What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Chen: Er Huang, for piano and orchestra

There are no words that can describe how intensely beautiful this work is.

[hopefullytrusting]

One of the great adaptations: Maazel's Wagner's Ring Without Words: Stankow leading the Norddeutsche Orchesterakademie

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

This is my kind of Wanger - cut out all the fluff - highlight the hammer - so much brass, so much bass - love it.

[AnotherSpin]

CD2

[Que]

Such lovely music - a mass and a handful of motets.

Listening to the reissue (of both volumes originally on ORF) on Fra Bernado now:

[Que]

CD2

For a composer of smaller fame, there are a lot of prime choice recordings!

[Roasted Swan]

Same store, Putney High Street for me. I think it was the covers, as I walked into Smiths the plasticky smell got the blood racing.

Now you mention that - YES!!

[vandermolen]

Malcolm Arnold Symphony No. 5, Op. 74
Peterloo Overture, Op. 97
Four Cornish Dances, Op. 9
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm Arnold

A great disc and my introduction to Arnold on LP.

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.5 BBC SO, Rozhdestvensky (BBC Radio Classics)

[Harry]

Guardian Angel.
Works by Biber, Bach, Tartini, Pisendel.
See full details of the works on the back cover.
Rachel Podger, Violin, Persarinius, Genoa, 1739.
Recorded: Doopsgezinde Kerk, Haarlem, 2013.
Streaming: 44.1kHz/16 bit, SACD & Reference recording, SOTA sound.

It escapes me why Qobuz labels this as having mixed track formats, when it is in fact a SACD 96kHz/24-bit recording—one of considerable audiophile merit. Such lapses defy comprehension. But let us not linger on metadata, for what truly matters is that this disc is a reference in every sense: musically, emotionally, and sonically.

Rachel Podger here delivers great art—playing of such expressive clarity and poise that the speakers disappear, leaving only the free-floating voice of her Persarinius violin, made in Genoa in 1739. Its tone is warm, rounded, and silken, utterly devoid of shrillness, and it sings with what one might call divine joy.

If you need convincing, simply begin at the beginning: the Partita in A minor, BWV 1013, originally for solo flute, here adapted for violin. It is a formidable piece, yet Podger renders it with such grace and lucidity that it feels almost like a lullaby whispered through time. Such elegance in execution is the mark of supreme artistry.

From there, the programme unfolds like a baroque prayer book of rare gems: Tartini's introspective lyricism, Pisendel's virtuosic flourishes, and above all, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Passacaglia, the 'Guardian Angel' that lends this album its name. Biber's work—published in 1676 as part of his Mystery Sonatas—is one of the earliest and most profound examples of solo violin writing. The Passacaglia itself is a spiritual meditation, circling around a descending bass motif, thought to symbolise both the guardian angel's protection and the fallibility of man.

In Podger's hands, this piece becomes an intimate pilgrimage. Her bow seems to breathe, her phrasing imbued with sacred hush and hushed sorrow, as though she were communing with something just beyond the veil. That this was recorded in the acoustically superb Doopsgezinde Kerk in Haarlem is no small matter—the space gives the music its soft-spoken halo, a sonic glow that's hard to forget.

So whether it's Bach, Biber, Tartini, or Pisendel, this disc flows from one masterwork to the next, a series of baroque illuminations that never cease to astonish. An amazing travail, yes—but more than that: it's a world of fulfilled expectation, a place where beauty and spirit are as one.

Is it surprising when thinking of this recording remembering what Henry Vaughan, whose metaphysical sensibility and musical cadence feel so apt for this moment, could have written, so after the vogue of Vaughan, this I came up with....

Inspired by listening to the Guardian Angel

I saw a sound, aslant with light,
That touched the air with breathless wing;
A single string could stir the night
And make the dust of Heaven sing.

No hands were shown, yet all was played,
The notes did rise, then bowed to rest—
As if some guardian, half-afraid,
Had whispered peace into my chest.

O violin, thou bright exile,
What grace in solitude you bring—
As though the soul, for just a while,
Forgot its weight, and learned to sing.

[Traverso]

Well that's it, I am now clear that Alma's songs are better than Gustav's

They are incomparably different, Alma Mahler's songs clearly bear the traditional stamp where Gustav is more of an ego document. It is clear that Alma's songs are certainly worth listening to and mean more than just the wife of.

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 2

[pjme]

[Mandryka]

They are incomparably different, Alma Mahler's songs clearly bear the traditional stamp where Gustav is more of an ego document. It is clear that Alma's songs are certainly worth listening to and mean more than just the wife of.

I just think she's one of the best song composers of all time. A small number of works, admittedly -- she's like Webern in that respect. Lots of ideas, unusual harmonies, full of passion. If you separate the concept of genius from the concept of innovation, she's a genius, I would put Alma in the same category as Mozart and Schubert.

Here's some proof. This is so erotic, so harmonically, chromatically, heady.

 

[Iota]

Debussy: Douze Études Pour Piano
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)

An enduring and great recording of these extraordinary pieces. Uchida brings an ear and a facility to the music that penetrate its emotional depths and sensual wonders to reveal them in unforgettable lucidity.

[Henk]

[Florestan]

I would put Alma in the same category as Mozart and Schubert.

Oh, come on now! 

[Mandryka]

Oh, come on now! 

Quality, my dear, not quantity. And I'm only talking about songs.

[Florestan]

Quality, my dear, not quantity. And I'm only talking about songs.

Then you can safely strike Mozart off the list. Genius as he was, his songs are few and not particularly brilliant.

Alma competes with Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Wolf, Grieg, Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Rossini, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff... all she can aspire to is an honorable mention, honestly. 

[hopefullytrusting]

Continuing my Hungarian theme:

Kodaly's Budavari Te Deum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFjalyfl_fE&list=RDSFjalyfl_fE&start_radio=1

Followed by, Brahms's Hungarian Dances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJS0pHvDX4c&list=RDvJS0pHvDX4c&start_radio=1

[Harry]

Francois-Joseph Gossec. (1734-1829)
Symphonies, opus 8, 1-3. (Brook 43-45)
Airs de Ballet from "Sabinus",
Les Agremens, Guy van Waas.
Recorded: 2007, at the Liege salle Philharmonique.
Label: Ricercar.
Streaming: 44.1kHz/16 bit. CD quality.

Gossec is not a name that springs easily to the modern listener's tongue, but in his day, he was no minor figure. A pivotal composer at the cusp of the Baroque and Classical eras, he worked tirelessly across royal and revolutionary regimes. His early symphonies, particularly those from oeuvre VIII (first published in the 1760s), reveal a deft hand at the emerging classical style — full of symmetrical phrasing, transparent orchestration, and a penchant for sudden surprises. These are works crafted for the public stage, poised between courtly elegance and the bustling world of Parisian concert life.
Les Agrémens is without doubt a fine ensemble, and Guy van Waas a capable director. Yet my impression here is of a performance that, while neatly turned, lacks a certain fire. The spark of revolutionary vitality — or even Enlightenment joy — seems missing. These are works that thrive on contrast and propulsion, but the fast passagework, often a key to their brilliance, feels strangely muted. Instead of leaping into light, we linger in polite shadows.

The Symphonies are comfortable in the ear, their phrases rounded, melodies sweet, but the thrill that ought to stir the senses is only faintly heard. It is all form, with too little flame.

What truly lifts the disc, however, are the Airs de Ballet from Sabinus. Here, finally, the orchestra wakes up. Gone is the studied elegance — now we hear vigour, a lively forward impetus, as if the musicians have shaken off their stiffness and are finally enjoying themselves. The recording improves here too, becoming a touch warmer and more embracing, giving the dances a spring in their step. It feels like the sun coming out in the last act of a cloudy opera.

This isn't a disc that sets the fire roaring — rather, it's glowing embers with moments of real warmth, especially in the ballet. It invites curiosity more than it stirs the soul. Still, for those drawn to the overlooked corners of Classical-era repertoire, Gossec's early symphonies offer a glimpse into a fascinating musical crossroads, and the ballet music, at least, offers something truly invigorating — like a brisk walk through the Tuileries at dusk.

Some extra info
The Airs de Ballet from Sabinus are drawn from his tragédie lyrique premiered in 1773—an ambitious operatic project with mythological subject matter and grand staging. While the opera itself faded from view, the ballet movements have endured for their charm, energy, and orchestral colour. They offer a glimpse of Gossec's flair for theatrical invention and his responsiveness to the graceful demands of French dance.