German Baroque Music

Started by Que, July 08, 2007, 11:09:09 PM

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The new erato

Quote from: 71 dB on December 10, 2016, 09:40:33 AM
Finally listening to this cd (arrived yesterday). The sound image is something I am not very fond of. Nothing is in the middle! Everything is on the left and right. The sound is also somehow fuzzy. The performers "are there somewhere". Very unnatural sound, everything sounds so close and reverberant it's "heavy". Thanks to crossfeed the sound is somewhat tolerable, but far from great. What a dissappointment! As if there was too much Kuhnau out there. These are world premier performances now ruined by bad sound engineering. The music is perhaps great, hard to tell...  :-\

Hopefully the following volumes are recorded better...
I agree, this doesn't match the wonderful Kuhnau recording from the Kings Consort on Hyperion.

71 dB

Quote from: The new erato on December 10, 2016, 09:45:16 AM
I agree, this doesn't match the wonderful Kuhnau recording from the Kings Consort on Hyperion.
Yes, the Hyperion cd is clearly better. It also has too wide stereo image, but at least theres stuff in the middle and the sound is natural, has some depth. Using the strongest crossfeed option (-1 dB) of my headphone adapter makes the sound quite enjoyable.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

SonicMan46

#482
Well, just left the post quoted below in the 'listening thread' - Schütz does not seem to have his own thread - an important early Baroque German composer w/ a couple of visits to Italy (studied w/ Gabrieli & possibly Monteverdi) - short BIO HERE - love his blending of voice and instruments - a list of his works are in the link given - I'm missing the 'Sacred Symphonies' - Carus is offering 3 2-CD sets w/ Rademann (several well reviewed in the Fanfare Archives).

SO, any Schütz fans?  Recommendations, especially regarding the Carus project - thanks.  Dave :)

   


QuoteWell, I'm reading a book on musical instruments and the composer below was discussed in the trombone chapter - only own 7 or 8 discs of his works, but 5 are in the two sets below - so decided to give them a listen today:

Schütz, Heinrich (1585-1672) - Kleine Geistliche Konzerte & Geistliche Chormusik - both well done - see reviews attached, if interested - just checked Amazon - there seems to be many multi-CD offerings, a number on the Carus label - Dave :)

 

SonicMan46

#483
Quote from: SonicMan46 on July 10, 2018, 10:00:49 AM
Well, just left the post quoted below in the 'listening thread' - Schütz does not seem to have his own thread - an important early Baroque German composer w/ a couple of visits to Italy (studied w/ Gabrieli & possibly Monteverdi) - short BIO HERE - love his blending of voice and instruments - a list of his works are in the link given - I'm missing the 'Sacred Symphonies' - Carus is offering 3 2-CD sets w/ Rademann (several well reviewed in the Fanfare Archives).

SO, any Schütz fans?  Recommendations, especially regarding the Carus project - thanks.  Dave :)

   

Well, the Schütz double-discs sets shown above are not cheap on Amazon USA - BUT, I just got some VISA credits to my account and used $50 to purchase the trio of six discs for about $30 - happy w/ the buy and plan to enjoy - attached are reviews of the three sets on MusicWeb, for those interested.  Dave :)

North Star

Quote from: SonicMan46 on July 28, 2018, 02:35:17 PM
Well, the Schütz double-discs sets shown above are not cheap on Amazon USA - BUT, I just got some VISA credits to my account and used $50 to purchase the trio of six discs for about $30 - happy w/ the buy and plan to enjoy - attached are reviews of the three sets on MusicWeb, for those interested.  Dave :)
So you decided not to go for the box sets, then? The backs of the boxes also say "English texts included", so that's good.
[asin]B074TK6QNX[/asin]
[asin]B01KBGTD5U[/asin]
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

SonicMan46

Quote from: North Star on July 28, 2018, 02:43:03 PM
So you decided not to go for the box sets, then? The backs of the boxes also say "English texts included", so that's good.

 

Hi North Star - yep, despite the great reviews (of which my 'Sacred Symphonies' are part of this project), I just would not want to listen that often to nearly 2 dozen CDs of Schütz's music, plus the ones I already own - SO, when these new arrivals are added to my collection, I'll have about 14 discs which seems enough for me.  Dave :)

North Star

Quote from: SonicMan46 on July 28, 2018, 02:58:52 PM
Hi North Star - yep, despite the great reviews (of which my 'Sacred Symphonies' are part of this project), I just would not want to listen that often to nearly 2 dozen CDs of Schütz's music, plus the ones I already own - SO, when these new arrivals are added to my collection, I'll have about 14 discs which seems enough for me.  Dave :)
Fair enough, Dave, if not in the GMG spirit of obsessive completism.  :laugh:
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

SonicMan46

Quote from: North Star on July 28, 2018, 07:50:30 PM
Fair enough, Dave, if not in the GMG spirit of obsessive completism.  :laugh:

LOL!  ;D  Well, I've been down that road plenty of times, so know the feeling!  ::) :D  Dave

Mandryka

#488


I think this recording has been unjustly maligned, including by myself. It's true that each sonata is preceded by a long spoken introduction, but that's easy to skip. And it's true that there is some voice within the sonatas too, but short and really not a problem at all for me.

In some sonatas he uses a portative organ. In other sonatas he uses a harpsichord, quite a characterful and unusual instrument (a "Lefebvre" possibly) I can't find any details about these instruments though.

Neither do I know how much of the music is improvised, as was apparently the case with Kuhnau by contemporary performers. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's improvising while he's speaking.  What I can say is that Leonhardt avoids any suggestion of narcissistic bravura, on the contrary, it is played with a sense of self-abandon.

I regret having poo-pooed the recording for so long. Better late than never though.

What to say about the music? Willi Appel opined in his inimitable way concerning Kuhnau that when he's good he's very very good and when he's bad he's terrible.

Well it's all good.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

Quote from: Mandryka on July 26, 2019, 10:30:16 AM


I think this recording has been unjustly maligned, including by myself. It's true that each sonata is preceded by a long spoken introduction, but that's easy to skip. And it's true that there is some voice within the sonatas too, but short and really not a problem at all for me.

I own the Leonhardt recording the Molardi and the Butt, but still these sonatas have never really grown on me. I think a revisit would benefit from studying the score while listening. The score can be downloaded for free at IMSLP

https://imslp.org/index.php?title=Category:Composers&from=Po
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Mandryka

I don't know Butt or Moladi, the music can seem static and episodic but I think in Leonhardt's hands at least it seems to be full of life and good humour.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

SonicMan46

Yesterday, I left the post quoted below w/ attachment in the listening thread - now buried 4-5 pages behind with no specific comments -  :laugh:

So, reposting here to see if there are Buxtehude fans who may own and/or have compared these various versions of his harpsichord music - Dave :)

QuoteBuxtehude, Dietrich (1637-1707) - Organ & Harpsichord Works w/ the performers on the cover art - concerning the Simone Stella harpsichord recordings, there seems to be some debate on the recording quality/extraneous noise - see the attached reviews that address this issue - at the moment, I've been listening to the first 2 discs w/ headphones and am not detecting what has been described (especially by one of the Amazonians - last short statement in the PDF file).

Lars Ulrik Mortensen & Ton Koopman have also been recording multiple CDs of Buxtehude's harpsichord works - Mortensen has 3 Naxos discs listed at JPC (not sure if more are available and/or planned?); Koopman seems to have recorded the most, but not boxed and expensive (unless someone knows a source not found by me) - in general, Stella's reviews have been quite good and the price is right.  Would appreciate any comments from those who own any of these discs/sets - thanks.  Dave :)

 

Mandryka

#492
I don't know Stella.

Mortensen is reflective and lyrical and rather serious; Koopman is more articulated, and his style is vigorous and flamboyant. Koopman has a couple of excellent instruments and they're well recorded. So is Mortensen.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Jo498

The Mortensen recording were originally on the Danish label dacapo, so they are "complete" (not a complete recording, though).
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- Blaise Pascal

San Antone

Simone Stella has recorded complete keyboard works on both organ and harpsichord for Bohm, Buxtehude, Rameau, Reincken, Walther and some Bach, Handel, Froberger and others.  I listened to the Buxtehude recording Sonic Dave posted, and it is a nice sounding instrument and generally very good, IMO, but I am not very experienced with this German Baroque (beyond Bach).

SonicMan46

Thanks Guys for the comments on Buxtehude's Harpsichord Music - I listened to Mortensen's V.1 on headphones using Amazon Prime and really enjoyed his playing, the harpsichord, and the quality of the recording (I'd have to agree w/ the Fanfare reviewers); yesterday, I listened to the first 2 CDs of Simone Stella's recordings and must say that I'm now not as pleased, especially w/ the sound stage, plus I did hear an occasional distortion - now Stella had 4 CDs vs. 3 discs by Mortensen, so the latter is 'incomplete' I presume.  At any rate, found all 3 of the Naxos CDs on the Amazon MP (several used from reliable sources that I've used before) - with some credit, got the trio for about $10 USD - hope that all play well upon arrival.  Dave :)

Jo498

With "complete" in scare quotes I meant that they encompass all Buxtehude that Mortensen recorded in the late 1990s for Dacapo (Note that Naxos also has a few Buxtehude chamber music discs with him, also originally on Dacapo) and it is rather unlikely that he will add more to this more than 20 years later. I am very fond of them and with the additional Naxos disc with Glen Wilson (overlaps, so not needed for repertoire) they are sufficient for my Buxtehude harpsichord needs. The big set of variations is brilliant and entertaining (and supposedly was a major influence on Bach's Goldber variations).

(Silly factoid: Buxtehude is also a town in northern Germany, close to Hamburg.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buxtehude
The name does sound rather funny and I heard/read it for the first time in a famous German children's book so for several years I was not entirely sure whether it was a made up name/town or a real one.)
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Que

Quote from: SonicMan46 on January 16, 2020, 10:06:56 AM
Thanks Guys for the comments on Buxtehude's Harpsichord Music - I listened to Mortensen's V.1 on headphones using Amazon Prime and really enjoyed his playing, the harpsichord, and the quality of the recording (I'd have to agree w/ the Fanfare reviewers); yesterday, I listened to the first 2 CDs of Simone Stella's recordings and must say that I'm now not as pleased, especially w/ the sound stage, plus I did hear an occasional distortion - now Stella had 4 CDs vs. 3 discs by Mortensen, so the latter is 'incomplete' I presume.  At any rate, found all 3 of the Naxos CDs on the Amazon MP (several used from reliable sources that I've used before) - with some credit, got the trio for about $10 USD - hope that all play well upon arrival.  Dave :)

Mortensen and Stella have quite a different approach. Now, I wasn't paying attention to extraneous noises but preferred Stella's lively approach that heightens Buxtehude's imaginative sides and Italian influences. Mortensen is beautifully phrased, solid and well considered, but not so exciting...

Quote from: Que on May 26, 2012, 12:28:12 AM
.[asin]B006AZKHJI[/asin]

Lots of affirmations on the qualities of this set. And yes, even considering I already had Mortensen, getting this was definitely worth it. In terms of vividness, sheer freshness and expressive articulation this trumps Mortensen's much more sober, Calvinistic approach. Simone Stella plays an extremely pretty and intimate sounding copy after Johannes Ruckers.

DavidW

I wanted to recommend this recording of various Trio Sonatas from 17th century Germany:



Just check out the variety of composers, all well performed:

Que

Spotted this new release, which might of interest to Graupner fans as well as fans of Sergio Azzolini:



http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Aug/Graupner-cantatas-5553532.htm