German Baroque Music

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

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Don

Quote from: Que on July 18, 2007, 08:19:36 AM
I'm also interested in harpsichord music from the German baroque.
It seems that the general consensus is that after Bach, Johann Jakob Froberger is the man! 8)
I would very much like some advice on this!


I wouldn't put much stock in the "consensus" premise.  Since Froberger's music is much more reflective and inward than Bach's, I consider Froberger more an alternative to Bach depending on what mood the listener is in.

Que

Quote from: Don on July 18, 2007, 09:03:24 AM
I wouldn't put much stock in the "consensus" premise.  Since Froberger's music is much more reflective and inward than Bach's, I consider Froberger more an alternative to Bach depending on what mood the listener is in.

No consensus and a lot of different favourites - that's fine by me! :)

Don, any favourite recordings on any German baroque harpsichord music other than Bach? 8)

Q

Don

Quote from: Que on July 18, 2007, 09:13:04 AM
No consensus and a lot of different favourites - that's fine by me! :)

Don, any favourite recordings on any German baroque harpsichord music other than Bach? 8)

Q

I"m smiling at the above question, because my answer has to be Froberger.  My favored Froberger recordings are from Verlet on Naive and Remy on CPO.

premont

My favorite Buxtehude harpsichord CDs are the three-CD set by Lars Ultik Mortensen on Da Capo. Played on a mean tuned instrument. Colourful, brilliant,exuberant.
Next comes a Naxos CD by Glen Wilson and an Astreé CD by Rinaldo Alessandrini. Wilson a tad more reflective than Mortensen, Alessandrini even colourful and brilliant, if not quite on Mortensens level.

Froberger is one of the least accessible harpsichord composers.

Leonhardt is very austere, his style suits Frobergers introvert music well, but it took me some time to get accustomed to it.

Asperen is more elegant, I would say a concentrated beauty of sound.

Lars Ulrik Mortensen has made a Froberger-CD for Kontrapunkt. Colourful as expected, much more accessible than Leonhardt.

And Sergio Vartolo on Naxos, very introvert too.

I also own Rousset and Remy and some Rampe CDs, -haven´t listened concentrated to them yet, though. I can only listen to Froberger, when I am very good form mentally.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

71 dB

Quote from: premont on July 18, 2007, 02:51:12 PM
My favorite Buxtehude harpsichord CDs are the three-CD set by Lars Ultik Mortensen on Da Capo. Played on a mean tuned instrument. Colourful, brilliant,exuberant.

I have volume 1 of these. Nice disc indeed!  :)

Froberger's music I have never heard.  :-\
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"

Que

I "rediscovered" this morning a recording by Andrew Manze of Johann Heinrich Schmelzer's violin music.
At the the time I bought the twofer below ("Fantastic Style") I was more focused on the Italian violin music on the first half of this issue! ;D Picture of original issue on the right.
But the Schmelzer is wonderful kind of pre-Biber. It shares the virtuosity and intensity and has lyrical elegance. Very nice indeed. High time I'd check the earlier rec. by erato of the violin music recordings of Westhoff and Walther on Zig Zag Territores, which I already sampled and sounded very interesting.


AUDIO CLIPS of the Schmelzer

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
"Sonate unarum fidium seu" for violin & continuo, sonatas 4-6
Sonata "Cucu" for violin & continuo
Sonata "Victori der Christen" for violin & continuo in A minor (after H.I.F. Biber's Tenth "Rosary Sonata")
"Sonate unarum fidium seu" for violin & continuo, sonatas 1-3


Q

Que

#46
There has been some talk on the listening thread about the Requiem à 15 in Concerto (C.7) by Biber.

Which one should I get? Could anyone comment on any of these recordings?
Any other recommendations of Biber's other choral works - the Requiem in F (C.8 ) for example - are also most welcome. :)

The contenders seems all excellent: Savall (Alia Vox - 2002), Leonhardt (DHM - 1995), Van Nevel (Ricercar - 1995) and Koopman (Erato - 1994). The Ricercar is (of course) OOP, but Erik van Nevel seems a very interesting interpreter as he is very experienced in Early Music.




Q

71 dB

Quote from: Que on August 05, 2007, 09:29:13 PM
Anyone?  :) :) :)

Q

I have the (?) Leonhardt recording of à 15 (accompanied by Steffani's Stabat Mater).

In my opinion the CD lacks baroque warmth but is somewhat enjoyable anyway. Steffani's work is almost more interesting... 
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"

Harry

Quote from: Que on July 28, 2007, 12:02:27 AM
I "rediscovered" this morning a recording by Andrew Manze of Johann Heinrich Schmelzer's violin music.
At the the time I bought the twofer below ("Fantastic Style") I was more focused on the Italian violin music on the first half of this issue! ;D Picture of original issue on the right.
But the Schmelzer is wonderful kind of pre-Biber. It shares the virtuosity and intensity and has lyrical elegance. Very nice indeed. High time I'd check the

Q

I was pleasantly surprised when I bought this twofar. Fine music, well performed, and a good insight in the composing styles at that time.

Que

#49
I have no experience with other Froberger recordings to compare it to, but I'll post about this wonderful recording anyway. I can still recognise superb harpsichord playing! 8)
Came across it whilst bargain hunting and picked it up just to taste some Froberger.
It's really excellent - in performance as well as the recording quality. I was unfamiliar with Italian harpsichordist Enrico Baiano - he deserves wider fame! But maybe I was just ignorant... ;D
I've already spotted some very interesting discs  and repertoire with him.
He has a "free", imaginative, light and virtuosic style and plays a copy of an Italian instrument, with a bright an luscious sound.


            click on picture for audio clips

Q

Que

#50


This disc crossed my way as a bargain and I picked it up.
I wasn't familiar before with Johann Joseph Fux. This disc contains three orchestral serenades/overtures based on dances, which - to my ears - show many similarities in musical style with Händel's orchestral output.
And I honestly cannot say that Fux does anyhow less well in comparison to his colleague!  :)
Though his personal style is less "bright" and upbeat than Händel's - more mellow and reflective. These are very enjoyable pieces with a nice variety in instrumentation: trumpets, a bassoon, oboes and a recorder, elaborate writing for the strings. Fux maybe doesn't display much "oomph", but - on close listening to the detailing - plenty of profundity in his musical writing.

But the disc does conclude with a juxtaposition of pieces - all inspired by the Turkish siege of Vienna - with plenty of "oomph"! ;D Exotically instrumented with (military) drums, flutes and bells. But again, Fux doesn't go for the big "thrill". There are many interludes with intimate dances.

Apart from this encounter with Fux, with this disc I discovered a first rate HIP ensemble: the Armonico Tributo Austria. Really excellent and on par with any major period instruments ensemble - they clearly need and deserve more exposure and recording.

Q

DavidW

Cool Que, he sounds worth checking out, I'll put 'em on my list. :)

The new erato

Quote from: Que on October 05, 2007, 01:46:54 AM


This disc crossed my way as a bargain and I picked it up.
I wasn't familiar before with Johann Joseph Fux. This disc contains three orchestral serenades/overtures based on dances, which - to my ears - show many similarities in musical style with Händel's orchestral output.
And I honestly cannot say that Fux does anyhow less well in comparison to his colleague!  :)
Though his personal style is less "bright" and upbeat than Händel's - more mellow and reflective. These are very enjoyable pieces with a nice variety in instrumentation: trumpets, a bassoon, oboes and a recorder, elaborate writing for the strings. Fux maybe doesn't display much "oomph", but - on close listening to the detailing - plenty of profundity in his musical writing.

But the disc does conclude with a juxtaposition of pieces - all inspired by the Turkish siege of Vienna - with plenty of "oomph"! ;D Exotically instrumented with (military) drums, flutes and bells. But again, Fux doesn't go for the big "thrill". There are many interludes with intimate dances.

Apart from this encounter with Fux, with this disc I discovered a first rate HIP ensemble: the Armonico Tributo Austria. Really excellent and on par with any major period instruments ensemble - they clearly need and deserve more exposure and recording.

Q

I seem to have heard that the Arcana label has been discontinued. My favourite Conti record with Bernarda Fink is on that label. Pity if so is the case.

Que

Quote from: erato on October 05, 2007, 04:51:49 AM
I seem to have heard that the Arcana label has been discontinued. My favourite Conti record with Bernarda Fink is on that label. Pity if so is the case.

Yes, it stopped its business due to the death of co-founder Michel Bernstein.
I picked up some left overs now on sale. The catalogue is of great interest and will undoubtedly be picked up by another company - let's hope they will be reissued soon. Would love to get my hands on that issue with Bernarda Fink BTW..

Q

The new erato

Quote from: Que on October 05, 2007, 05:21:42 AM
Yes, it stopped its business due to the death of co-founder Michel Bernstein.
I picked up some left overs now on sale. The catalogue is of great interest and will undoubtedly be picked up by another company - let's hope they will be reissued soon. Would love to get my hands on that issue with Bernarda Fink BTW..

Q
I can foresee a Brilliant 200 CD Arcana box at USD 50.

I should be so happy. Instead there will be another complete 100CD Beethoven box.

FideLeo

Quote from: erato on October 05, 2007, 05:49:37 AM
I can foresee a Brilliant 200 CD Arcana box at USD 50.

I should be so happy. Instead there will be another complete 100CD Beethoven box.

Brilliant will never reproduce Arcana's exquisite booklet essays and cover art even
if they reissue the recordings.  Get them now before they are never more.  :-[
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

The new erato

Quote from: masolino on October 07, 2007, 02:10:10 AM
Brilliant will never reproduce Arcana's exquisite booklet essays and cover art even
if they reissue the recordings.  Get them now before they are never more.  :-[
Just joking!

And with arcane (!) repertoire like Fux and Conti the complete experience is about so much more than only the disc. Whereas I would be happy to buy my 5th Beethoven cycle without significant notes as long as they are cheap and compactly packaged, I really can't imagine doing thatwith more obscure repertoire.

Que

#57
.[asin]B000055WN8[/asin]

Another set with harpsichord music by Johann Jakob Froberger, whose first rate harpsichord music seems to be as enigmatic and elusive as F. Couperin's. :) First volume (2 CD's) by Dutch harpsichordist Bob van Asperen in what will be a complete keyboard music series on the small German label Aeolus.

The recording is absolutely wonderful (the founders of the label are sound engineers): my ideal harpsichord recording - not to bright and up-close, but not too "spacious" or reverberant either. Very natural and clear.
Van Asperen plays a Ruckers harpsichord from 1640 with a firm and deep tone.
As of the interpretation. I have still very little to go on as means of comparison, owning just the superb Baiano disc on Symphonia (see earlier post) to date. And as I said, Froberger's music is elusive and I haven't settled on a "ideal Froberger" in my mind, if ever. :) Though this recording is another step forward in that process. Van Asperen does not take the intellectually probing approach of Baiano, his style is ....more leisurely, genial, benign, playful at times. Van Asperen lets things unfold with emphasis on the careful development of phrases and the blending of the sound. And it is that transparant sound picture and the seemingly uncomplicated way the music develops, that are the key attractions of his playing.

Very good indeed, though at some instances I wished for more "grip" and more extrovert "brilliance". I think I will continue this series and try some other interpretations at the same time.

Heartily recommended.

Q

FideLeo

Quote from: erato on October 07, 2007, 02:23:44 AM
Just joking!

And with arcane (!) repertoire like Fux and Conti the complete experience is about so much more than only the disc. Whereas I would be happy to buy my 5th Beethoven cycle without significant notes as long as they are cheap and compactly packaged, I really can't imagine doing thatwith more obscure repertoire.

In early music, Arcane is perhaps better than Naive?  ;)
HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

Que

#59
Venturing further into unknown German baroque territory with Phillipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657-1714).


click picture for more but shorter & lower quality clips
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.outhere-music.com%2Fdata%2Fcds%2F114%2Fclip.mp3[/mp3]

Tragic. Because little of Erlebach's music was published during his lifetime and most manuscripts (nearly 700) were lost during a fire in the castle of Rudolstadt in 1735.
This disc consists of six baritone arias with simple accompaniment, mixed with three (5 part) sonatas for chamber ensemble. Simplicity is the key word here, but also intimacy and expressiveness. The works are written in "Italian" style. Singing by baritone Victor Torres is exemplary, as is the contribution by the ensemble Stylus Phantasticus with familiar names like violinists Pablo Valetti and David Plantier.
The combination of the introduction to a relatively unknown German baroque composer who wrote music of good quality and sufficient distinction and superb renditions by these performers makes this disc very much worthwhile. Provided that the idea of "plain" baroque arias for baritone appeal to you.

BTW The cover is bound to raise interest. It's a painting by Dutchman Domenicus van Wijnen (Wynen) (1661 - c1700) - also known as "Ascanius", and its called "The Temptation of St Anthony".
Appropriately "fantastic" in style  :) and reminiscent of Jeroen Bosch.

Q