Elgar's Hillside

[Karl Henning]

Mind you, it's not that Turner were at all the driver for the call, just association. Not that I don't simply hanker for a good dither, now and again.

[Mirror Image]

Une Voix dans le desert is quite remarkable and worth paying extra attention to. It's one of those pieces where, for the most part, a narrator speaks against a musical backdrop - an approach which I've never been particularly fond of in general; but then, halfway through (and with perfect dramatic positioning, arising from a landscape of wartorn desolation, amid the 'stillness of the great graveyards'), there's a soprano solo of such tender longing, sadness and hope that, once heard, will stay with you forever. Just five minutes - but worth buying a whole CD for, even if you don't like anything else on it. I'm listening to it now as I write this. Almost unbearable. And pure Elgar, at his most poignantly human.

I don't know the particular recording you've got here - though Susan Gritton is an Elgarian of distinction, so it should be good. My benchmark recording is this one, with the incomparable Teresa Cahill singing the soprano part:

This is good to hear, Alan. Thanks for your descriptions of this work Une Voix dans le desert. This recording, from the excerpts I heard, sounded excellent. One reason I bought this is for Polonia and The Sanguine Fan which are works that haven't been recorded much.

[snyprrr]

I have NOTHING to dislodge Elgar from his perch. NOTHING!!

[Mirror Image]

I have NOTHING to dislodge Elgar from his perch. NOTHING!!

Okay...

[Elgarian]

I have NOTHING to dislodge Elgar from his perch. NOTHING!!

This is yet another reason why the universe is fundamentally problematic. If Elgar were a budgerigar, things would be so much simpler.

[Elgarian]

Not that I don't simply hanker for a good dither, now and again.

Most people underestimate the pleasures of a good dither. It's an enigma.

[Ho ho ho! It's the way I tell 'em.]

[mc ukrneal]

Most people underestimate the pleasures of a good dither. It's an enigma.

[Ho ho ho! It's the way I tell 'em.]

Groans (but can't help chuckling anyway)!!!

[mc ukrneal]

Amidst my Elgar purchasing frenzy, I forgot to mention or post this purchase:



The excerpts I heard from The Black Knight sounded fantastic.

I love this piece. It is definitely one of my favorite Elgar choral pieces and the first I would recommend to anyone. Performances are all one could hope for.

[Elgarian]

Groans (but can't help chuckling anyway)!!!

I know, and I apologise for my lack of self-restraint. It's so far beyond the realms of what constitutes funniness that it goes all the way round the loop and becomes potentially funny for being so hopelessly unfunny. Worthy of a really awful box of after-dinner Christmas crackers, I'm hopin'.

[Mirror Image]

I love this piece. It is definitely one of my favorite Elgar choral pieces and the first I would recommend to anyone. Performances are all one could hope for.

Yeah, coincidentally someone uploaded the work on YouTube (the same performance) and I listened to it about halfway through the other night. Really an enjoyable work. It has some nice twists and turns. Just enough spice to give the work some grittiness.

[Mirror Image]

I'm really excited to hear all the new Elgar recordings I have coming. What should I listen to first?

[North Star]

I should say, then, how well I appreciate "seeing" you.

Almost every day I see the spine of a thin Taschen volume on JMW Turner, and think, I should ring Alan . . . .

Nice to see Alan posting. 
I've got that book, too. Should get to it over the holidays. Those watercolours from Venice are very nice, among others.
And Elgar's Cello Concerto needs a revisit, too. Actually, it just started playing on the radio as I finished that sentence 

[Mirror Image]

And Elgar's Cello Concerto needs a revisit, too. Actually, it just started playing on the radio as I finished that sentence 

A masterpiece, Karlo.

[North Star]

A masterpiece, Karlo.

Yes indeed. Unfortunately they played only the first movement (Watkins & A. Davis). Will have to dig du Pré & Barbirolli later.

[Mirror Image]

Oh well, Karlo. I'm sure you have a recording of it.

Edit: I see that you do. The Du Pre II is a fantastic performance much better than here earlier one with Barenboim (whose conducting I'm not particularly fond of).

[Mirror Image]

Both Elgar's symphonies are masterpieces IMHO, but it's interesting to read of the lukewarm reception Symphony No. 2 had at its' premiere. I can't find anything wrong with this symphony. It's an incredible display of orchestral flair, heartbreaking lyricism, and tight symphonic structure.

[Elgarian]

I'm really excited to hear all the new Elgar recordings I have coming. What should I listen to first?

Given your current enthusiasm, and not wanting it to cool, you might want to delay a bit before watching this one. The performance is OK, but much of the visual imagery that's associated with the variations doesn't work very well, for me

As for where to start with your rich haul ... well, I'll be utterly predictable. Here, of course, but for now skip the Coronation Ode and start at track 8, with my personal supreme desert island Elgar recording:

[madaboutmahler]

Both Elgar's symphonies are masterpieces IMHO, but it's interesting to read of the lukewarm reception Symphony No. 2 had at its' premiere. I can't find anything wrong with this symphony. It's an incredible display of orchestral flair, heartbreaking lyricism, and tight symphonic structure.

ABSOLUTELY! Concerning the premiere, I do wonder! Maybe they were basing their response in comparison to the 1st symphony, which as you know was an incredible success. How each ends is possibly a good debate for the mixed responses. Wheras the 1st ends with glory from the orchestral tutti, in a very clear, celebratory mood, the 2nd ends with a very different kind of glory, so subtle and magical and reflective. Perhaps the audiences did not quite get this as much.... just some thoughts that came into mind!

[Mirror Image]

Given your current enthusiasm, and not wanting it to cool, you might want to delay a bit before watching this one. The performance is OK, but much of the visual imagery that's associated with the variations doesn't work very well, for me

As for where to start with your rich haul ... well, I'll be utterly predictable. Here, of course, but for now skip the Coronation Ode and start at track 8, with my personal supreme desert island Elgar recording:

Thanks for your feedback, Alan. As for the DVD, did you enjoy the documentary? I wish BBC would release the Man Behind The Mask documentary on DVD. I didn't watch all of that program, but it seemed like a good one. I usually don't think too much about the visuals these companies use because they're more from a subjective point-of-view. I'm looking for more substance than visuals. As for the recording of The Spirit of England with Gibson, why should I skip Coronation Ode?

[Karl Henning]

Still waiting for The Man Behind the Mash: The Jack Daniels Story