What are you listening 2 now?

[Madiel]

Debussy's very early settings of poems by Theodore de Banville. Debussy was pretty obsessed with this poetry from 1880 to 1882, including planning and beginning to sketch a large scale work. There are reports of him constantly carrying a book of de Banville's poems around.

Mostly from this album.

[André]

Conducted by Colin Davis, principals include Francisco Araiza, Suzanne Mentzer and Barbara Hendricks.

[Karl Henning]

Rodion Shchedrin : The Sealed Angel
State Academic Russian Choir & The Moscow Chamber Choir, Vladimir Minin; Melodiya

The Sealed Angel is a Russian-language composition by Rodion Shchedrin in the form of liturgical music based on the story "The Sealed Angel" by Nikolay Leskov. The plot concerns a rural community which protects a religious icon that has been confiscated by officials and sealed with wax. The work is written for soprano, mezzo or alto, tenor, choir boy soloists, flute or oboe, and choir.

The work has nine continuous movements.

Beautiful piece!

[Karl Henning]

Ah Orlando di Lasso: Lamentations of prophet Jeremiah + requiem on signum simply gorgeous voice very fluid , peerless rendition, astonishing beauty in motion, I'm blown away, carry away toward paradise for a moments visit seen what it look like, amen to this folks, angelic aftertaste, greatest rendition of Lassus I heard so far, and I know my stuff by now, my friend the greatest musicologist please bow to this, please be carried away by this album, it's a jowride, forsaken fun...tears of joy...

Exquisite!

[Mirror Image]

A new arrival:

Mahler
Das klagende Lied
Eva Urbanová, Jadwiga Rappé, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Håkan Hagegård
Nagano
Hallé Orchestra & Choir



This is the original version of Das klagende Lied that Mahler later revised, which the revised version is the version most of us who know this work have heard. I'm glad this recording exists and I actually prefer this recording to Chailly's, which seems on the more sluggish side. There's more of an immediacy in Nagano's conducting that I like.

[steve ridgway]

Schnittke : Cello Sonata No. 1.

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[Daverz]

Faure: Violin Sonata No. 1

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(My copy is a 2 CD set on Eloquence.  This Amazon listing is the cheapest one, but the cover doesn't match the text, so buyer beware.  The recording is a classic in any case.)

Faure: Piano Trio
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Very annoying packaging: which of the 2 cellists and which of the 2 pianists are actually playing in the Trio is left a mystery.  I guess they are an autonomous collective.  But the performance is exquisite.

[Mandryka]

I have heard the first one, but not the second.  I generally like their versions better than Beauty Farm.

The second has the Mi Mi and Ecce Ancilla Domini masses, and so invites comparison with BF. I can upload it for you if you want, I like it very much. I think it's OVPP too.

Missa Ecce Ancilla Domini is a really wonderful piece of music I think.

[Que]

Morning listening via Spotify:

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Q

[Madiel]

Debussy, Piano Trio



Listening to this with Debussy's early songs in mind is informative. I'm a bit fascinated with Debussy's musical development, because not much of his earlier work (pre-Faun) gets a lot of air time. This is one piece that does get played a bit, just because there isn't that much chamber music to choose from.

If there's one thing that early Debussy is, it's charming.

[Christo]

Playing the new Brabbins RVW 'A Pastoral' in order to compare it with the 2014 Sir Mark Elder version (Hallé). Find it very convincing, thus far, one of the most mystic readings ever (much of it conceived in and around the trenches of Northern France during WWI, there's almost no way to conceive the horror behind the notes, but mysticism certainly one of the better approaches:

[vandermolen]

Playing the new Brabbins RVW 'A Pastoral' in order to compare it with the 2014 Sir Mark Elder version (Hallé). Find it very convincing, thus far, one of the most mystic readings ever (much of it conceived in and around the trenches of Northern France during WWI, there's almost no way to conceive the horror behind the notes, but mysticism certainly one of the better approaches:

Pleased to hear your high opinion of this recording, which rekindled my enthusiasm for the score. I haven't got round to Symphony No.4 yet.

Thread Duty:
Tormis: Overture No.2
Nice to have an alternative to the Chandos recording of this inspiriting and searching work. An interesting and imaginative coupling for the Shostakovich Symphony No.10. Fortunate that Tormis had time to compose it between meeting you for tea/beer/cocktail parties etc (I am just jealous) 

[Tsaraslondon]

The sound is dated of course, but the ear quickly adjusts and the performances are magical.

[vandermolen]

The sound is dated of course, but the ear quickly adjusts and the performances are magical.

The piano teacher at the school where I used to teach always enthused about this recording, which is indeed excellent.

[Mandryka]

Madiel may like these recordings, there are three solo piano CDs of Schubert by Anthony Goldstone. In their way they're very good I think. I'm only listening on Spotify, they're not on Qobuz, so with decent sound they can only get better!

[Maestro267]

Brian: Symphony No. 11
NSO Ireland/Leaper

Brian: Symphony No. 30
RSNO/Brabbins

[Tsaraslondon]

The 9th from this excellent set of Schubert symphonies.

[San Antone]

Morning listening via Spotify:

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Q

I liked that recording when it first came out but haven't listened to it since then.  Probably should take another gander today.

[Traverso]

Bach & Vivaldi

Magnificat en Gloria

This is an oldtimer with a feeling of nostalgia,I still like tis recording

[Christo]

Tormis: Overture No.2
Nice to have an alternative to the Chandos recording of this inspiriting and searching work. ...  Fortunate that Tormis had time to compose it between meeting you for tea/beer/cocktail parties etc (I am just jealous) 

He didn't. We discussed this Overture No. 2 from 1956 at our first meeting, in flat [apartment] in the centre of Tallinn, part of the Soviet-established Composers' House compound (there was a Writers' House compound around the corner, where I interviewed Jaan Kross), July 1993. He told me it had been inspired by Tubin's symphonies as well as by his teachers in Moscow (among them Shebalin IIRC).

Alas, since then I kept him busy and he didn't write any orchestral music anymore (only some choral pieces).