP3 version but will keep my eye out for a hard copy, if that is possible.

[knight66]

The Amazon MP3 link shows 14:56 for the Agnus Dei, which is still about a minute slower than my slowest Requiem I own (Norrington/Stuggart at 13:55 without applause), and 3 minutes slower than my fastest at 11:46(Ozawa/BSO)

I am using Spotify and it shows 15.37 on one 'edition' of the performance and 12,34 under another cover. It seems to be the same performance, so, puzzling.

Mike

[Wanderer]

Bumping (our Berlioz thread is only 8 pages long?! Scandalous!) and cross-posting before it forever vanishes inside the black hole that is the WAYLTN thread:

Please, recommend me the best Lelio recording in the market. I only listened to Colin Davis.

Well, don't feel compelled to be converted to the work *right now*! I'd say, as in all things musical, wait until you're in the mood for it. That said, I'm not aware of a Lélio recording that is seriously lacking or outright bad and I do like the Colin Davis you're familiar with. I, however, also strongly think that a less operatic and more attuned to lieder/mélodies tenor voice is paramount in unlocking Lélio's unique ethos. In that regard, my favourite current version is the Wiener Symphoniker/Philippe Jordan with the superb Cyrille Dubois. Other versions that I like and come to mind at the moment include Dutoit, Dausgaard, Muti. And there are some very fine individual recordings of the final Fantaisie sur la "Tempête" de Shakespeare. Speaking of which, it's often noted as marking the first use of the piano as an orchestral instrument (be reminded that the piano also starts the work in Le pêcheur). Between that, the narrator (again, bear in mind that if not on disc he does make sense in concert), the idée fixe and the all-encompassing common theme of Shakespeare I think you'll be at some point able to appreciate Lélio for what it is (and not fret about it not being what you want it to be). Someday. 😉

[vers la flamme]

Anyone care to recommend me a recording of La damnation de Faust? There seems to be a whole bunch of them that all look very good: Munch, Chung, Inbal, Ozawa, Solti, Gardiner, Davis, etc...

[Brian]

And then there is Markevitch, maybe the most feverish, melodramatic, and hyperactive of them all. His "Rakoczy March" practically explodes out of the speakers. But I would also easily recommend Munch (if you don't mind the sound) and Chung. Ozawa sounds like a good interpreter - I'll look it up.

[Jo498]

Markevitch/DG is fantastic; there are a few tiny cuts (I never realized them, one needs to know the piece very well or do A-B) but the characterization and energy is fabulous. The sound is slightly rough early stereo but wonderfully vulgar in the march or that soldier/student chorus (iam nox stellata velamina pandit etc.)
I also have the Ozawa/DG and Nagano but I am not even sure I ever listen to the last one completely. Ozawa has good sound and good singers but seems a bit bland compared to Markevitch.

[ChamberNut]

Messe solennelle

First listen to this $1 thrift shop find, and it was highly enjoyable. Quite a great first attempt at a mass by Berlioz. No mistaking that it was written by him, that's for sure. Fans of his Symphonie fantastique will surely recognize the theme from the Scène aux champs slow movement, first penned here for this work.  Just one of a number of examples of themes he used into some of his later works.

This was the premiere recording of the work, and there have been other recordings since (but not many). I can recommend to Berlioz fans who enjoy his thrilling, much better known Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale.

[Vox Maris]

Messe solennelle

First listen to this $1 thrift shop find, and it was highly enjoyable. Quite a great first attempt at a mass by Berlioz. No mistaking that it was written by him, that's for sure. Fans of his Symphonie fantastique will surely recognize the theme from the Scène aux champs slow movement, first penned here for this work.  Just one of a number of examples of themes he used into some of his later works.

This was the premiere recording of the work, and there have been other recordings since (but not many). I can recommend to Berlioz fans who enjoy his thrilling, much better known Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale.

A rather fine work. As you say, recordings of it are very few and far between. I only own the Gardiner recording (I don't think Colin Davis ever recorded it), but found in this box set, which was issued in 2019 (an anniversary year for the composer I believe):



Berlioz is one of my favorite composers and I have accumulated A LOT of his music over the years.