What are you listening 2 now?

[VonStupp]

Jean Sibelius
Orchestral Songs

Marianne Beate Kielland, mezzo-soprano
Norwegian RO - Petr Popelka

Sibelius' songs are a real find! I might have enjoyed Gerald Finley's recital more, but there is only a little carryover of literature here, so it is good to here some more of the composer in this genre.
VS

[Symphonic Addict]

That word "churchy" is interesting because I've never actually been to a service with a sung Bach cantata - I'm not even sure how it happened. When did they do it in the service? Was there a sort of stage for the musicians? Does it still happen in German eucharists? Hard for me to imagine, especially for a long one like this BWV 147.

The music has that solemn, religious aura I associate with churches and sacred services. Whilst I deeply respect those ceremonies, I can't help but find them a little tedious.

I don't dislike that music, it's just that it's not my cup of tea overall.

[Bachthoven]

A wonderful recording.

[VonStupp]

JS Bach
Keyboard Concertos 1 - 5, BWV 1052 - 1056

Ramin Bahrami, piano
Gewandhaus - Riccardo Chailly

Five concertos on one disc, and with room to spare! And still, none of the middle movements sound at all rushed or glossed over.
VS

J.S. Bach
English Suite No. 4 In F BWV 809
French Suite No. 1 In D Minor BWV 812
Invention No. 7 in E minor, BWV 778
Invention No. 15 In B Minor, BWV 786
Sinfonia No. 8 in F, BWV 794
Sinfonia No. 12 in A, BWV 798
Prelude and Fugue in C (WTK, Book II, No. 1), BWV 870
Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor (WTK, Book II, No. 14), BWV 883
Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor (WTK, Book I, No. 4), BWV 849
Die Kunst der Fuge: Kontrapunkt 1, BWV 1080
Ramin Bahrami, piano

The deluxe edition of the Bach keyboard concertos recording I heard earlier adds a smattering of solo pieces with Ramin Bahrami.
VS

[JBS]

Buchbinder's 1976 Diabelli Variations.

I forgot how weird this was: he relies heavily on abrupt shifts between pianissimo and fortissimo not only between variations but also within them, and not much audible logic to it. Idiosyncratic for the sake of being idiosyncratic, and it doesn't work at all for me.

[Bachthoven]

This is an extraordinary new work that Adès wrote for Shibe. The recording is a 20 minute "single"--the full album comes out in April and includes the Adès plus other works written for Shibe including by Harrison Birtwistle and James Dillon. Shibe says that "Adès wanted to break the technical limits of the guitar...and I think he tried to break my fingers!"
He doesn't actually use the instrument on the cover.

[Que]

[Papy Oli]

Morning all,

I'll move on to cantata No.2 at some point but not yet!

Bach, J S: Christmas Oratorio, BWV248 - Cantata No.1

Regula Mühlemann (soprano), Anna Lucia Richter (soprano), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (mezzo-soprano), Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor), Michael Nagy (bass) Gaechinger Cantorey, Hans-Christoph Rademann (CARUS)

[Que]

Quite happy with the performances here!

[Traverso]

The music has that solemn, religious aura I associate with churches and sacred services. Whilst I deeply respect those ceremonies, I can't help but find them a little tedious.

I don't dislike that music, it's just that it's not my cup of tea overall.

Well, there's a lot to be said about the use of these cantatas. They were certainly intended for use during church services. I know die-hard pagans who enjoy listening to these cantatas. With organ music, there's also the inevitable association with the church, which poses a barrier for some. There are also secular cantatas, but to say that you can hear that so clearly and that they have  a different character?
Of course, that difference is audible in the Coffee and Peasant Cantatas.
Without wanting to put any pressure on you, there is quite a difference in execution. Rilling, with its large-scale approach, is perhaps not the best introduction.
Classical music is not popular, and within classical music, there are again minorities; it almost seems like a reflection of the real world.
As for so-called religious music, there's much there that I don't want to listen to. It's the quality of the music that is decisive, which should actually speak for itself. With some madrigals, I don't even want to know what they're singing about because sometimes it's so tearful that I can't stand it.
Consider this post simply as an opportunity to express my thoughts on the subject.

[Harry]

Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Resveries.

Pièces en la (Prélude, le Soligni Lent, Petit Caprice Legerement, Sarabande, Gigue Gay, La Sincope Gayement, La Mariée, Rondeau moitié pincé et moitié coups d'archet), Pièces en Fa (Prélude, Allemande la bois Guillaume, Sarabande, La Demoi Gigue. Très gay, Les Forgerons Gay, Le Touché du Clavecin Gay), Pièces en sol (Prélude. Gravement, Fantaisie, Sarabande, Gigue la Pagode), Pièces en Sol (Gigue la pointilleuse Tres gay, Le Jeu du Volant Tres Vivement, La Tatillone, Dialogue Legerement, Chaconne), Pièces en mi (Prélude, Allemande La Beuron, Sarabande, Gavotte Singulière - 2e Gavotte La Mignonne Menuet - 2e Menuet, Le Contraste Vivement, Marche Persane dite La Savigny, Le Tableau de l'Opération de la Taille, Les Relevailles - Suitte - Suitte, Resveries Mesplaiziennes)

Philippe Pierlot, basse de viole / Myriam Rignol, basse de viole / Julien Wolfs, clavecin / François Sikivie, récitant.
Recorded in 2014 at the l'eglise St. Jean Beaufays.

Three years before his death, Marais moved to his childhood neighborhood, to a leafy setting where he cultivated "the plants and flowers of his garden." It was then that he published his musical testament, the Book of Coins of Viole, where he lingers as a fragrance of this poetic art, soon to faint. Marais is a beautiful contributor to character pieces that are sometimes cheeky, brilliant, melancholic, or spectacular, such as the "Picture of the Operation of the Waist," which immerses us in the music, in the heart of an 18th-century surgical procedure. A good recording, close but not overbearing, and an performance that floats freely and a tad chaotic. It has its charm. From the label Flora, very rare to get, and a small miracle its on Qobuz.

[Papy Oli]

The music has that solemn, religious aura I associate with churches and sacred services. Whilst I deeply respect those ceremonies, I can't help but find them a little tedious.

I don't dislike that music, it's just that it's not my cup of tea overall.

For what is worth, Cesar, I'll just share the approach that worked for me about 4 years ago (after struggling with German Baroque for 15 years), on the guidance of a former member (Aligreto): he sent me at the time 5-6 different cantatas covering the liturgical year, in different approaches. Rilling's is only one style that may not work for you now but there are other approaches that may click for you.

From those 5-6, I'd recommend:

BWV 12 (Easter) Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
BWV 36 (Advent) Schwingt freudig euch empor
BWV 63 (Christmas) Christen, ätzet diesen Tag

Primarily I'd suggest Versions by Suzuki, Herreweghe and Gardiner.

Kuijken is different again, doing one voice per part in a more pared down style.

Harnoncourt/Leonhardt was the first full cycle made. It is an acquired taste with boy sopranos and now an "old fashioned" HIP sound but some still love it ( @Que 's favourite overall I think - I do like it too, if I am in the mood for it).

There really can be a version for your mood on each day !

As for the religious element, I'll just say that I listen mostly to them at random, regardless of the liturgical period or texts. Even as an atheist, I just let the beauty of the music and singing wash over me and I just wallow in it. That's how good it can be.

Like any other classical works, it may take different versions to find your entry point, that feels like the sweet spot.

I hope you try and explore again another time. These works can be incredible rewarding (and addictive too!).

[Que]

[Traverso]

[Harry]

The Nightingale and the Butterfly.

Pamela Thorby, recorders.
Elizabeth Kenny, archlute,theorbo, baroque guitar.
Recorded, 2009  at the National centre for Early music, York, UK.

This unique recording offers discoveries by composers such as Louis Caix d'Hervelois, Robert de Visée and Charles Dieupart, not so often heard and certainly not in this guise. Two luminaries here do the honours, a virtuoso on recorder, and one on the strings.
Pamela Thorby resides on an almost unapproachable height compared to others in the same trade, and her style is beautifully captured by Philipp Hobbs, also an ace, be it in the trade of sound. The string parts are in the capable hands of Elizabeth Kenny, always a fruitful collision for me in a pleasant way. This is a SOTA recording, thus the resolution is sky high, so keep the volume low, otherwise your ears will take their departure from your head and wander off to unknown shores!

[Todd]

[pjme]

Over the last few days:

On the radio: I enjoyed an excellent "Cantate de Noël" / Honegger from Munich (ca 2015) / Bayerische Rundfunk forces / Fabio Luisi, Tölzer Knabenchor, François Leroux
I watched  classic "Carols from Kings" on BBC - it was lovely to hear "There is no rose of such virtue" -

I recently discovered that Frank Bridges "The Christmas rose" is on YT ( years ago available as a Pearl LP) - Lovers of "Enter spring" will be happily surprised !

[pjme]

And this Bulgarian discovery from last year!

+ a Franco-Belgian rarity, a Septuor (1923) by Arthur Hoérée in an historic recording.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/hoeree-arthur-charles-ernest

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Augustin Wiedemann – All In Twilight: Guitar Music Of The 80's.

[DavidW]