Jordi Savall

[FideLeo]

I like Savall in the orchestral suites as well. It's a matter of fact, i have yet to encounter a Savall recording that i didn't like. Sometimes i feel lime i'm alone in this...

Sure I am not one of his worshippers anymore.  Try his latest Tobias Hume recital disc.  Diehard Savall fans may still marvel at his "lushly intimate and throughly indivdiualised" interpretation here, but now I only take this CD out to look at its fanciful cover picture by Nicholas Hilliard (on which I wrote a thesis for my master's).  To me this is half Hume being drawn (and quartered - pardon for the grisely imagery here) and half Savall's close-miked huffs and puffs.

[sunnyside_up]

I like Savall in the orchestral suites as well. It's a matter of fact, i have yet to encounter a Savall recording that i didn't like. Sometimes i feel lime i'm alone in this...

You're not alone, Josquin! I have many Jordi Savall CDs and don't dislike any of them, even the Tobias Hume one!

[Que]

Sure I am not one of his worshippers anymore.  Try his latest Tobias Hume recital disc.  Diehard Savall fans may still marvel at his "lushly intimate and throughly indivdiualised" interpretation here, but now I only take this CD out to look at its fanciful cover picture by Nicholas Hilliard (on which I wrote a thesis for my master's).  To me this is half Hume being drawn (and quartered - pardon for the grisely imagery here) and half Savall's close-miked huffs and puffs.

I was tempted to post a response on the Bach's Orchestral Music thread, but think this subject is best to be discussed on it's own thread!

I agree that Savall's Bach Brandenburgs do sound a bit unidiomatic.
I don't know the Hume, but I think Savall's strength mainly lies in Spanish an French early and baroque music.

I can strongly recommend his Marais - really superb!





This is a winner too!                                     Bach, but the best recording I know nonetheless.

   

Q

[FideLeo]

I agree that Savall's Bach Brandenburgs do sound a bit unidiomatic.

Q

I think so too. To my ears those Brandenburgs sound a bit like...er,
the music was actually composed by William Byrd! 

I haven't heard Savall's more recent Marais, but his earlier recordings of this music
on Astree are a constant emotional wallow to me, and I do think he could have
played up the virtuosic element a bit more.   Like John Wall at Newolde.com, I
do find a better balance between heart and mind in Jean-Louis Charbonnier's
integral on Pierre-Verany and Ligia Digital.  Marais doesn't have to sound like
a marsh or bog for someone to luxuriate in I guess. 

[karlhenning]

I agree. To my ears those Brandenburgs sound like they were composed by William Byrd! 

Hey, that sounds cool! 

[FideLeo]

Hey, that sounds cool! 

Yes, because William Byrd is really as good a composer as JS Bach. 

[FideLeo]

You're not alone, Josquin! I have many Jordi Savall CDs and don't dislike any of them, even the Tobias Hume one!

Savall certainly needs a solid fan base in order to support his own record label, Alia Vox. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

Yes, because William Byrd is really as good a composer as JS Bach. 

Yes, according to the British that is.

[Que]

I think so too. To my ears those Brandenburgs sound a bit like...er,
the music was actually composed by William Byrd! 

I haven't heard Savall's more recent Marais, but his earlier recordings of this music
on Astree are a constant emotional wallow to me, and I do think he could have
played up the virtuosic element a bit more.   Like John Wall at Newolde.com, I
do find a better balance between heart and mind in Jean-Louis Charbonnier's
integral on Pierre-Verany and Ligia Digital.  Marais doesn't have to sound like
a marsh or bog for someone to luxuriate in I guess. 

And I haven't heard the earlier Marais recordings, so can't comment on the differences. But I must say I find these on Alia Vox simply stunning.

This is what Julie Anne Sadie said in Gramophone about the difference with his earlier take:
In the early days he infused his playing with his considerable personality; later he became more introspective and now he would seem to have achieved a sublime equilibrium that suits Marais very well.

Maybe Savall's Marais is worth revisiting!

BTW, any Savall you like - maybe his Couperin or Monteverdi Verpers?

Q

[E d o]

I'm quite fond of Savall. The recordings I come back to the most are: Coprario, De Machy, Hume, Jenkins and Sainte-Colombe. I do wish that his recordings were not miked quite so close though.

[Bunny]

I like Savall's Brandenburgs, Spanish flavor included.  They are extremely formal and suitably dramatic for Baroque Bach as if performed for the King of Spain.  I remember how amazing they sounded when they first came out compared to Il Giardino Armonico, or Harnoncourt.  They made the others seem stodgy or crude - provincial compared to their magisterial splendor.  The sound quality is dated, but they still have much to offer, especially Pierre Hantaï's brilliant work in the 5th concerto.  In fact all of the instrumental play is at an incredibly high level: Hantaï on harpsichord, Biondi on violin, Marc Hantaï on transverse flute, Friedemann Immer on trumpet, Memelsdorf on recorder, et al.  There's an embarrassment of riches here that familiarity shouldn't be allowed to cheapen.

[Choo Choo]

I've always liked Savall's very military-sounding Eroica:

   

and highly atmospheric Seven Last Words:

   

Both carry a kind of patina of authenticity.

[Bunny]

I've always liked Savall's very military-sounding Eroica:

   

That Eroica is a wonderful recording.  Those trumpets are as brassy as a peroxide blonde, and more fun too.

[Don]

That Eroica is a wonderful recording.  Those trumpets are as brassy as a peroxide blonde, and more fun too.

Speaking as a guy, I'll take the blonde (my wife's a blonde). 

[FideLeo]

Yes, according to the British that is.

Oh no, according to this Renaissance music fan as well, who isn't one bit British. 

[FideLeo]

And I haven't heard the earlier Marais recordings, so can't comment on the differences. But I must say I find these on Alia Vox simply stunning.

This is what Julie Anne Sadie said in Gramophone about the difference with his earlier take:
In the early days he infused his playing with his considerable personality; later he became more introspective and now he would seem to have achieved a sublime equilibrium that suits Marais very well.

Maybe Savall's Marais is worth revisiting!

BTW, any Savall you like - maybe his Couperin or Monteverdi Verpers?

Q

Yes I think Ms Sadie is definitely right about the word "considerable" wrt
many of Savall's recordings.  We all know there is a "richness" in his
performance and it is bound to be quite stunning, too, at least at first. 
How that holds up with time depends on the listener's tolerance for
this kind of stuff.  "Some like it hot," I guess.  Since I often find that
richness masking what I perceive as a certain willful or even indulgent
approach, I have opted to skip many of his Alia Vox recordings, particularly
in medieval and baroque music.  He is far more careful with choosing what
Renaissance, classical and romantic music he performs, and that's where
I tend to like his ways more.  So the Cabezon, Morales, Ortiz, Haydn, Arriaga,
Mozart, Beethoven are my favourites.  I have in recent years revised my
ideas of what English Renaissance music should sound like, and now I
prefer to listen to folks like Phantasm in Jenkins, Lawes or Gibbons. 

[Bunny]

Oh no, according to this Renaissance music fan as well, who isn't one bit British. 

For some reason this sounds incredibly familiar, my dear Flute!   You wouldn't be someone who particularly esteems Leonardo, too, would you?

[E d o]

I have in recent years revised my ideas of what English Renaissance music should sound like, and now I
prefer to listen to folks like Phantasm in Jenkins, Lawes or Gibbons. 

Phantasm does it for me too. I finally acquired their OOP Purcell disc. Quite fine it is too.

[Bunny]

Phantasm does it for me too. I finally acquired their OOP Purcell disc. Quite fine it is too.

Isn't it still available through the Simax website, or are you referring to a different Purcell album?

[FideLeo]

For some reason this sounds incredibly familiar, my dear Flute!   You wouldn't be someone who particularly esteems Leonardo, too, would you?

I thought that would have been quite clear to you from early on 

But Leonardo has nothing to do with Byrd really.  Where is Josquin
des Prez when we need him?