What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Alan Rawsthorne Symphony No.1 LPO Pritchard
This was the original coupling for Pritchard's unrivalled recording of Rawsthorne's Symphonic Studies on LP. Presto have an up to 25% off on Lyrita until early August.

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Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6 Bournemouth SO, Paavo Berglund
- one of the few entirely successful recordings IMO:

[Mandryka]

This is the most satisfying set of performances of Michelangelo Rossi's madrigals that I've been able to find.

[Que]

Morning listening, the Missa Terriblement by Barbignant:



Jacques Barbignant (fl.1445-1460) was a French composer. Until 1960, he was widely confused with the later composer Jacobus Barbireau, partly because there is no known documentation for anybody named Barbingant. He was twice cited by Tinctoris and was named among groups of distinguished composers by both Eloy d'Amerval and Guillaume Crétin (1497). If Au travail suis is by him, as seems likely, he may have been an important influence on Ockeghem, who drew on it in two masses and in his Ma maistresse; the song was also paraphrased by Compère. Strohm has suggested that Der Pfauenschwanz (which is found in six sources, all east European, two ascribed 'Berbigant') may have initiated the genre of German abstract pieces with similar titles; it was used for masses by Martini and Obrecht.

[Que]

Working my way through the abundance of harpsichord recordings that Brilliant has issued in recent times:



This is great fun!  Excellent harpsichordist as well.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2022/May/Chelleri-sonatas-96308.htm

Orphaned at a young age, Fortunato Chelleri (1690-1757) was raised by his uncle Francesco Bazzani, the kapellmeister at Piacenza Cathedral, who taught him organ, harpsichord and composition. He rose to prominence first in Italy as a composer of opera seria but also wrote oratorios, cantatas, orchestral music, chamber music and keyboard music during his time as kapellmeister at Würzburg, a post he took in 1724. Unfortunately the majority of his work has been lost. The "6 Sonate di Galanteria" performed on this album were written in the early 1720s, a time when a new compositional style known as the galant was taking hold. (This was a departure from the baroque, with much less emphasis on polyphony and a preference for accompanied melody, making it a forerunner of the Classical period to come.) The 6 Sonate reflect this style with their typical alternation of slow and fast movements and monothematic, binary structure. Some of the movements are based on dance rhythms, including many minuets and some French-style allemandes. In the latter, Chelleri meticulously notates the "swing" or dotted rhythms that would have been implied, unwritten, according to the French notes inégales practice of the time, which suggests that Chelleri wanted to write in a way that players outside the French harpsichord tradition could understand. He therefore represents a synthesis of French, German and (the less well-known) Italian harpsichord music of his era in one composer who channelled all the compositional features he absorbed, embellished and reworked during his training in Europe in the early 18th century into the emerging galant style. This album was recorded on a Franco-Flemish two-manual harpsichord built by Michael Johnson in 2006, a copy of a 1637 Ruckers instrument, tuned at a pitch of a=415 in the Kirnberger III temperament, a common choice for mid-18th-century keyboard music.

[Lisztianwagner]

Ottorino Respighi
Pini di Roma

Herbert von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker

[Madiel]

Possibly Mozart: Symphony no.43



If not W.A. Mozart, apparently one of the other candidates is his Dad.

EDIT: Followed by the Mozart arrangement known as piano concerto no.2. I've really, really enjoyed nos 2 and 4 today. For no.2 it's the slow movement that's lovely.

[Madiel]

Dvorak: The Spectre's Bride

[Irons]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6 Bournemouth SO, Paavo Berglund
- one of the few entirely successful recordings IMO:

Berglund recorded concerti of English composers including Elgar, Britten and Walton but I can only think of RVW's 6th as the only symphonic work.

Enjoying Rutland Boughton's 3rd Symphony a lot after repeated plays.

[vandermolen]

Berglund recorded concerti of English composers including Elgar, Britten and Walton but I can only think of RVW's 6th as the only symphonic work.

Enjoying Rutland Boughton's 3rd Symphony a lot after repeated plays.

Also the 4th Symphony Lol (with the RPO - chosen as top choice by BBC 'Building a Library' a few years ago. It is a fabulous performance). There is also a fine performance of Bliss's 'Miracle in the Gorbals'(both in the Berglund 'Icon' boxed set).

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Tubin: Symphony No.4
One of the most moving of Tubin's symphonies - sections remind me of 'A Pastoral Symphony' by Vaughan Williams:

[Todd]

[Madiel]

Tubin: Symphony No.4
One of the most moving of Tubin's symphonies - sections remind me of 'A Pastoral Symphony' by Vaughan Williams:

Listening to the Toccata from the same album.

[Madiel]

Poulenc: Fancy



I wasn't going to bother mentioning listening to a couple of short Poulenc songs, but this 2-minute setting of Shakespeare (yes, in English) is exquisitely done.  If you're a streamer, do yourself a favour and have a listen.

Or just buy this whole series which, 4 albums in, has been extremely rewarding.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Poulenc: Fancy



I wasn't going to bother mentioning listening to a couple of short Poulenc songs, but this 2-minute setting of Shakespeare (yes, in English) is exquisitely done.  If you're a streamer, do yourself a favour and have a listen.

Or just buy this whole series which, 4 albums in, has been extremely rewarding.

Who was the singer of that one, Madiel?

PD

[Madiel]

Who was the singer of that one, Madiel?

PD

That particular song is Ann Murray. It's her only song on Volume 4! But one of the good things about the set is the consistently high quality of the singers.

[vandermolen]

Bax: Symphony No.6
I suspect that I'm the only person in the world (with the possible exception of Douglas Bostock) who enjoys this performance:

PS Actually I'm not the only one:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/jan99/bax.htm

[Harry]

Bax: Symphony No.6
I suspect that I'm the only person in the world (with the possible exception of Douglas Bostock) who enjoys this performance:

PS Actually I'm not the only one:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/jan99/bax.htm

Well count me in too!

[VonStupp]

Anton Bruckner
Mass No. 2 in e minor
Os Justi
Christus Factus Est
Afferentur Regi
Bavarian RSO Winds & Chorus - Eugen Jochum

I am not sure why I have given Bruckner's masses the cold shoulder. I know the motets really well and enjoy them, as well as most of the symphonies, so it makes little sense.
VS

[Spotted Horses]

Finally patience with early sonatas and decided to go to the end and work back.

Sonata No 20, D960, Badura-Skoda



Only had time for the colossal first movement. Nicely done, and fortepiano brings a novel sonority to it.