What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[mahler10th]

Since I have a couple of days off from the building site of my new home, I decided to hook a couple of Bose speakers to my laptop. Sound wise that has its limitations, but I have serious withdrawal issues! Some years ago I bought a gorgeous Organ Box with 20 CD'S, together with a book of 284 pages, filled to the brim with info, about the organs, their technical level, composers, musicians, history, background, adorned with beautiful full colour pictures of all instruments. The mix of composers is impressive too, as will my journey through this box show. Its called Dutch Organs and its compiled by Okke Dijkhuizen, one of the most renown experts in this area. This is his project, which could have been thrice the volume it has, for his library of recordings is impressive. I would hope that another and another box would be issued but I am afraid that will not happen. All recordings were made between 1987-2004, and are all of them excellent. the book is translated into English by Stephen Taylor. You get a tour of Five Centuries of Organ building 1400-1900, extensive organ descriptions, a explanation of all the building terms and what not. I hope you will be able to find it, for although its still to have, you will have a hard time finding it. It goes without saying that this issue is highly recommended!

CD1. 
Organs used are: Alkmaar, Grote Kerk/St Laurens Kerk, Small organ, build by Jan van Covelens 1511.
Oosthuizen, Hervormde Kerk, build by Pieter Backer c. 1675.
Krewerd, Hervormde Kerk, Anonymous 1531, employing 15th century pipework!
Wijk bij Duurstede, Grote Kerk/St Jan Baptistkerk, build by Albert Kiespenning c. 1615.
Leiden Pieterskerk, build by Galtus and Germer van Hagerbeer 1643, using pipework dating from 1446/1518 and other periods.
Performers: Pieter Dirksen, Jacques van Oortmerssen, Theo Jellema,  Leo van Doeselaar.
Composers: Anonymous, Sweelinck, Bull, Susato, Kotter, Jellema, Scheidemann, Reincken, Cornet, Schmid jr, Rossi.
http://www.dutchorgans.nl/
The Netherlands is an organ country. Nowhere in the world can so many historically valuable organs be found within such a small area. Big ones and small ones. Famous ones and less known ones. Each one with its own design and beauty of sound. They have been maintained during the centuries and are still worthwhile to visit and listen to. In the northern part of the Netherlands you can find organs which are characterised by a baroque sound. This was developed by organ builders from Northern Germany like Arp Schnitger. On the other hand, the instruments in the southern part of the Netherlands have characteristics from Flanders and France.

Twenty years of experience as a producer for Dutch radio enabled musician Okke Dijkhuizen to make a selection of one hundred organs and 45 organists. From the Dutch oldest playable organ, the small organ of Jan van Covelens of the Saint Lawrence Church in Alkmaar from 1511, to the Maarschalkerweerd organ of the Church of Our Lady in Zwolle form 1896. Some of the organs are in protestant churches, others in Roman Catholic churches. There is even a concert organ. Remarkable are the five house organs. All five are in use as church organs. These are the organs in Gapinge, Baarland, Oosterland, Dalem and Ravenstein.
For a unique project, 'Organs in the Netherlands' the building history and the sounds of all these organs have been documented. In the accompanying book a nice photo of each organ is shown. The description of the organs contain the disposition and the most important years related to the building, extension and restoration. The used registration is mentioned in the programme information. In the introduction the organist and organ expert Jan Jongepier makes – as it were – a tour of five centuries of organ building. The book and the 20 CDs in a nice cassette are a fascinating panorama of the Dutch organ landscape.

How interesting.  Thank you for that.  If you are building your new home in the same way as the finest Dutch Organ builder, I guess your new home will be very safe and robust!  It is fascanating to read that Holland is a country of Organs.  To listen to those organs and to compare their resonance and pitches in that rare collection you have must be quite a sonic experience,  so it was nice of you to take time out from all that bloody building to inform us of it.

[Leon]

Haydn : String Quartets Op. 9/4, Op. 17/3, Op. 17/5

Smithson Quartet

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[Lisztianwagner]

Carl Nielsen
Hymnus amoris

[asin]B00001X5A3[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Nice, Ilaria!

[classicalgeek]

Definitely a highly ranked favourite in my entire collection.  I am not all that much into Saint-Saens' music in general, HOWEVER, his Piano Concerti is a HUGE exception.  They are amazing works!

Yes!  And I see you're listening to my own personal favorite, the Fifth - what a beautiful and brilliant piece of music!

Up now:
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Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique
Paavo Järvi; Cincinnati SO

[madaboutmahler]

Varese: Ameriques

National Youth Orchestra/Pappano at the BBC Proms 2008 

[TheGSMoeller]

If this disc was part of a meal, it would be the dessert. It's so sweet, and I'm always looking forward to it.
Ok, maybe that analogy didn't quite work, but I think my point was made

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

See for complete info reply No. 115208.

Dutch Organs (1511-1896)

Peize, Hervormde Kerk, build by Anthonie Verbeeck, 1631, for the Pepergasthuiskerk in Groningen.
A marvellously sounding instrument!
Noordbroek, Hervormde Kerk, build by App Schnittger 1696, employing some earlier pipework.
Schijf, St Martinuskerk build by Jacobus van Enyde c. 1700, probably from a Flemish monastery.
Utrecht, Tuindorpkerk, build by Conradus Ruprecht c. 1715, for the Minnebroederskerk in Roermond.
Uithuizen, Jacobikerk, build by App Schnittger 1701.

Musicians: Stef Tuinstra, Hans van Nieuwkoop, Norbert Bartelsman, Peter van Dijk, Sietze de Vries.

Composers: Weckman, Bohm, J.S. Bach, Frescobaldi, Abraham van Kerckhoven, Anton Estendorffer, Carlmann Kolb, Sietze de Vries.

Again a marvellous compilation of composers and musicians. the value of this set is unmeasurable for me. It gives you a very good picture of the available organs in the Netherlands, albeit there are many more worth to be recorded.

[Lisztianwagner]

Nice, Ilaria!

[Lisztianwagner]

Karol Szymanowski
Symphony No.3

[asin]B004XLDWFM[/asin]

[Conor71]

Strauss (R): Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64


Now playing the Strauss Disc which just arrived yesterday and after this I will play the Art Of Fugue Disc again.

[listener]

another batch of VIVALDI Bassoon Concertos  (6 of them today)   - he did write 37 of them..
Daniel Smith, bassoon     English Chamber Orch.    Philip Ledger, cond.
and a Spanish-y program, by non-Spanish composers!
MASSENET  Le Cid  Suite, Sevillana from Don César de Bazan     CHABRIER España   
ELGAR  Sevillana    RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF Capriccio Espagnol
GLINKA  Summer Night in Madrid, Capriccio on the Jota Aragonesa
CSR Bratislava Symphony Orch.   Kenneth Clark cond.

[Lisztianwagner]

Strauss (R): Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64


Now playing the Strauss Disc which just arrived yesterday and after this I will play the Art Of Fugue Disc again.

pounds the table!

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Claudio Merulo.
Complete Organ Works CD II.
Stefano Molardi, on the Vencenzo Colombi organ (1533)

With every piece I hear from this set my admiration increases for composer, and performance. For the first cannot do without the last. Molardi is a very integer musician, his ear is well tuned to the many finer details in this music, and his fingers are extremely nimble in extracting this from the fine instrument. In some ways he reminds me of Leonhardt, especially in the Ricercar's, and he reminds me in the Toccata's of Koopman, with some extra warmth added. Merulo's style can be surprisingly exuberant, and yet austere at times too. He can linger endlessly in some phrases, and sustain a melody just that extra second. In a way he paints as well when he composes, sometimes many coloured, at other times shadowy, dark hues. Fascinating! Well recorded too.

[Conor71]

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on Today at 03:32:07 AM>pounds the table!

Yes, one of the best! - Karajan is hard to beat in Strauss 

[Papy Oli]

Good evening all 

Concluding a first run through this boxset :

Medtner - Piano works CD7

Two Pieces Op. 58
Sonatina in G minor
Moment Musical in C minor (Gnomenklage) Op. 4 No. 3
Prelude in E flat Op. 4 No. 4
Fairy Tale Sonata (Sonate-Conte), Op. 25 No. 1
Sonata reminiscenza in A minor, Op. 38 No. 1
Sonate-Idylle, Op. 56

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on Today at 03:32:07 AM>pounds the table!

Yes, one of the best! - Karajan is hard to beat in Strauss 

I think Karajan is almost unbeatable in most genres! ( ducks under the table)

[Conor71]

Quote from: Harry on Today at 03:44:13 AM

I think Karajan is almost unbeatable in most genres! ( ducks under the table)

Haha yes I wont disagree with that! 

[madaboutmahler]

Now, BBC Proms Live on Radio 3:

Villa-Lobos: Momoprécoce

Nelson Freire
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Alsop

What a lovely piece!

[classicalgeek]

Some British light music from this lovely disc:

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Roger Quilter
Suite from 'Where the Rainbow Ends'
Richard Hickox; Northern Sinfonia