What are you listening to now?

[Harry]

Antoine Busnois : Worthy of the immortal gods, died #OnThisDay 1492



On this day in 1492, Antoine Busnois died.  He was a Netherlandish composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of motets and other sacred music, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons. He was the leading figure of the late Burgundian school after the death of Guillaume Dufay.

Quite right. Thank you for remembering him, he was one of the finest.
An excellent CD totally devoted to this composer is on Hyperion CDH 55288 by the Busnois Consort, led by Andrew Kirkman. So far its one of the best discs around from this composer.

[Karl Henning]

Дмитрий Дмитриевич [ Dmitri Dmitriyevich (Shostakovich) ]
«Песнь о лесах», соч. 81 [ Song of the Forests, Opus 81 ] (1949)
Vladimir Kazachuk, tenor
Stanislav Suleimanov, bass
Choir & Symphony Orchestra of Cologne Radio
Михаил Владимирович [ Mikhail Vladimirovich (Yurovski) ]

[asin]B000026CDV[/asin]

[North Star]

Cheers, Karlo!  What do you think, of all the works?

Hi Karl.

Well, unlike the other two works, I have heard the Symphony-Concerto before, and it's of course an important part of Prokofiev's oeuvre. The other two I enjoyed very much as well, especially the Sinfonietta. A revisit will be a pleasant necessity.

Дмитрий Дмитриевич [ Dmitri Dmitriyevich (Shostakovich) ]
«Песнь о лесах», соч. 81 [ Song of the Forests, Opus 81 ] (1949)
Vladimir Kazachuk, tenor
Stanislav Suleimanov, bass
Choir & Symphony Orchestra of Cologne Radio
Михаил Владимирович [ Mikhail Vladimirovich (Yurovski) ]

I should look into all these orchestral song cycles of Shostakovich. Well, and his songs in general.

[Karl Henning]

Hi Karl.

Well, unlike the other two works, I have heard the Symphony-Concerto before, and it's of course an important part of Prokofiev's oeuvre. The other two I enjoyed very much as well, especially the Sinfonietta. A revisit will be a pleasant necessity.

I should look into all these orchestral song cycles of Shostakovich. Well, and his songs in general.

The Sinfonietta is utterly charming.  There are other respects in which I have quarrels with Harlow Robsinson, various places where he presented a denigrating opinion about this or that piece which I think rather better than he does;  but I do owe it to him, for putting the Sinfonietta on my radar.

The Song of the Forests is much better than its role as the butt of ready Western musical scorn dares to suggest 

[Mandryka]

Re Busnois, L'Homme Arme mass recorded by Cantica Symphonia is one of six from a C15 manuscript in Naples. The composer is unknown because the front pages are missing, though many scholars, including the manuscript's editor, Judith Cohen, believe it's Busnois. The Magnificat for 4 voices in that same collection is also attributed to Busnois.

The Busnois L'Homme Arme mass recorded by Brian Turner/Pro Musica Antiqua, and The Binchois Consort, is probably my favourite polyphonic mass, I remember Drasko putting me on to it here and how gobsmacked I was when I heard it for the first time.

[San Antone]

The Sinfonietta is utterly charming.  There are other respects in which I have quarrels with Harlow Robsinson, various places where he presented a denigrating opinion about this or that piece which I think rather better than he does;  but I do owe it to him, for putting the Sinfonietta on my radar.

The Song of the Forests is much better than its role as the butt of ready Western musical scorn dares to suggest 

Most of the Amazon reviews for his book on P. were good, except for this one:

I read this book when it first appeared some ten years ago, having read much of the other work on P. (books by Israel Nestyev, Victor Seroff, etc.). Indeed there is a lack of good literature on P. in English. Unfortunately, Robinson's book is sadly written-down and dumbed-down for a sub-TIME-Magazine reading public. It is not necessary to do so to write a good, readable, un-academic biography (compare the superb bio of poet Marina Tsvetaeva by Viktoria Schweitzer). So this book wasted a fine opportunity: its evaluations of both life and works are simplistic. Robinson claims to be "above" the ideological divisions of Cold War Prokofiev scholarship (e.g. pre-Stalinist vs. Socialist Realist Prokofiev), but he does not engage this problem at all, at least not in any thoughtful way, and blurs over it with bland cheery platitudes. Disappointing!

Karl?

[Brian]

Karl?

This is my The Economist subscriber prejudice showing, but, a sub-Time magazine reading level?! That's practically Doctor Seuss!

[Karl Henning]

Karl?

What's the question? 

[North Star]

What's the question? 

I assume David thinks you might be the author of that review. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't use a phrase like 'sub-Time-Magazine reading public' or talk about un-academic biographies. Let alone write sth like this: 'its evaluations of both life and works are simplistic.' or end with that one-word exclamation. Not unless you knew you would disown the review, of course. . . 

[Brian]

What's the question? 

His question is, do you have any comment on the writing style of the book? Do you agree with that Amazon critic?

[San Antone]

His question is, do you have any comment on the writing style of the book? Do you agree with that Amazon critic?

Yeh; I thought it noteworhty that at least one person seemed to reflect Karl's assessment, at least as I understood it.

[Wakefield]

In the LP era I owned the Rifkin recording and transferred it to CD myself. With a rather satisfying result. But the recording contains only a fraction of his secular works.

As an aside: usually Rifkin gets very few love of classical music fans. And I find it quite heartbreaking.

Just some days ago, I read here some harsh words about his B Minor Mass which is one of my favourite recordings of this work. 

[SimonNZ]

Haydn's Mariazellermesse - Richard Hickox, cond.

[San Antone]

As an aside: usually Rifkin gets very few love of classical music fans. And I find it quite heartbreaking.

Just some days ago, I read here some harsh words about his B Minor Mass which is one of my favourite recordings of this work. 

I've been reading Andrew Parrott's book (The Bach Choir) and he is praiseworthy of Rifkin's Bach and enitre rationale for OVPP.

[TheGSMoeller]

Latest Strauss disc from Roth/Baden-Baden. The orchestra gets an A+, but the interpretation is bland. At the Summit is lacking any majesty or grandiose, as if the musicians were following a metronome. I really like this combo's Zarathustra recording, beautiful playing, although even it is not as dramatic as say Tennstedt's.

[asin]B013RY3854[/asin]

[TheGSMoeller]

Mass No.2 in E minor. An amazing composition, even more musical and passionate than Bruckner's own symphonies.

[asin]B000002ZFX[/asin]

[Brahmsian]

Mass No.2 in E minor. An amazing composition, even more musical and passionate than Bruckner's own symphonies.

[asin]B000002ZFX[/asin]

Very nice, Greg!    Love Bruckner's masses, especially the F minor one.  With Herreweghe.

[kishnevi]

First Listen Friday
Deep from the heart of Texas

Landed today.  Not quite sure what to say about the music, since I have never heard it before.  Might be best heard as independent pieces in a recital.  Likeable enough, but nothing leaps out as great music,  although the Sonato for Solo Violin comes closest.  Will need further listens.  Amazon search reveals alternative recordings are available for those interested.

The names of the two ladies might suggest a transEurasian project from the Caucasus and Japan. In fact, both are on the faculty of Baylor,  where it was recorded, and the university partly funded the recording.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

So good is Rubinstein's Saint-Saëns PC numero duo that it is worth the entire price of the RCA Great PC Box.  I kid you not.  But that's not all - I like his performance (same disk) of Liszt's PC numero uno just about better than anyone else's.  And as an added treat his and Ormandy's atmospheric  Noches en los jardines de España cannot be beaten, by anyone, anywhere.  Pounding the table at night in the gardens of Spain!

[TheGSMoeller]

Very nice, Greg!    Love Bruckner's masses, especially the F minor one.  With Herreweghe.

Hi, Ray. 
Love the F Minor, but haven't heard Herreweghe's disc. Will need to.