What are you listening 2 now?

[Lisztianwagner]

Maurice Ravel
Jeux d'eau
Sonatine
Gaspard de la nuit

Pianist: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, 1872/77 Mixed Versions. Ed. Leopold Nowak
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

[André]

Zinman's must be the fastest Missa I've come across. At around 65 minutes it's a romp through the score, but it doesn't sound rushed. Joyous, exciting, full of alacrity except in the more serious or tender moments, where he relaxes to wonderful effect (a magical Et Incarnatus Est). The orchestra and chorus are an audibly modest contingent, but the warm acoustics of Zurich's Tonhalle lend their warmth and impeccable balance of reverberation and clarity to the proceedings. The brass have bite yet never sound aggressive. The soloists are very good to excellent (soprano Luba Orgonasova). What's missing from this recording is a sense of awe and majesty. Too much shouldn't be made of this however, as I prefer that to an excess of these same qualities (Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm, Giulini). Not a benchmark recording then, but a highly valuable addition to any Beethoven collection if one likes the attributes I've mentioned.



Since I mentioned timings for the Zinman Zurich performance, let's start with this : at 74 minutes Gielen's speeds are definitely more moderate while still on the left end of the scale in this regard (the average is around 77-81 minutes, the really slow ones exceeding 85 minutes). This is readily apparent in the Kyrie, where a collected, reverential, penitent atmosphere pervades throughout.

The mighty Gloria and Credo are quite superb in their balance of dynamism, bite and gravitas. The fugal portions raised a concern though, as Zinman's Zurich performance showed that taking a brisk tempo made them sound festive and joyous. In just about every other version I've heard (some two dozen) they tend to lumber somewhat, the intensity ebbing and the attention wandering as a result. Gielen falls into a pedantic, bar-by-bar trudge - think of someone exercising energetically on the treadmill for 15 minutes and suddenly slowing down for the last 2 or 3.

Gielen's soloists are excellent. Phyllis Bryn-Julson is lighter in tone than Orgonasova, her top range secure but slightly fluttering while Lipovsek's fruity mezzo and Protschka's Tamino-ish tenor are perfectly suited to their task. Bass Kurt Rydl is superb, not voluminous in tone but secure throughout the extended range of his part and fully attuned to the spiritual reach of the Agnus Dei.

It's in that movement however that Gielen falters somewhat. For some reason there is a distinctly lower voltage, the movement proceeding cautiously and without obvious finality. The thrilling 'war sounds' (echoes of Haydn's Nelson Mass) towards the end are curiously uninvolved. They should raise the roof - even the Dead - but it's not the case here. Listen to Bernstein to hear what's missing.

However different from one another, it's a toss up between Zinman and Gielen. I like both but am not deaf to their respective blind spots (pun).



Savall's version clocks in at slightly over 76 minutes. Somebody at Aliavox ought to have noticed the ridiculous typo in timings on the set's back cover, where they claim that the Gloria lasts 6'17'' and the Credo 6'53''. Oups ! We just lost some 20 minutes' worth of music here. In Haydn's days a Mass setting could be 'Brevis' or 'Solemnis'. In the first case different lines of text were sung simultaneously by the chorus voices (SATB), resulting in a musical mumble jumble rather similar to the opera finales where different characters all sing together, each with their own lines. Nobody in the audience can follow their patter but everybody understands that the characters on the stage express their individual emotions/reactions all at once. In a 'Solemnis' otoh the lines of liturgical text not only follow one another, but are repeated and ornamented by more than one soloist, individually or in combination. The time ratio of a brevis vs a solemnis is around 1:3. This is what sprang to mind when reading timings on the back cover of this otherwise ultrafine, lavish release.

Forces are modest. I counted 35 chorus members and 45 instrumental players. They do sound substantially lower in number than the 'traditional' 100-175 musicians heard in many recordings. The acoustics are very fine and the overall sound is at once full, transparent and luminous.

This work being an Everest/K2 of sacred music has led concert promoters, conductors and music producers to cast 'name soloists' to match the work's hallowed status, the most egregious example being the sensational pairing of Cheryl Studer, Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo and Kurt Moll with the combined forces of 3 different choirs and the Wiener Philharmoniker under James Levine - look no further if you think New York's St. John the Divine would be the ideal venue for a performance of the Missa. It's an excellent performance in all other respects btw.

Savall and his fine choristers and PI instrumentalists pace the work ideally. The difference between this and the otherwise quite similar Gielen performance lies in the tones produced by the string and brass instruments. More gentle and less cutting strings, less assertive brass, but better balance and clarity (Savall) vs.  a more massive yet energetic orchestra and more vocally assured voices (Gielen).

One last detail to nitpick at: the work's coda and especially its last three chords. Superbly grand under Zinman, forceful but brusque under Gielen, bizarrely ineffective under Savall.

[SimonNZ]

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Continuing on with the Arnold symphonies --- now playing Symphony No. 5, Op. 74

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Debussy Danses sacrée et profane

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Fauré Requiem, Op. 48

[AnotherSpin]

Zinman's must be the fastest Missa I've come across. At around 65 minutes it's a romp through the score, but it doesn't sound rushed. Joyous, exciting, full of alacrity except in the more serious or tender moments, where he relaxes to wonderful effect (a magical Et Incarnatus Est). The orchestra and chorus are an audibly modest contingent, but the warm acoustics of Zurich's Tonhalle lend their warmth and impeccable balance of reverberation and clarity to the proceedings. The brass have bite yet never sound aggressive. The soloists are very good to excellent (soprano Luba Orgonasova). What's missing from this recording is a sense of awe and majesty. Too much shouldn't be made of this however, as I prefer that to an excess of these same qualities (Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm, Giulini). Not a benchmark recording then, but a highly valuable addition to any Beethoven collection if one likes the attributes I've mentioned.


Since I mentioned timings for the Zinman Zurich performance, let's start with this : at 74 minutes Gielen's speeds are definitely more moderate while still on the left end of the scale in this regard (the average is around 77-81 minutes, the really slow ones exceeding 85 minutes). This is readily apparent in the Kyrie, where a collected, reverential, penitent atmosphere pervades throughout.

The mighty Gloria and Credo are quite superb in their balance of dynamism, bite and gravitas. The fugal portions raised a concern though, as Zinman showed that taking a brisk tempo made them sound festive and joyous. In just about every other version I've heard (some two dozens) they tend to lumber somewhat, the intensity ebbing and the attention wandering as a result. Gielen falls into a pedantic, bar-by-bar trudge - think of someone exercising breezily on the treadmill for 15 minutes and suddenly slowing down for the last 2 or 3.

Gielen's soloists are excellent. Phyllis Bryn-Julson is lighter in tone than Orgonasova, her top range secure but slightly fluttering while Lipovsek's fruity mezzo and Protschka's Tamino-ish tenor are perfectly suited to their task. Bass Kurt Rydl is superb, not voluminous in tone but secure throughout the extended range of his part and fully attuned to the spiritual reach of the Agnus Dei.

It's in that movement however that Gielen falters somewhat. For some reason there is a distinctly lower voltage, the movement proceeding cautiously and without obvious finality. The thrilling 'war sounds' (echoes of Haydn's Nelson Mass) towards the end are curiously uninvolved. They should raise the roof - even the Dead - but it's not the case here. Listen to Bernstein to hear what's missing.

However different from one another, it's a toss up between Zinman and Gielen. I like both but am not deaf to their respective blind spots (pun).

Savall's version clocks in at slightly over 76 minutes. Somebody at Aliavox ought to have noticed the ridiculous typo in timings on the set's back cover, where they claim that the Gloria lasts 6'17'' and the Credo 6'53''. Oups ! We just lost some 20 minutes' worth of music here. In Haydn's days a Mass setting could be 'Brevis' or 'Solemnis'. In the first case different lines of text were sung simultaneously by the chorus voices (SATB), resulting in a musical mumble jumble rather similar to the opera finales where different characters all sing together, each with their own lines. Nobody in the audience can follow their patter but everybody understands that the characters on the stage express their individual emotions/reactions all at once. In a 'Solemnis' otoh the lines of liturgical text not only follow one another, but are repeated and ornamented by more than one soloist, individually or in combination. The time ratio of a brevis vs a solemnis is around 1:3. This is what sprang to mind when reading timings on the back cover of this otherwise ultrafine, lavish release.

Forces are modest. I counted 35 chorus members and 45 instrumental players. They do sound substantially lower in number than the 'traditional' 100-175 musicians heard in many recordings. The acoustics are very fine and the overall sound is at once full, transparent and luminous.

This work being an Everest/K2 of sacred music has led concert promoters, conductors and music producers to cast 'name soloists' to match the work's hallowed status, the most egregious example being the sensational pairing of Cheryl Studer, Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo and Kurt Moll with the combined forces of 3 different choirs and the Wiener Philharmoniker under James Levine - look no further if you think New York's St. John the Divine would be the ideal venue for a performance of the Missa. It's an excellent performance in all other respects btw.

Savall and his fine choristers and PI instrumentalists pace the work ideally. The difference between this and the otherwise quite similar Gielen performance lies in the tones produced by the string and brass instruments. More gentle and less cutting strings, less assertive brass, but better balance and clarity (Savall) vs.  a more massive yet energetic orchestra and more vocally assured voices (Gielen).

One last detail to nitpick at: the work's coda and especially its last three chords. Superbly grand under Zinman, forceful but brusque under Gielen, bizarrely ineffective under Savall.

Michael Gielen did a recording of the Missa Solemnis with Orgonášová too. Have you ever compared Gielen's versions?

[Que]

Haven't tried that one yet. But several recordings by this ensemble are lined up for a listen.

[Que]

This, and its twin recording, arrived in the mail:



I found John Ward's consort music quite nice but no real challenge to the (very) stiff competition by some of his contemporaries. But his psalms, anthems and madrigals are absolutely delectable. Beautiful performances by the Consort of Musicke!

PS Somehow the original recordings on Columns Musica Oscura ended up being reissued on Cantus Records, though it seems download-only...

[Traverso]

Bach

Vol.5 CD 1

[Traverso]

Albinoni


CD 3






 

[steve ridgway]

Penderecki - Cantata

[Madiel]

Dvorak

Silent Woods - version for cello and orchestra
Polonaise in E flat
Nocturne in B major - orchestral version



This really is a very pleasing album to listen to. Full of Dvorak's capacity for tunes.

[Madiel]

Villa-Lobos: Choros No.10, 'Rasga o Coração', for orchestra and choir



"Cinematic" is about the best adjective I can come up with for this. Honestly, I wasn't really feeling it in the first half, and while it's very atmospheric I found myself wondering where the music was going (it's some years since I listened to the recording). Is it really a choros? WELL. It turns out it's a preparation for the amazing second half. When the choir comes in, the music takes off. Amazing stuff that feels like you should be standing in front of a waterfall in the jungle.

[Madiel]

Stravinsky: Scenes de Ballet



Wow. Fabulous music, lively and inventive and packing a lot into 16 minutes. This is immediately a top Stravinsky work for me.

[Madiel]

Debussy/Rameau



The CD copy of this album has been sitting around for 18 months since I listened to the other 2 from Víkingur Ólafsson's initial 'triad' of Deutsche Grammophon albums that I bought in their box form. The 3 that made me a fan on streaming, before subsequent releases made me less of one.

I couldn't really tell you why I held off on this one. But tonight's the night.

[ChamberNut]

Stravinsky: Scenes de Ballet



Wow. Fabulous music, lively and inventive and packing a lot into 16 minutes. This is immediately a top Stravinsky work for me.

Scènes de ballet is one of my Stravinsky faves as well.

[Harry]

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704).
The Battle the Bethel & the Ball.
ACRONYM.
Recorded: 2018, Venue unknown.


It is fun, exhilarating even, and a lot of freedom is taken in playing the music. The result works incredibly well and feels completely integrated into the music on this disc. The Artwork is fantastic, the musicians one could use in a new Harry Potter biopic, for they look exotic enough, so yes I like it, and it's worthwhile to play this particular disc once in a while, like now. The recording sounds fabulous.

[Mandryka]

Michael Gielen did a recording of the Missa Solemnis with Orgonášová too. Have you ever compared Gielen's versions?

That Gielen with Orgonášová was the first Missa Solemnis I ever reallly enjoyed, partly because the DVD was so good.

I also have a Gielen recording at Cincinnati in 1982 -- Faye Robinson, Mariana Paunova, Vinson Cole, John Shirley-Quirk -- I can't remember a thing about it though