What are you listening 2 now?

[SonicMan46]

Paul O'Dette and many others - stimulated by the posts on Le Secret des Muses (bottom left), I put together a 4-recording playlist on Spotify of CDs that I do not own by him - tried to select a variety of periods/countries.  Dave

 

 

[Mandryka]

Paul O'Dette and many others - stimulated by the posts on Le Secret des Muses (bottom left), I put together a 4-recording playlist on Spotify of CDs that I do not own by him - tried to select a variety of periods/countries.  Dave

 

 

Well seeing that prompted me to dig this out, which I've had for years and I don't know if I've ever heard it. The music is light and fun and they play with finesse and brio. Very entertaining in small doses - but then it's Reflexe, so the dose is inevitably small!

[Traverso]

Ligeti

The Big Turtle Fanfare From The South China Sea [1985] - For Trumpet
Trumpet – Håkan Hardenberger

Pieces For 2 Pianos [1976]
Piano – Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky

Etudes Pour Piano, Livre I [1985]
Piano – Gianluca Cascioli
Slancio   
Concerto For Piano And Orchestra [1985-88]
Conductor – Pierre Boulez
Ensemble – Ensemble Intercontemporain

Piano – Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Concerto For Violin And Orchestra [1989-93] - Dedicated To Saschko Gawriloff
Conductor – Pierre Boulez
Ensemble – Ensemble Intercontemporain
Violin – Saschko Gawriloff

[SonicMan46]

Well seeing that prompted me to dig this out, which I've had for years and I don't know if I've ever heard it. The music is light and fun and they play with finesse and brio. Very entertaining in small doses - but then it's Reflexe, so the dose is inevitably small!


 

Hi Mandryka - love those two and would like to hear that recording but not available on Spotify; Amazon only lists an unavailable EMI vinyl (inserted above) - stopped doing LPs in 1984 when I bought my first CD player.    Dave

[Todd]

The draw here is the Borgato piano, which sounds quite fine.  Tebenikhin plays well though one can find more satisfying renditions of each work presented.

[aligreto]

Paul O'Dette and many others - stimulated by the posts on Le Secret des Muses (bottom left), I put together a 4-recording playlist on Spotify of CDs that I do not own by him - tried to select a variety of periods/countries.  Dave

 

 

I have always found O'Dette's playing to be a very pleasurable listen, Dave. I am sure that you will enjoy your selected playlist 

[Cato]

Henning:  Opus 129 — From the Pit of a Cave in the Cloud. Text by Leo Shulte. First performance at King's Chapel in Boston.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1GX6gAmom8

I listened to this recently for the first time and thought it really good.  I didn't know why.  Here is a completely personal experience with 'From the Pit of a Cave in the Cloud'...
I have listened to this piece so many times now.  I read the musical notes made by Leo Schulte, some (most) of which were beyond my understanding, and I listened to the music following the libretto.  This is not the usual kind of stuff I listen to, it's not eh...a purely tonal piece, though tonality is there...but God, Hell and Damnation, I have followed it through, and I've come to understand it a wee bit better.  What a vocal job the Soprano had to do!  Some of the text is sung short, some words are singularly spread, there is an irregularity in some of the words sung which, in a way I do not understand, align with the instruments, which themselves provide a very stark 'unconscious' narrative process of the actual narrative sung.  Hell, this is extremely complex for a simple listener to get, but even if I don't understand the chemistry of creation behind it, I think this is a superb piece of music.  It is quite brutal, in every sense, savage and sinister, a fourteen minute blast of emotion, the music slaughters vile worms (you can hear the worms, even if they're not there) and the purpose of a life is revealed...and it isn't a 'delightful' purpose either..!
I find it hard as a non-musician to write about something so dramatically portrayed from a well informed perspective, this is probably complete nonsense to the librettist and composer.  Please forgive my general incomprehension, but the main point is that this music and it's words have sprinkled a wee bit of unknown magic on my ears.  Anyway, as I say, this not something I would normally listen to...but hellfire and damnation, I really do like this work!   It should be professionally recorded and released on CD (CD1 of a compilation of Henningmusik) so it's full potential can be heard outside the live environment. 
I have listened to it multiple times.  I really do like it, and I still don't know why!

John, I warmly appreciate your "listener's diary" here, and (to say the least) I'm highly gratified that you like the piece so ardently. As one who has frequently liked a piece without at first (or sometimes, ever) understanding it, I can assure you there's nothing remotely wrong with that. The marvel is, not only did Bobbie (the soprano) make this monodrama her own in this performance, making brilliant music with it, but she did it on an exhilaratingly short timeline. As I recall, it was the first weekend of September when the original soprano notified me that she was bowing out, and we had the 27 October date at King's Chapel. Bobbie's husband Dan was playing recorders for the piece, so I reached out to Dan to ask if Bobbie would consider creating the piece. To my astonished relief, after I sent her the score to review urgently, she signed on. That, my friend, is one fearless singer!

Karl used the word "monodrama" above, and that is precisely what it is, and puts it in the same family as its spiritual ancestress, Schoenberg's Erwartung.

I did not have Erwartung consciously in mind, while I created the poem.  In fact, while either creating stories or music, I have always avoided being too conscious of what was/is happening.

The text is based on a "soliloquy" in my novel (From the Caves of the Cloud) about a strange woman on the hunt for a serial killer, who has landed on an island in the North Atlantic.  She relates a tale of capture and assault which might refer to her own life.  Karl was much captivated by the character and asked me to choose a part of the novel and turn it into a poem.

Several sections from the novel came to mind for such a purpose, and I might have given Karl the choice.  As a composer of sorts, I have always believed songs should have compressed language: I have heard too many clumsy and downright annoying popular ditties which all suffered from "too many words."  And I have always believed that since the music comes from the text, musical considerations ought to have some influence in guiding the inspiration of which words to use.

In essence, a clumsy, unmusical text usually gives rise to awkward music.

I am not sure how or when the title came about: I recall its creation not taking very long ( a minute maybe?).

Concerning the content: yes, the scene is a powerful one (I hope!) on many levels, which I think is proven by the first soprano's last-minute horror about the poem: she apparently had not looked carefully at the text, or understood exactly what the words were saying at first.   In her rejection of the song, she was quite vehement, too vehement in fact, which made me think that my poem had strummed something so deep and disturbing in her unconscious, that she wanted nothing to do with the concert!

So yes, Bobbie the Soprano was quite "fearless" and excellent in every way for that song! 

Anyway, let me join Karl in saying: Thank You, John of Scotland, for your kind appreciation!

[SonicMan46]

I have always found O'Dette's playing to be a very pleasurable listen, Dave. I am sure that you will enjoy your selected playlist 

Hi Fergus - still listening in mid-afternoon and a nice mixture - along with a handful on single CDs, my main O'Dette collection is the 5-CD box below; of course, I own plenty of lute music with others, such as Nigel North, Hopkinson Smith, Jakob Lindberg, and more.  Dave

[Traverso]

Bruckner

Yesterday with Klemperer and today this fine symphony with Haitink.

Symphony No.6

[Traverso]

Hi Fergus - still listening in mid-afternoon and a nice mixture - along with a handful on single CDs, my main O'Dette collection is the 5-CD box below; of course, I own plenty of lute music with others, such as Nigel North, Hopkinson Smith, Jakob Lindberg, and more.  Dave

Thats a fine box,I have these recordings in singel CD's 

[Artem]

I wish it had better sound.

[Traverso]

Desprez

Missa Gaudeamus
Salve Regina

Motets À la Vierge

[aligreto]

Morales: Officium Defunctorum [McCreesh]





This is a wonderfully smooth and refined delivery of very fine music with very engaging music making.

[aligreto]

Hi Fergus - still listening in mid-afternoon and a nice mixture - along with a handful on single CDs, my main O'Dette collection is the 5-CD box below; of course, I own plenty of lute music with others, such as Nigel North, Hopkinson Smith, Jakob Lindberg, and more.  Dave

Enjoy your music, Dave 

[Mandryka]

Marais, Marin (1656-1728) - Fourth Book of Viol Pieces w/ Francois Joubert-Caillet and L'Achéron - 4 CD set, making 4 books released of four discs each - one more book left - listening off Spotify (to my den speakers, so good sound); unlikely to purchase these sets, i.e. rather expensive unless later packaged into a 'slim' box?  I've heard the other books and find that I'm enjoying these progressively more, likely related to style changes  over the course of these compositions and seems to be more enlivened involvement by the members of L'Achéron.  Dave

 

I think Joubert-Caillet in Book 1 is tremendous, impressive - the sensuality he brings is original, unexpected for me after Savall and Charbonnier.  It sounds wonderful if you get the right volume level - i.e. very low!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I yet have to hear the other works on the CD, but yes. the program looks quite promising.

I find Adigezalov's composition very attractive as well.

[Karl Henning]

Morales: Officium Defunctorum [McCreesh]





This is a wonderfully smooth and refined delivery of very fine music with very engaging music making.

Marvelous album!

[Daverz]

JS and CPE Bach: (Harpsichord) Concertos in D



Played by Jesus.  (Seriously these are very fine performances.)

[Karl Henning]

Shostakovich
Symphony № 4 in c minor, Op. 43
Symphony № 15, Op. 141
Kitajenko
Gürzenich

[Symphonic Addict]

JS and CPE Bach: (Harpsichord) Concertos in D



Played by Jesus.  (Seriously these are very fine performances.)

Fidel Castro's lost son?