What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

THE EAR OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 1451–1506.

1) GENOA – VENICE.
2) MADRID – SEVILLE – CÓRDOBA.
3) AT THE COURT OF THE CATHOLIC KINGS.
4) VALLADOLID.

HUELGAS ENSEMBLE, PAUL VAN NEVEL.
Recording: 25 & 26 September 2016, Chapel of Monasterium PoortAckere, Gent, Belgium.
Cover painting: Christopher Columbus portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo (1519

I forgot how beautiful the performance is, and how well it is recorded. It is certainly one of the best recording van Nevel produced. Stunning really. From my CD collection. I love digging in the wealth of recordings I have.

[Karl Henning]

Some Niels Gade for the Prelude: Tonestücke, Op. 22 #2

And the Postlude is a Toccata by Théodore Dubois. Very jaunty.

[Spotted Horses]

Martinu, listened properly to Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca, recorded by Mackerras with the Czech Radio Symphony.



(My, Mackerras looks grouchy in that picture.)

Maybe I was brainwashed by all of the CD linear notes to think of this work as 'impressionistic' because now I am hearing echos of Richard Strauss in some of the orchestral writing. In any case, a lovely expanse of music under Mackerras' direction. And I just noticed that the string line that is an undertone in a passage near the beginning, buried in solo violin figuration, returns as the main melody in the apotheosis of the work (as well as at key moments throughout). To summarize, beautiful.

[Harry]

The English Orpheus.
Purcell's London.
Consort Music in England from Charles II to Queen Anne.
Keller, Sonate No.1.
Matteis, Division on a Ground.
Baltzar, Pavan and Galliard.
Blow, Chaconne a 4.
Eccles, The Judgement of Paris.
Anonymous, Sonata in D, Con concertino.
Croft, Suite from the play "The Twin Rivals".
Purcell, Ciball in C.
The Parley of Instruments, Roy Goodman, Peter Holman.
Recording: December 1982 St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom.
Cover artwork: Greenwich from One Tree Hill (detail) (c1680). Attributed to J Vorstermans.
GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE.

Again as so often a wonderful record. The music is riveting and inviting. Excellent recording and performance as per usual with the Parleys

[Cato]

Roussel: Suite in F

D'Indy: Istar


I have not heard the Roussel in decades: the opening is a barn-burner!

[Traverso]

Bach

partita No.1

[Luke]

Martinu, listened properly to Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca, recorded by Mackerras with the Czech Radio Symphony.



(My, Mackerras looks grouchy in that picture.)

Maybe I was brainwashed by all of the CD linear notes to think of this work as 'impressionistic' because now I am hearing echos of Richard Strauss in some of the orchestral writing. In any case, a lovely expanse of music under Mackerras' direction. And I just noticed that the string line that is an undertone in a passage near the beginning, buried in solo violin figuration, returns as the main melody in the apotheosis of the work (as well as at key moments throughout). To summarize, beautiful.

It is a fabulous piece, one I've loved for many years. Hear it alongside the three Parables, another of his luminous late orchestral works.

[VonStupp]

Giacomo Puccini
Messa di Gloria
Preludio Sinfonico
Crisantemi, (string orch.)

Roberto Alagna, tenor
Thomas Hampson, baritone
London SO & Chorus - Antonio Pappano

Haven't had this much fun with a Mass since Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass. Some broad, operatic tunes open the Gloria & Credo, while the Kyrie and Benedictus are more pastoral, with some lovely singing from Thomas Hampson in the latter.

Pappano makes more of the early Preludio compared to the Carlo Rizzi recording I recently heard. I don't care for the string orchestra version of Crisantemi at all; string quartet all the way!
VS

[Traverso]

Corelli

As the first cold sets in with mist and the scent of late autumn, this music by Corelli fits in well.

CD 2

[Roasted Swan]

A disc filled with RVW novelties, all for orchestra:

erm ... except for the solo song items.......

[Karl Henning]

Chilling to Handel conducted by Boulez.

[Roasted Swan]

Now this has to be one of the oddest things I've listened to in a while;



Apparently, in the early 1930's Carl Orff worked on a performing version of the probably spurious Bach St. Luke Passion.  This edition was lost in WWII but a notated vocal score survived which Jan Jirasek has recomposed.  OK, so its probably not by Bach at all, but its quite attractive, quite nicely sung and played.  But hold onto your hats for the orchestration..... double wind and pairs of horns and trumpets plus a "baroque" trombone plus a continuo of harpsichord and organ plus the usual strings.  So nothing odd there - but hang on there are also parts for.........

timps           bamboo chimes
rattle            tenor drum
tam-tam      claves
crotales        plate bells
chimes         bass drum
tom-toms    triangles
jingles         cymbals           
flexatone    snare drum
wind chimes  plastic tubes(!)

Who knew that was what Bach really had in mind.  HIP enthusiasts look away...........  I rather enjoyed it in an iconoclastic way
 

[Karl Henning]

Cross-post.

Disclosure: I studied with Judith at UVa:

[DavidW]

The Shostakovich 1 is great, but the Gubaidulina is the highlight, and it was recorded live! It doesn't matter that it was written for Mutter because Lamsa also knocks it out of the park. I will be re-listening!

Relisten to Martinu's Concerto for Violin and Piano. I've heard many concertos, symphonies, string quartets, other chamber works, short operas... but this might be it. My favorite Martinu work. I'll have to keep listening.

[VonStupp]

Giacomo Puccini
String Quartet in D Major
Minuets 1, 2, & 3
Fugues 1, 2, & 3
Crisantemi

Paolo Morena, violin
Fabio Ravasi, violin
Cynthia Liao, viola
Gabriele Zanetti, cello

Italian academics pieced together a four-movement Puccini SQ; I think I have only heard an extant single movement. It is certainly a sunny, folksy sort of work. The Fugues and Minuets are rather academic in contrast.

No indication is given as to why this 2002 performance was released on Urania in 2024, or none that I could find at least. Perhaps due to its sub-50-minute runtime.
VS

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Bach transcriptions. BvA.

[JBS]

Giacomo Puccini
Messa di Gloria
Preludio Sinfonico
Crisantemi, (string orch.)

Roberto Alagna, tenor
Thomas Hampson, baritone
London SO & Chorus - Antonio Pappano

Haven't had this much fun with a Mass since Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass. Some broad, operatic tunes open the Gloria & Credo, while the Kyrie and Benedictus are more pastoral, with some lovely singing from Thomas Hampson in the latter.

Pappano makes more of the early Preludio compared to the Carlo Rizzi recording I recently heard. I don't care for the string orchestra version of Crisantemi at all; string quartet all the way!
VS

I have the Scimone recording, with Carerras and Prey. It's definitely a fun thing to hear.


TD
Magyar magyarizing a Magyar's music: Cziffra playing 17 Hungarian Rhapsodies (including two he transcribed from Liszt's orchestral version)

Filled out by Polonaises, Valse-Impromptu, and Grand Galop chromatique, all played by Cziffra.
CD 5 and 6 of

[Brian]

Andsnes and Berglund combine for a rather soft, lyrical, rosy version of the Rach Three. Tempos are relaxed, the musical is elegant and elegiac rather than fierce. The exception is Andsnes' titanic reading of the bigger, louder cadenza. In fact he plays very intelligently throughout, so although I don't like this nearly as much as my favorites (Janis/Dorati, Janis/Munch, Hough), it is an interesting alternative reading. The live sound recording is also quite low-level and needs to be turned up. Andsnes' five Etudes-Tableaux are exceptionally good.

[brewski]

And one more Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1, this time with the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Dmytro Udovychenko. Again, outstanding, as were the others, SongHa and Kevin Zhu. SongHa might have the edge in sheer tonal beauty, and Zhu brought real visceral fire. But Udovychenko also seemed completely under the spell of the piece. At the end of the second movement, rather than ending with a big, physical flourish, he stood almost motionless, as if to underline the impact with stasis.

Was struck by the Belgian National Orchestra, too, and conductor Antony Hermus. One of the many reasons I love this piece is the unusual pairings of instruments with the soloist: moments for flute, bass clarinet, timpani, xylophone, and many others. Anyway, all of these are worth exploring. The competition's YouTube channel is here.

-Bruce

[Keemun]

Langgaard: Gitanjali-Hymner (Berit Johansen Tange)