What are you listening 2 now?

[Iota]

Messiaen: Chants de Terre et de Ciel: No. 1, "Bail avec Mi (pour ma femme)". A preview of tonight, when Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou will do this set live. The purity of her voice, coupled with his ethereal pianism, are spellbinding.

-Bruce

Gosh, beautiful! Messiaen's music seems to have this glow from within like no other.

[Traverso]

Purcell

CD 2

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Ivo Janssen, Bach.

[Christo]

A new favourite, bought in July in Oxford's Blackwells Music Shop, where the very helpful lady behind the cash register pointed me to this new CD -- she had it on special display in the window because of the "Oxford motif." She also pointed me to the wonderful new book on Vaughan Williams as a folk music collector in Norfolk, The Captain's Apprentice: Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Story of a Folk Song, by Caroline Davison, which I enjoyed reading in Morocco in August.

[Traverso]

Hendrik Andriessen

[Traverso]

Stravinsky

CD 22

Solo Vocal

  

[André]

Gerhard: Alegrías suite, Pedrelliana

The Alegrías suite is very aptly named, four short orchestral blasts of colour and rhythm, busy and fun. And Pedrelliana is equally vibrant, a homage to Felipe Pedrell (teacher of Albéniz, Granados, de Falla and Gerhard amongst other things).
The works are four-square in his tonal period, but whatever style he's writing in he always seems to compose with such a sharp pencil, focussed and clear to the smallest detail.

Very well put: 'busy and fun, vibrant, sharp, focussed and clear'. That's my Gerhard !

[André]

One more run into the 5-disc set of orchestral works by Imants Kalnins. I've listened to each work 3 times now. There's not a dud in the set, however the cello concerto and 3rd symphony proved slightly intractable. But the rest !

- Top shelf stuff: the oboe concerto and the 6th symphony. Both are absolutely splendid and completely original in their fusion of the popular with the sophisticated. On the same level but much smaller in scope are the two short orchestral works (a film music number and a small tone poem): they ooze tunefulness and fine craftsmanship. All of these provide a nice dose of musical endorphins.

- Almost as good are the 4, 5th and 7th symphonies. The latter reminds me in its relation to the others of Prokofiev's own 7th vs the first: unfussy, tuneful and genial. The others have some formidable moments/movements, but are a tad uneven. Still, totally worth anyone's time.

-Symphonies 1 and 2 are very fine too, although they clearly start with a sense of purpose: the composer wants to convey a Message. As things go along, the music becomes more tuneful and swinging. Good stuff.

All told, this set is an absolute must if you enjoy the music of Schnittke, Pärt, Aho but wished they were not so damned serious and knew how to spin a good tune.

[Lisztianwagner]

Gustav Mahler
Das Lied von der Erde

Fritz Wunderlich (tenor), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano)
Otto Klemperer & Philharmonia Orchestra

[SonicMan46]

Du Fay, Guillaume (1397-1474) - back to the Renaissance and the premier composer of the 15th century - own just 8 CDs, a mixture of his music up for initial listening below, including the 'Armed Man' mass, a secular song used in over 40 masses! Brief bio of Du Fay and link to the mass song.  Dave

Guillaume Du Fay was a composer and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered the leading European composer of his time, his music was widely performed and reproduced. Du Fay composed in most of the common forms of the day, including masses, motets, Magnificats, hymns, simple chant settings, and antiphons within the area of sacred music; and rondeaux, ballades, virelais and other chanson types within the realm of secular music. None of his surviving music is specifically instrumental, although instruments were certainly used for some of his secular music. (Source)

"L'homme armé" is especially well remembered today because it was so widely used by Renaissance composers as a cantus firmus for the Latin Mass. It was probably used for this purpose more than any other secular song: over 40 settings are known. (Source)

[Spotted Horses]

I managed to find time to listen to all four movements of Reger's Clarinet Quintet with Klenyan



I did find it to be a worthy performance, but the result is the same as my previous listens to this work, more respect than love. I think part of my problem is the sensuality of it. Voicings seem crowded, room not made for the clarinet. In Brahms and especially Mozart it is not a concerto for clarinet and strings, but the clarinet does have a concertante role, which doesn't seem (to me) to materialize here.

Based on brief sampling, I think I will get on better with Reger's clarinet and piano music.

[Linz]

Joseph Haydn London Symphonies, Heidelberger Sinfoniker. Thomas Fey CD4

[Linz]

A  Venetian Christmas, Gabrrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh

[foxandpeng]

Beethoven
Symphony 6 'Pastoral'
Osmo Vänskä
Minnesota Orchestra
BIS

Such a long time since I listened to anything from Beethoven. Aside from a really good familiarity, this is a great performance.

This is worth a second listen, today. How odd. Very enjoyable, though. More Beethoven needed, maybe, but there is definitely something about the Vänskä recordings... fresh and dynamic? Modern is probably the wrong word. Sound is outstanding, anyway.

[brewski]

Gosh, beautiful! Messiaen's music seems to have this glow from within like no other.

Cannot disagree with that!

-Bruce

[foxandpeng]

Beethoven
Symphony 7
Osmo Vänskä
Minnesota Orchestra
BIS


Late night Beethoven. Would never have thought it. I did think I was probably done listening to Beethoven years ago.

I live and learn.

[André]

Cramer was an English fortepianist and composer, a contemporary of Beethoven and Clementi. These sonatas are all in a 3-movement cast, with expressive slow movements bearing titles such as Adagio espressivo assai, Adagio patetico, Andante con expressione, etc. - pretty familiar from works by Clementi (who taught him) and early Beethoven, then. Also active in London at the same time were Clementi, Hummel, Dussek, Field, Ries, Moscheles etc. It was the golden age of the English piano.

Cramer wrote his own stuff, not an imitation or 'in the style of' music. His sonatas are more intimate, less declamatory than those of his contemporaries. As a performer he championed the piano works and concertos of Mozart. His own sonatas are refined and unflashy. They are played here on a 6-octave pianoforte Cramer might have known if he had played in the Duke of Marlborough's Pall Mall mansion (the original owner of the instrument heard on this disc).

[JBS]

I was expecting this to be good..

But it's better. It approaches Rubinstein level of excellence.

@Florestan IIRC you have this, don't you?

[Karl Henning]

"Papa"

Symphony № 34 in d minor
Heidelberger Sinfoniker
Thos Fey

[steve ridgway]

Nono: No Hay Caminos, Hay Que Caminar... Andrej Tarkowskij



Listening intently...