What are you listening 2 now?

[Que]

I bought this on the strong recommendation of Todd M. McComb on his medieval music site, and listening to the first disc I don't regret it:

Listening to it right now. 

[Que]

I try to buy some of his highest star rated discs, and he seems reasonably reliable according to my tastes.

I recently bought and listened to this disc which he also rates highly (****), and it is very fine IMO:

I liked it (very much) as well: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,29166.msg1365781.html#msg1365781

[Madiel]

Been too long since I listened to Holmboe. so:

Symphony № 8, « Sinfonia Boreale » Op. 56 M. 172 (1952)

One of the few Holmboe works where you need to specify which performance you're listening to. Though if I was betting man I'd say you were on BIS.

[Madiel]

Rachmaninov's op. 5 and op.17 with Previn and Ashkenazy

Their performances are pretty much the reference recording.

[Madiel]

Holmboe, Symphony No.7



I used to not like no.7 as much as some of the others. I have no problem enjoying it now.

[Mandryka]

EDIT --- My honest advice to you is this: listen less to mainstream media news and more to Chopin's music.

OK

[aligreto]

A Secret Labyrinth [Van Nevel]: CD 13: Features the music of Jacobus Gallus.





This is my introduction to the music of Jacobus Gallus and what an introduction it is.
The extracts from his Opus Musicum are very interesting and engaging. I find his sense of harmony to be very appealing and occasionally wonderfully edgy. Some of the high soprano lines are quite haunting and of course all of the vocals are wonderfully presented and recorded. I also find the instrumental accompaniments to be sensitive and absorbing where employed. They are sparsely scored but full sounding nonetheless. The Missa super Sancta Maria is divine music. There is a wonderful, gentle and easy flow to it. The higher register soprano notes are ethereal.

[Madiel]

Holmboe, Liber Canticorum, Book III



Someone's gonna figure out the pattern eventually... 

[aligreto]

Bach: Cantata BWV 81 Jesus Schläft, was soll ich hoffen? [Gardiner]





Having read recently that this Cantata must count as Bach's most operatic I had to take it down and listen anew. From the introduction the sound is big and full with wonderful scoring. It is also interesting how the alto has to sustain a note for a prolonged period on a number of occasions. The subsequent tenor recitative has some interesting dissonant chords adding a disconcerting tone. And then we have the storm after the calm with its undulating flurry of strings with the requisite thunder being provided by the lower register instruments. It is certainly very exciting and dramatic. The subsequent passage is a stark contrast featuring an ominous double bass prominently voicing with a bass vocal. The fifth section features a pair of oboes d'amore over strings which appears to surge against the wind instruments which I find to be particularly attractive and engaging. The work concludes with a soothing full voiced chorale which offers safety and reassurance.

[Que]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[vers la flamme]

Guillaume Dufay: Missa Sancti Anthonii de Padua. Alexander Blachly, Pomerium

Beautiful.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Rachmaninov's op. 5 and op.17 with Previn and Ashkenazy

That looks like it would be a fun album to listen to!  And, boy, they look so young!  When is that album from Linz?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Langgaard: Rosengaardspil (Rose Garden Play) for string quartet



Hat tip to MI for encouraging me to revisit this lovely work, which I hadn't really appreciated before. It looks back affectionately to the Classical Era (the 2nd movement is simply titled Mozart) without sounding like mere pastiche. The performance by the Nightingale Quartet is stellar!


Merikanto: Symphony no. 1



Actually, this exceeded my expectations! True, the last two movements may be a bit episodically constructed, but as per usual Merikanto's material is consistently engaging and silences most criticism from this listener. There are times where I was reminded of the lovably quirky, folksy passages that appear in Melartin's and Magnard's symphonies, as well as of the rich harmonic language of Atterberg. Performances and sound are excellent - special mention should go to the enthusiastic timpani player (always a plus in my book)!


Janáček: String Quartet no. 2 Intimate Letters



What needs more to be said? A masterpiece, plain and simple. One thing I love about Janáček is that that no matter how modernist or experimental he got, his music always has a passionately beating, Romantic heart at its core.


Honegger: Symphony no. 1



A bracing, acerbic (in a good way) early work with an elegiac slow movement and a dance-like finale with a movingly tranquil ending (a Honegger specialty). Unfortunately, I didn't pick the best performance to listen to. Davies' tempi are sluggish and the Basel orchestra doesn't sound particularly inspired under him.


Alwyn: Odd Man Out



After seeing this mentioned so many times on GMG, it was high time I listened to this! Unsurprisingly, it didn't disappoint. Alwyn's big-boned, dramatic idiom was perfectly suited to film scores.

I'd love to hear the Merikanto and the Langaard (great cover by the way)!  And, that's a wonderful recording of the Janacek! 

PD

[aligreto]

Couperin: L'Apothéose de Lulli [Christie, Rousset]





L'Apothéose de Lulli

Terrific music and playing.

[VonStupp]

G.F. Handel
Messiah

Elly Ameling, Anna Reynolds, Philip Langridge, Gwynne Howell
Academy & Chorus of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Sir Neville Marriner (rec. 1976)

VonStupp's 25 Days of Christmas
I have always liked Marriner (and Sir Colin Davis) in this work. I'll see if I have time to listen all the way through today.

This 1976 performance is based on the 1743 Covent Garden version, so you get some of Handel's alternates such as the 12/8-meter Rejoice Greatly and other small differences throughout.

VS

[aligreto]

Dvorak: Symphony 9 [Rowicki]





The opening introductions are wonderfully serene and lyrical and the subsequent orchestral chords are massive and threatening. I like the somewhat underlying disconcerting tone as the movement progresses. It is a powerful presentation that is well driven and it also has a wonderful sense of exuberance. The recording sounds wonderfully expansive. The introduction to the Largo is wonderful in its depth and the main theme is delicate, wistful and soulful. As the movement progresses the rich scoring is very well presented. The tone is gentle and lyrical. This third movement is a stirring affair and it is well driven yielding much excitement in the outer sections of the movement whereas inwardly it is expansive and atmospheric. The opening of this final movement is wonderful with great brass. Once again the sense of power and expanse in the music is well portrayed. The conclusion is exhilarating. A very fine version.

[Traverso]

Kodaly

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This BBC Legends CD with Yehudi Menuhin and Benjamin Britten recorded at the 10th and 12th Aldeburgh Frestivals in 1957 and 1959 respectively.



PD

[Traverso]

A Secret Labyrinth [Van Nevel]: CD 13: Features the music of Jacobus Gallus.





This is my introduction to the music of Jacobus Gallus and what an introduction it is.
The extracts from his Opus Musicum are very interesting and engaging. I find his sense of harmony to be very appealing and occasionally wonderfully edgy. Some of the high soprano lines are quite haunting and of course all of the vocals are wonderfully presented and recorded. I also find the instrumental accompaniments to be sensitive and absorbing where employed. They are sparsely scored but full sounding nonetheless. The Missa super Sancta Maria is divine music. There is a wonderful, gentle and easy flow to it. The higher register soprano notes are ethereal.

If you like Gallus it is perhaps a good idea to give this box the attention it deserves.

[Mirror Image]

Now playing Disc 2 from this marvelous set:



Contents of this set here:

https://bis.se/label/bis/the-complete-choros-bachianas-brasileiras-1