Graupner's Graceful Gravity [1683-1760]

[SonicMan46]

No problem, we're all busy. I'm getting married coming Staurday, you can imagine how busy I am at the moment... 

Hi Que - congrats on your marriage! Dave

[Ken B]

BY ETAN  RESUNEGIE (Tempi, AZ)

A musicologist at the University of Tempi has a theory which he says "could revolutionize music and theatre history."  Professor P Luna believes that a well-known Baroque era composer never existed.

"He's a myth, a carefully, artfully constructed myth" says Luna of  Christoph Graupner (1683 – 1760). "Faked portraits, faked letters, faked birth, faked death, fake, fake, fake. "

Luna lays out his reasoning in the latest issue of the Left-leaning Tancrede . "The name is a giveaway. It is slang for 'fishy' in Dodecaphonese, a little spoken language known for its harsh guttural sounds.  Besides that no real composer speaks Dodecaphonese." Luna also cites the lack of recordings. "We have Bach on the original instruments for heaven's sake, but no 'Graupner'. Think about it."

But this claim, extraordinary as it is, is not the most shocking part of Luna's  thesis. "Shakespeare wrote that music, that's what he was doing while the Earl of Oxford was writing the history plays" Luna writes in the Right-leaning Tancrede .

Luna's paper was not well received by more mainstream historians. "Boy, it's like baklava really: both flaky and nutty" wrote D. Zauber VII in a recent review in Q.  H Kenning was even more dismissive:  "Rubbish!  Everyone knows Francis Bacon wrote the history plays." 

[Moonfish]

Hmmmm...

[Que]

Thanks everybody for the congratulations!! Naturally I had to choose a venerable thread like this for the announcement.

Anyway, before I loose my freedom and fly off to Bali, Indonesia, let's talk about this recording:

[asin]B0081VMIMS[/asin]

Guys, I'm not quite sure if this disc quite does it... . It is nice, but I have a slight problem with Letzbor's approach.
He tries to make Graupner's music more interesting/expressive (why? ) by "edging" it. Brisk attacks by the strings and highlighting dissonant chords.
All nice and well, but with this added abrasiveness makes the music rather looses some of its bubbly charm that I know from a Veilhan recording. And it sounds hurried at times, especially in the chamuleau solos.

Mixed feelings, therefore.... 7/10 in my book.

Q

[71 dB]

Thanks everybody for the congratulations!! Naturally I had to choose a venerable thread like this for the announcement.

Anyway, before I loose my freedom and fly off to Bali, Indonesia, let's talk about this recording:

[asin]B0081VMIMS[/asin]

Guys, I'm not quite sure if this disc quite does it... . It is nice, but I have a slight problem with Letzbor's approach.
He tries to make Graupner's music more interesting/expressive (why? ) by "edging" it. Brisk attacks by the strings and highlighting dissonant chords.
All nice and well, but with this added abrasiveness makes the music rather looses some of its bubbly charm that I know from a Veilhan recording. And it sounds hurried at times, especially in the chamuleau solos.

Mixed feelings, therefore.... 7/10 in my book.

Q

Funny, I was listening to this disc on Spotify yesterday and also felt something weird about it.  Oddly reverberant yet dry sound. 

[SonicMan46]

My two newest Graupner acquisitions are shown below (far left/middle) and because of the comments left by Que & 71 db on the Letzbor recording, I thought a re-listening was in order:

Letzbor, Gunar w/ Ars Antiqua Austria - Concerto & Overtures (3 works) w/ chalumeaux & Violin Sonatas (2 works) - the liner notes are excellent which include a short discussion on the chalumeau & also comments by the sound engineer on the recording and the room used indicating that a lot of attention went into deciding 'how best' to make this music sound possibly like it did in the composer's time - a success - who knows?  I'd likely rate this a notch higher on Que's scale and at least 4*/5 if doing an Amazon review; also, on my standard stereo w/ two speakers, I did not get the feeling of a reverberant sound - NOW, this was recorded in SACD (which I do not have to sample this format), so possibly there would be a difference.  But for those considering this recording, look at this Review 1 & also Review 2, which might help in a decision.

Kaakinen-Pilch w/ the Finnish Baroque Orchestra - Orchestral Suites (3 works) w/ chalumeaux on 2 performances.  Recently recorded in 2013 and an excellent production as expected from Ondine.  These works were also performed in a 'small' room but w/ more instruments so the 'sound stage' is somewhat fuller - for those considering a purchase, see Review 3 & Review 4.

But I must agree w/ Que that my favorite Graupner charlumeaux CD is the one w/ Jean-Claude Veilhan - Dave

   

[HIPster]

Congratulations on your marriage, Que!   

Have a wonderful time in Bali too.   

As for Graupner -

Appreciate the reviews!  The Letzbor has interested me for some time and so I take note of the comments here. . .  BTW, I've recently come across his take on J.S. Bach's 4 Orchestral Suites and that interpretation is quickly becoming one of my favorites (a bonus, too, is that it's on one single disc! Does not sound rushed at all either).

SonicDave - thank you for the review of the Ondine and the positive mention of the Pierre Verany release - both are now added to my wish list.   

[71 dB]

Graupner: Himmlische Stunden, Selige Zeiten (Cantatas)     Feuersinger/Capricornus Consort Basel

I listened to this yesterday and I was literally floored by the beauty of Feuersinger's voice and the ensemble's fiery energy embracing and supporting her. To me this has also been the gateway to Graupner's works. The recording is simply beautiful so I cannot recommend it highly enough to any GMG member that is fond of the Baroque era. Without hesitation I would choose this recording as my top single cd purchase/listen so far this year. Wonderful music!

[asin] B00H3O2B8A[/asin]

My copy of this arrived yesterday.  In general it is very good, but I have some negative things too to say:

- The recorded sound is clear, but the spatial distortion is strong. There is something with the sound that bucks me, something unnatural... ...the acoustic cues are off, as if the microphone set up was very strange.
- The style they play/sing this music sound too serene and not energetic enough. Okay, I am not unfortunately an expert of Graupner's cantatas, but this disc sounds too "Italian" and slow to my ears. The balance between Miriam Feuersinger's voice and Capricornus Consort Basel is off (singing is too dominant). I prefer less reverberation.
- The last cantata "Achh Gott und Herr" is repetitious as hell, 20 minutes of the same!
- My copy came without a booklet! 

I had pretty high expectations for this disc and in the end the product came out unwhelming.

[North Star]

No problem, we're all busy. I'm getting married coming Staurday, you can imagine how busy I am at the moment... 

Thanks for the recommendation! I clearly should investigate outside Graupner's keyboard music.

Q

Congratulations, Que!

[Moonfish]

*bump*

No love for Graupner?   

[prémont]

No problem, we're all busy. I'm getting married coming Staurday, you can imagine how busy I am at the moment... 

....and I can imagine how busy you will become during the many years to come.


Never mind, CONGRATULATIONS from me.

[Que]

....and I can imagine how busy you will become during the many years to come.


Never mind, CONGRATULATIONS from me.

How time flies..... Happy memories.... 

Anyway, I agree with Moonfish - high time to revive this thread!

Q