What are you listening to now?

[aligreto]

Buckley: Three Preludes for Piano....





Contemplative, ruminative and engaging music.

[Brian]

Whoa, hold on, this is a new release?! Listening IMMEDIATELY.

[San Antone]

Giaches de Wert : Madrigaux
Cantus Cölln, Junghänel

[Todd]

The Eighth.  Here's another case where version makes a noticeable difference, with my preference being for the revised versions that came later.  And here's a case where Young is a newcomer in a field dominated by superheavyweights - eg, Karajan and Giulini in Vienna, Wand in Berlin, Celibidache in Munich (though this obviously is not for everyone).  That written, considered on its own, the performance has a lot of drive, even in the Adagio, and Young and crew do a creditable job creating a cathedral of sound, even if they don't achieve awe-inspiring massive scale and depth.  Of course, once again, there is also an operatic feel to some of the music making.  The Trio in the second movement brought to mind the Waldweben from Siegfried, with a dash of Der Freischütz thrown in.

[Spineur]

César Franck: Les sept dernières paroles du Christ en croix



Streaming from qobuz.  Absolutely splendid.  Will end up by buying the CD, if I can find it.  Mirare records are a little hard to find.

[aligreto]

Raymond Deane: Dekatriad - An interesting work with lots of tension throughout.

[Mister Sharpe]

Thank you, fellow Bax fiends - for inspiring today's listening.    I spinned Symphonies 1 & 2 four times each today and it was the happiest day I've experienced in 2017.  I stopped only 'cause I feared I was starting to look Ailill-ish.  I'm about that height...

[cilgwyn]

Another recording of Bax's String Quartet No 1,now!

[Mahlerian]

Thomas: Eos; Muhly: Control; Norman: Switch
Utah Symphony Orchestra, cond. Fischer


I enjoyed the Thomas and Norman pieces, though further listens would be needed for a better assessment.  By contrast, Nico Muhly's piece was rather dull.

[aligreto]

Giovanni Gabrieli:
Canzona No. 14 a 10
Buccinate in neomenia tuba a 19
Intonazione del nono tono
Domine Deus meus a 6

[San Antone]

Machaut : Messe de Nostre Dame
The Zephyrus Medieval Quartet



Paul Walker, Celebrant (countertenor 1)
Colin Bird, Deacon (countertenor 2)
J. R. Ankney, Sub-Deacon (contratenor)
Jason Stell, Cantor (tenor)



Essentially a complete liturgical performance, although without the readings.  Zephyrus is a non-professional group based in Charlottesville, Virgina, led by Paul Walker.  This recording was made in 2006.  Generally good, some drift with the intonation, but pretty decent.  I am following with the Leech-Wilkinson score, which they appear to have used, since they do not insert any additional accidentals.

[Wakefield]

Alfred Brendel: Artist's Choice. Anniversary Edition
[Bach, Beethoven, Busoni, Liszt, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Schubert, Weber]
3-CD set

[asin]B0047A87PE[/asin]

CD1: I wish Brendel had recorded more Bach.

Excellent "Italian Concerto": a cantabile 1st movement; a touching andante, and a virtuosic and "presto" presto. 

[Todd]

Disc 7.  The music and playing are very good, but I've grown very fond of the sound of the instrument.  I'd like to hear some Bach played on it.

[HIPster]

Now playing ~

[asin]B00006FN2D[/asin]

I "discovered" this group in 2016.  What a find, too!  Wow. 

This release is excellent.

Superb sonics and a very engaging performance by a trio, consisting of  seven-course lute, virginal/harpsichord/organ, and viol.  Superb.

[HIPster]

Claudio Monteverdi - L'Orfeo
Garrido/Ensemble Elyma
CD 1

[asin]B0000044RA[/asin]

Gabriel Garrido's recording of Monteverdi's first opera--the story of Orpheus descending to Hades to retrieve his bride Eurydice from the dead, only to lose her again--isn't the absolute best all around, but it's topnotch. The all-Latin cast sings the Italian text beautifully, with Maria Cristina Kiehr as Music doing a gorgeous Prologue. Victor Torres's performance as Orfeo sometimes sounds careful, but he executes the role spotlessly. The chorus and orchestra do fine work as well, but the real selling point of this performance is the continuo--the instruments that accompany the soloists, improvising their parts over chords. Garrido's rich, varied continuo group (harpsichord, organ, two or three archlutes, harp, lirone) does the most imaginative, engaging continuo playing on any Monteverdi record yet released. --Matthew Westphal

[Todd]

Received this today, and I figured I might as well give it a spin.  One of the longest sets available at over 145 minutes, Ms Schmitt and her fellow musicians play the music in a relaxed, flexible, almost sumptuous manner.  Using either a Camilli or an anonymous violin, Schmitt plays beautifully.  There are more virtuosic versions out there, but this one is enchanting. 

Helping matters is outstanding sound.  There's a shot of one of the recording sessions in the fold out case, and it almost sounds as though the listener is perched in the chair directly behind one of the microphone stands, with the instrumentalists spread out right behind the speakers.  And that's the CD layer.

[HIPster]

Received this today, and I figured I might as well give it a spin.  One of the longest sets available at over 145 minutes, Ms Schmitt and her fellow musicians play the music in a relaxed, flexible, almost sumptuous manner.  Using either a Camilli or an anonymous violin, Schmitt plays beautifully.  There are more virtuosic versions out there, but this one is enchanting. 

Helping matters is outstanding sound.  There's a shot of one of the recording sessions in the fold out case, and it almost sounds as though the listener is perched in the chair directly behind one of the microphone stands, with the instrumentalists spread out right behind the speakers.  And that's the CD layer.

Very nice, Todd.

I have also been impressed with the sound quality on AEOLUS label releases.

Thanks.

[andolink]

James Dillon: black/nebulae for piano duo
Noriko Kawai & Hiroaki Takenouchi, pianos

[Madiel]

Dvorak, Six Mazurkas

[asin]B004AN0CYC[/asin]
To be honest, not one of the more compelling efforts in this collection. They're okay, but when you've had Chopin...

[Madiel]

Villa-Lobos, Choros No.6 (for orchestra)

[asin]B002CAOVVK[/asin]