What are you listening to now?

[Wakefield]

This exceptional disc:

Domenico Scarlatti: Stabat Mater - Messe de Madrid
Ensemble Jacques Moderne
Joël Suhubiette, direction

[asin]B0041HU40E[/asin]

It may seem hard to believe that the brilliantly progressive keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti and the almost Renaissance-style (the term of the time was stile antico) polyphony heard here were written by the same composer. But listen again, and these pieces begin to appear as new facets of the same diamond. The Stabat Mater is not an exercise in Renaissance polyphony but an entirely original adaptation of it to a new time, every bit as much as Bach's fugues but in a different way. Its ten voices are not divided into two groups in the manner of the late Renaissance but are instead independent entities that carry on a variety of interlocking conversations and are capable of tonal diversions and dramatic expression of the hymn's implacable three-line stanzas depicting Mary standing at the feet of the crucified Christ. It is not known exactly when or for whom the work was composed, and even opponents of the one-voice-per-part procedure are likely to agree that it clarifies the uniquely complex textures of this work. A light harpsichord accompaniment also seems to help hold together a beautifully expressive reading. The rarely heard four-voice work known as the Madrid Mass (although its origins too are unknown) comes much closer to the pure Renaissance style, and here Ensemble Jacques Moderne director Joël Suhubiette assigns two perfectly blended voices to each part. The program is rounded out by a short motet and a Te Deum that shows Scarlatti's mastery of the dual-choir style (this work is accompanied by an organ), and everything is expressively performed and beautifully recorded. A highly recommended point of entry into the still underappreciated world of stile antico choral music of the 18th century, and a must for Scarlatti lovers.
--James Manheim
allmusic.com

[12tone.]

Im eating a home-made blueberry pancake, milk and listening to this:

[JDWalley]

The HvK Beethoven 1st from the '60s, over headphones/iPeng from my home server as I write this on my iPhone. (Based on the Beethoven symphony thread, I've decided to give Herbie the Nazi's interpretations one more chance before deciding I'm still not all-that-impressed.)

[Bogey]

Im eating a home-made blueberry pancake, milk and listening to this:

Perfect. 

Thread duty:



With all of this Dorati, Mercury, Minn. talk, had to pull out one set of recordings that I have on vinyl:



In mono for this one.  Not Stravinsky, but it will do.

[Todd]

[Rinaldo]

Prepping for the upcoming performance in Ostrava.

[asin]B001BXSJRQ[/asin]
Can't wait to hear the final part live. I sort of expect an alien ship will drop into the concert hall and beam everyone to a higher plane of being.

[val]

SHOSTAKOVITCH:            The Execution of Stepan Razin          / Vitaly Gromadski, MPO, Kondrashin

The best Choral work of Shostakovitch, in a splendid version. Gromadski is very impressive, the Choir superb and the direction of Kondrashin very dramatic. More than a Cantata, in certain moments it seems a scene of opera. This version is much better than the other I had, conducted by Ladislav Slovak.

[Karl Henning]

Good morning/day, all!

Monteverdi
Tempro la cetra, from Il settimo libro di madrigali (1619)
The Consort of Musicke
Anthony Rooley

[asin]B005AAVFH2[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Monteverdi
Il Ballo delle ingrate, from L'ottavo libro di madrigali (1638)
The Consort of Musicke
Anthony Rooley

[asin]B005AAVFH2[/asin]

[Sergeant Rock]

Mozart Clarinet Quintet K.581 played by the Minetti Quartett and Matthias Schorn




Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Flash Maiden-Listen Mondays!

JSB
Cantata BWV 13, « Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen »
Gustav Leonhardt & al.

[Opus106]

Joining Karl* on Maiden Listen Monteverdi Monday

Missa In illo tempore
Robert King and his Consort

This is a 'filler' in a two-disc set mostly occupied the 'Vespers of 1610', which has been reserved for another day. For the record, and it is a record of sorts for me, this disc had been in its shrinkwrap for over a year. And that fact brought to my notice that we haven't heard from Stuart (coopmv) for some weeks now. Hope he's enjoying the summer or, at worst, simply lost in his pile of un-opened CDs.


*EDIT: Oh. Looks like he's moved forward a century.

[North Star]

Good day, Karl!

Thread duty:
Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 2
Rafael Orozco, András Mihály & Hungarian State SO

[Todd]

Starting in on this week's Mozart sonata cycle.

[Bogey]

Starting in on this week's Mozart sonata cycle.

0:)

[Mandryka]

The booklet notes are in three parts.

1) A persentation of the music written by Kandel, not very deep.
2) A short thesis on Music Ficta by Gerard Géay, who attended the sessions. I do not think he is that clear.
3) A thesis on the pronunciation of 14th and 15th Century Gallican latin by Thierry Peteau. I do not know if this topic interests you. If it does, and you do not know anything about it, you may learn a bit, but it is not enough to justify the purchase of the CD - IMO.

Cheers

The Messe de Notre Dame that really throws me -- I mean, I'm intrigued but I can't get my head round what they do -- is from the Organum Ensemble.

I'm listening to the extraordinary D major fugue here:

[jlaurson]

Now:


  J.S. Bach
Trio Sonatas
Holm Vogel
Schuke Organ, Leipzig
Capriccio
German link - UK link

Not the prettiest instrument by any stretch of the definition, but intriguing like an Emmental cheese that bites your gum and you just have to continue eating it! Love these.

Earlier:


  DSCH
Symphony No.7
Valery Gergiev / Mariinsky Orchestra
Mariinsky Live
German link - UK link

Not exactly Nelsons... but if you need/want a slow-burning 7th on one disc... it beat the heck out of his earlier recording on Philips.

[listener]

TANEYEV`:  Concert Suite for Violin and Orch. op. 28
Christian Altenburger,  violin    Vienna Symphony Orch.     Yuri Ahronovitch, cond.
and another TANEYEV: Piano Trio in D, op. 22   paired with GLINKA   Triko "Pathetique"
David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Knushvitzky, Lev Oborin
and some oboe concertos:  MARCELLO, J.S.BACH (violin and oboe, from a 2-hschd cto),  C.P.E. BACH and BELLINI
Heinz Holliger, oboe    Lorand Fenyves, violin    Geneva Baroque Orch.   J.-M. Auberson, cond.

[Karl Henning]

Maiden-Listen Mondays!

Dvořák
String Quartet № 4 in e minor (B.19)
Stamitz Quartet

[asin]B00BX2JFTQ[/asin]

[North Star]

Bartók
Dance Suite
Two Pictures
Hungarian Sketches
Boulez & CSO

Pärt
Tabula Rasa
Fratres (vln & pno, and string orch & percussion)
Cantus
[asin]B003TT733G[/asin]