What are you listening 2 now?

[Tsaraslondon]

Brigitte sings about death. Tracks 9 to 13.



I really still can't quite figure out how I feel about Schubert Lieder (and sometimes about Schubert more generally). I think I want to like them more often than I do. A lot of it is just... okay. No matter how well sung it is.

Sometimes I'm fascinated and that's why I bought 4 volumes of the Hyperion series that I could find cheaply. But then it's not often I'm drawn to listen, and a few songs at a time is generally sufficient (noting that Schubert didn't often plan deliberate sequences or albums).

And now I'm listening to the same songs again... and liking them more. I think maybe it's the kind of music where I have to NOT focus on details and pull back to the larger picture to make it work.

There are a lot of excellent discs in the Hyperion series, not least the Fassbaender disc above and the first one in the series featuring Dame Janet Baker, but have you tried this famous disc with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Edwin Fischer, surely one of the greatest Schubert recitals ever recorded.

[pjme]

https://www.youtube.com/v/ao_pekYGD3Y

I. Allegro / II. Moderato / III. Allegro scherzando

https://www.youtube.com/v/fAQlSaAIbtA

Organ concertino "Retablo Medieval" (1949)

I. Mester de Juglares
II. Mester de Clerecía
III.Don Carnal y Doña Cuaresma
IV.Dueñas e Monjas

[Madiel]

There are a lot of excellent discs in the Hyperion series, not least the Fassbaender disc above and the first one in the series featuring Dame Janet Baker, but have you tried this famous disc with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Edwin Fischer, surely one of the greatest Schubert recitals ever recorded.

I'm afraid my tolerance for sound quality and style doesn't extend back as far as 1952.

I mean, I'm listening to some of it now, and while there's no doubt as to the abilities of both of them, I'm hearing a vocal style that I instinctively find old-fashioned. How much of that is recording technology and how much is her actual singing style, I'm not sure. But there's more vibrato wobble than I enjoy.

[Papy Oli]

Good morning all,

Rubbra - Symphonies 4, 10 & 11 - Richard Hickox

[asin]B000000AXR[/asin]

[Tsaraslondon]

I'm afraid my tolerance for sound quality and style doesn't extend back as far as 1952.

I mean, I'm listening to some of it now, and while there's no doubt as to the abilities of both of them, I'm hearing a vocal style that I instinctively find old-fashioned. How much of that is recording technology and how much is her actual singing style, I'm not sure. But there's more vibrato wobble than I enjoy.

So much the worse for fashion then.

You're misidentifying wobble. Unlike many of today's singers, Schwarzkopf's voice remained admirably firm until she retired in her 60s, though admittedly by that time the range had shrunk. Vibrato was used as a means of expression and, of all singers, Schwarzkopf was able to vary the amount of vibrato depending on what she was singing. Quite honestly I hear far more unwelcome vibrato/wobble in too many singers today; nor do they seem in any way able to control it. If that makes me old fashioned, then so be it, but for me great artistry never goes out of fashion.

[Tsaraslondon]

Suite no 1 in D minor, Op 44 in this classic recording from 1966.

[steve ridgway]

Peaceful modern choir music.

[asin]B00NTDI8SQ[/asin]

[Madiel]

So much the worse for fashion then.

You're misidentifying wobble. Unlike many of today's singers, Schwarzkopf's voice remained admirably firm until she retired in her 60s, though admittedly by that time the range had shrunk. Vibrato was used as a means of expression and, of all singers, Schwarzkopf was able to vary the amount of vibrato depending on what she was singing. Quite honestly I hear far more unwelcome vibrato/wobble in too many singers today; nor do they seem in any way able to control it. If that makes me old fashioned, then so be it, but for me great artistry never goes out of fashion.

I'm just saying, she's doing a lot of rapid vibrato (either that, or that's the impression the recording gives) and it's not to my taste. Nor did I hear much variation in the several songs I listened to.

And artistry DOES go out of style. Otherwise we wouldn't have all these different musical periods. Fashions change.

[Florestan]

The next-to-last disc in the box. This is the one I enjoyed the most so far.

[Roasted Swan]

If that makes me old fashioned, then so be it, but for me great artistry never goes out of fashion.

Tsaralondon - I know your comment above applies to styles of singing but I had exactly the same thought yesterday with regard to instrumental playing.  Recently, elsewhere on the site I remember someone being a bit sniffy about Neville Marriner's legacy with The Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields.  Yesterday, I listened to that group's Vivladi 4 Seasons with Alan Loveday and for anyone who has the slightest inkling of what it takes to play the violin well this is a sensational recording.  Yes of course at any given moment you might prefer a different tempo there, a change of phrasing here but the essential bedrock of the artistry is unchallengeable.  In that specific instance what made me laugh is the perception that somehow modern application of historical performance practice has swept away the 'ignorance' of past versions.  Which is fine until you realise that these Marriner recordings used a "new edition" by Christopher Hogwood who also plays the continuo here very stylishly indeed.

As in so many things in life - the word "progress" implies "better" but is it always so..........??

On a tangent - a +1 for your recommendation of Barbara Bonney's "Diamonds in the Snow" disc - simply gorgeous

[Irons]

Elgar: 1st Symphony.



It has been said Boult was past his best when he came to make his final recording of this symphony. A view I disagree with, in fact a definitive rendition.

[Tsaraslondon]

I'm just saying, she's doing a lot of rapid vibrato (either that, or that's the impression the recording gives) and it's not to my taste. Nor did I hear much variation in the several songs I listened to.

And artistry DOES go out of style. Otherwise we wouldn't have all these different musical periods. Fashions change.

As I said, so much the worse for fashion. People don't paint in the same style as, say, Michelangelo or Da Vinci anymore, but we don't call them old fashioned. Great artistry does not go out of fashion, though perhaps some people's ability to appreciate it does.

[Harry]

The Time of Monteverdi.
Secular vocal music and the birth of opera. CD I.

Second rerun.

As I wrote before, in this box it's a mix between hit and miss, but overall I like most of the recorded material.

[Tsaraslondon]

Tsaralondon - I know your comment above applies to styles of singing but I had exactly the same thought yesterday with regard to instrumental playing.  Recently, elsewhere on the site I remember someone being a bit sniffy about Neville Marriner's legacy with The Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields.  Yesterday, I listened to that group's Vivladi 4 Seasons with Alan Loveday and for anyone who has the slightest inkling of what it takes to play the violin well this is a sensational recording.  Yes of course at any given moment you might prefer a different tempo there, a change of phrasing here but the essential bedrock of the artistry is unchallengeable.  In that specific instance what made me laugh is the perception that somehow modern application of historical performance practice has swept away the 'ignorance' of past versions.  Which is fine until you realise that these Marriner recordings used a "new edition" by Christopher Hogwood who also plays the continuo here very stylishly indeed.

As in so many things in life - the word "progress" implies "better" but is it always so..........??

On a tangent - a +1 for your recommendation of Barbara Bonney's "Diamonds in the Snow" disc - simply gorgeous

I agree with you on all counts. Is progress always better? I fear not but I'm beginning to feel increasingly out of step with today's society. Why is everything that's new so feted? When I was young I still had a healthy appreciation of things from before my time.

[Harry]

The time of Monteverdi.
CD II,


Quite wonderful actually.

[vandermolen]

Aarre Merikanto Piano Concerto No.3
Thanks to Kyle (Kyjo) for mentioning this one.
It has a very beautiful slow movement 'Pieta' but I've enjoyed the whole concerto:

[vandermolen]

Weinberg
Symphony No. 3, Op. 45
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Thord Svedlund

Unbelievably I heard No.3 live at the Proms this year - a great experience.

[vandermolen]

Elgar: 1st Symphony.



It has been said Boult was past his best when he came to make his final recording of this symphony. A view I disagree with, in fact a definitive rendition.

Yes, a fabulous release and love the cover image.

[vandermolen]

Good morning all,

Rubbra - Symphonies 4, 10 & 11 - Richard Hickox

[asin]B000000AXR[/asin]

Perhaps the best CD in the Chandos cycle.

[listener]

Ignazio CIRRI (1711-1787):  12 Organ Sonatas, op. 1
all of them have 2-movements so not much development
DEBUSSY  The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
National Orch. & Chorus of Wales,  Thierry Fischer, cond.