What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[prémont]

Maybe I overlooked it, but does anyone find out who that mezzo (edit: and counter tenor) is that makes a few short appearances in the variations on songs and arias (partite sopra l'aria di...)??

In the original Frescobaldi/Vartolo/Tactus releases which I own (and which even includes Vartolos recording of Il primo libro di capricci) vocalists are only credited in the notes of the Fiori Musicali. (Capella Musicale di S. Petronio and Nova Scola Gregoriana / Alberto Turco respectively) and there is no mention of the vocalists in the other volumes. In the notes to the recent box release (which I purchased to get the Tasini recordings) I find no mention of vocalists at all. Probably Vartolo himself (who has got a beautiful countertenor voice) is responsible for some of the singing.

[Sergeant Rock]

Encore performance: Mahler Das Lied von der Erde, this time Horenstein conducting the BBC Northern SO with Afreda Hodgson and John Mitchinson




Sarge

[Antoine Marchand]

(which I purchased to get the Tasini recordings)

You're giving me a reason to purchase the complete set (still $11,57 on Amazon USA), although I have all the discs by Vartolo... evil. 

[TheGSMoeller]

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[Mirror Image]

Ravel: Sheherazade


Playing my entire collection of Ravel (modest!) from my iPod - First up is this fine Song Cycle.
Classical Song/Lieder is usually not my thing but this one is pretty nice!

You should definitely checkout this collection:

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[Florestan]

Villanelle alla Napoletana

Renata Fusco, soprano
Conserto Vago, Massimo Lonardi - lute and direction



This is a splendid disc with vocal and instrumental music by Leonardo dell'Arpa, Adrian Willaert, Orlando di Lasso and others. There's nothing special about the forces: a voice and two lutes, but its magic is indescribable. Just turn off the lights, light a candel and start playing dreaming...

[Opus106]

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade

And, for First Listen Friday,

Igor Stravinksy - The Rite of Spring
(like srsly!)

French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra | Myung-Whun Chung

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
20 March 2009

That session got delayed due to various reasons on Friday. But now that I'm listening to Le Sacre... at last, I can report that I'm enjoying all that bam! bam! and more. It has quite a lot of melodic material [to be taken in the loosest sense and not in a technical sense] than I was let to believe by "readsay".

[ibanezmonster]

Liked it, but expected to like it a little more than I did.



Seems like I'm beginning to appreciate composers like Lachenmann and Ferneyhough a bit more lately. This disc I really enjoyed, especially Kontrakadenz. I actually enjoyed listening to much of it, instead of only enjoying the fact that I can learn a lot by following along with the score lol.
Kontrakadenz has a very surrealist-type feel, and he makes some pretty astounding orchestral sonorities, especially in the section where he repeats a few pages worth of music 5 times (!)

[madaboutmahler]

Just finished:
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Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.6

Have been wanting to re-explore the Vaughan Williams symphonies for a while, chose this one to start off with. Absolutely amazing.....

[Mirror Image]

Just finished:
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Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.6

Have been wanting to re-explore the Vaughan Williams symphonies for a while, chose this one to start off with. Absolutely amazing.....

I endorse this message! RVW's symphonies are, in my opinion, the finest British symphonies ever composed. Each one is so different from the next and all of them have had such a deep impact on me.

[Lisztianwagner]

Now, to celebrate Berlioz Birthday:

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[Kontrapunctus]

My wife attempting to play "Three Blind Mice" with her "Simon's Cat" app on her iPad! 

[TheGSMoeller]

Just finished:
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Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.6

Have been wanting to re-explore the Vaughan Williams symphonies for a while, chose this one to start off with. Absolutely amazing.....

If I was to pick a RVW piece for the top 100 of 20th C., it would probably be Symphony No.6...although not the one I listen to the most, it's difficult to ignore the power of this piece, especially the final movement, and possibly the influence RVW was digesting during WWII, even though I believe he claimed No.6 had no program.

[Mirror Image]

If I was to pick a RVW piece for the top 100 of 20th C., it would probably be Symphony No.6...although not the one I listen to the most, it's difficult to ignore the power of this piece, especially the final movement, and possibly the influence RVW was digesting during WWII, even though I believe he claimed No.6 had no program.

He has attached no program to any of his symphonies. Many have inquired to him about Symphony No. 4. I think his answer was "I'm not sure if I like it, but it's what I meant." Always the enigmatic man.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Three Pieces For Orchestra. A stunning piece of music. Such intensity and emotion.

[Karl Henning]

Just finished:
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Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.6

Have been wanting to re-explore the Vaughan Williams symphonies for a while, chose this one to start off with. Absolutely amazing.....

(* pounds the table *)

[Karl Henning]

He has attached no program to any of his symphonies.

Not even A London Symphony?

[Mirror Image]

Not even A London Symphony?

No, not even A London Symphony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_London_Symphony

[Karl Henning]

No, not even A London Symphony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_London_Symphony

Interesting, but I think that Vaughan Williams was either equivocating, or splitting an unlikely hair.  That is, I think he was refusing a Wagnerian literalism on the lines of This passage is a walk down The Strand.

With the sundry musical quotations, I really don't see that the piece is absolute music on the order of (say) Haydn's London Symphony.

[Mirror Image]

Interesting, but I think that Vaughan Williams was either equivocating, or splitting an unlikely hair.  That is, I think he was refusing a Wagnerian literalism on the lines of This passage is a walk down The Strand.

With the sundry musical quotations, I really don't see that the piece is absolute music on the order of (say) Haydn's London Symphony.

Regardless of what you thought, this comes from the composer. We can either accept what he says or not. I accept A London Symphony as absolute music because the symphony, or any symphony of RVW's for that matter, does not need a program. It stands on it's own just fine without anything attached to it.