Box Blather

[Moonfish]

  Do you mean Fowler's review?  He seems to do a lot of homework when he writes something. Quite informative.

Hmm, I always feel a bit confused after reading those. Sure there is lots of information, but I often cannot sense the thread of logic in them. They come across as scattered piles of snow after an avalanche.

[Moonfish]

I read in a magazine about a mysterious radio station that played 24/7 music with no interruptions except for the obligatory automated station ID. It was in the mountains and had a tremendous reach, but the headquarters was an unoccupied broadcast shack running on autopilot. No one knew who owned it or how it stayed in business without advertising, but it had a huge listener base.

A reporter finally tracked down the owner of the station. It turned out to be a millionaire who took all of his favorite music and put it in random rotation on the station. He didn't even live in the area. He maintained it just so he would have something to listen to when he drove through the area on business trips!

I do that with my music server. It's up to about 130 days of classical music on rotation 24/7. I have stereos all over the house controlled through my iPhone so I can switch them on and off. Sometimes I sit down and listen carefully. Sometiimes I have the volume low while I work. But I listen to all of my music, even though it's a huge library. It is possible to listen to all of those big boxes.

That is a great story Bigshot. Sounds like a New Yorker piece. As a matter of fact that was a great idea (although a bit excessive and expensive). I presume this was all before the newer types of portable music gear...?   So you have your own "radio station" in your house, eh?   The topic of having music on versus listening carefully is an interesting one....     Two very different soundscapes.

[Moonfish]

Now I'm confused. Isn't that what the other box thread, started by DavidW, is doing?

We seem to now have fairly overlapping threads without much rhyme or reason. Both have people trying to push each thread towards talking about specific box sets and discouraging other posters from having meta-discussions. In fact, Baklavaboy, you seem to be pushing in that direction in both threads.

I guess one can argue that some of the box discussions should "live in" the composer or artist threads...?   Although the mega compilations (such as "The All Baroque Box") need to live in one of these types of threads. Perhaps both types of discussions (meta and specific) are necessary to navigate the ever-growing forest of box compilations..?

[bigshot]

So you have your own "radio station" in your house, eh?   The topic of having music on versus listening carefully is an interesting one....     Two very different soundscapes.

It isn't completely random. When I play background music, I often limit it to just Baroque music with a quick smart playlist, because that backgrounds better than strident things like Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.  I've only run into a few things that "don't play well with others" under any circumstances. Ligeti got booted out and I keep finding tracks that slipped by me, like Stoki conducting where the music stops and there is talking. The collection has preened down nicely lately though.

[Mookalafalas]

Today I've been listening to the archiv and Das Altewerk boxes.   Both are great, but the Das Altewerk really sparkles, IMO.  The sound is generally better, for one thing, and the selections are just a tad more off the beaten track.  Lots of Harnoncourt.  Playing his Handel now, and Harnoncourt's handling of Handel is exemplary.  I'll be sad to get to the end, which is rather strange, as I'll still have it all...

[Mookalafalas]

My local shop has all of the Harmonia Mundi/Sony small box sets (10 discs each).  I bought the Staier and the CPE Bach.  Both are wonderful--the Staier is one of the best things I've ever gotten.
     Any recommendations on others in that series?  I'm a huge HM fan, and like pretty much everything I've heard from the label (don't like Paul Lewis's Beethoven Sonatas, particularly, but that is the only exception I can think of).

[Octave]

Not to be pedantic, but Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (DHM) is different from Harmonia Mundi, but I think you know that.  (Paul Lewis--->HM/France; Sony--->distrib. DHM)

I really liked that Staier box too.  (Do you know his Teldec/Warner 5cd with solo and concerto music from Mozart, Field, Salieri, Steffen, Clementi?  ASIN: B000V07IVI)

I've purchased a number of these little white DHM boxes based on recommendations of GMG veterans and others, not just because they are great quantity buys; none of them has been seriously disappointing.

Maybe just by-the-by:
1. AL AYRE ESPAGNOL EDITION (Comments on indiv/constitutent discs from Bogey and others...if you like it a lot, there is a single disc on Harmonia Mundi [France], A batallar estrellas [ASIN B001KALT90], that might be going OOP, I really dug it as well.)
2. PASSIONEN UND MESSEN (The Leonhardt MATTHEW really moved me...but I have only listened to this set once.  No overlap iirc with any of the several other DHM collections I have.)

If you are a Telemann fan, the inclusion of his 5+ hour Constant Music-master in the TELEMANN EDITION set might be a big draw...I think Gordo praised this, and I was happy with the whole collection (only one spin so far).

FWIW/FYI there seem to be 2 discs of overlap between the SCHUTZ and CANTUS COLLN boxes.

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks, Octave, this is the kind of information I am looking for. 
  About confusing HM and DHM, North Star called me on that as well.  I know there are two names, but as their repertoire and quality (and general classiness) are so similar, I lump them together in my mind. I basically assumed they were two branches of one group, that chose to reincorporate for tax, distribution, or other reasons. I guess a visit to wikipedia or some such is in order. 

  [PS: after research, still confused. Both labels were started in the same year by two friends, and apparently established separately for distribution reasons, but their later relations are not explained, esp. after "going Sony"...]

[Octave]

[oops, we posted similar tidbits at the same time...]
Actually the confusion between HM/DHM is probably worsened by the fact that there was a business relationship between the label bosses (DHM/HM) for a while, maybe just into the 80s before DHM was bought out by a major.  I was under the impression they'd not been connected in a long time.
[I'm trying to remember if I've run across titled 'released' by both labels.  All I remember is a BMG, then an EMI, connection.]



Here is an insanely OCD-y question about Hyperion's Schubert complete songs edition.  Does anyone know how much of the original series contents was omitted from the compilation 40cd box?  I.e. how many performances total, and if it's been posted somewhere, exactly which ones?

I thought maybe some devoted discographist might have done this somewhere.  I read that a few tracks had been snipped from a Brigitte Fassbaender disc from the series, and my guts said nooooooo.

[marvinbrown]

[oops, we posted similar tidbits at the same time...]
Actually the confusion between HM/DHM is probably worsened by the fact that there was a business relationship between the label bosses (DHM/HM) for a while, maybe just into the 80s before DHM was bought out by a major.  I was under the impression they'd not been connected in a long time.



Here is an insanely OCD-y question about Hyperion's Schubert complete songs edition.  Does anyone know how much of the original series contents was omitted from the compilation 40cd box?  I.e. how many performances total, and if it's been posted somewhere, exactly which ones?

I thought maybe some devoted discographist might have done this somewhere.  I read that a few tracks had been snipped from a Brigitte Fassbaender disc from the series, and my guts said nooooooo.

  Well this is a surprise to me. I was under the impression that that set was COMPLETE in every sense of the word.... Meaning that they just got all the recordings in the series together, adjusting the order chronologically according to date of composition. Am I mistaken? Am I missing something here??

  marvin

[springrite]

  Well this is a surprise to me. I was under the impression that that set was COMPLETE in every sense of the word.... Meaning that they just got all the recordings in the series together, adjusting the order chronologically according to composition. Am I mistaken? Am I missing something here??

  marvin

My impression that it is the complete songs, so many of the duplicates (sung by different singers) may be taken out.

[North Star]

The box has an average of over 71 minutes per disc, and 37 disc of Schubert. There seem to be 37 individual releases, so I would hazard to guess that nothing was taken out.

[Madiel]

Yes, the only things they would have taken out would have been any instances of 2 singers singing the same song. It's possible that there were one or two of these (I've noticed that happening with some of Graham Johnson's other series, there is for example one song repeated in the four Faure discs), but it would be very minimal indeed.

[marvinbrown]

My impression that it is the complete songs, so many of the duplicates (sung by different singers) may be taken out.

  If that is the case then in my view the set is COMPLETE. It is a lot cheaper to buy that set than all the individual recordings separately.

   marvin

[Pat B]

My local shop has all of the Harmonia Mundi/Sony small box sets (10 discs each).  I bought the Staier and the CPE Bach.  Both are wonderful--the Staier is one of the best things I've ever gotten.
     Any recommendations on others in that series?  I'm a huge HM fan, and like pretty much everything I've heard from the label (don't like Paul Lewis's Beethoven Sonatas, particularly, but that is the only exception I can think of).

Among the DHM 10-disc "Edition" sets, I have Staier, Italian Baroque Music, and J.S. Bach.

The Italian Baroque set was recommended by several here. Monteverdi's Vespers (Bernius) was the clear highlight for me.

I bought the Bach set primarily for Leonhardt's B Minor Mass, which at least a couple of gmg'ers called favorite, and it is indeed great. The Anna Magdalene Notebook disc is also excellent. The remainder is very good, but didn't add much to the other recordings in my collection.

I share your enthusiasm for the Staier set. The other two, for me, are a bit more sporadic, but they have enough greatness, and are cheap and physically slender enough, that I'm happy to have purchased them.

[HIPster]

My local shop has all of the Harmonia Mundi/Sony small box sets (10 discs each).  I bought the Staier and the CPE Bach.  Both are wonderful--the Staier is one of the best things I've ever gotten.
     Any recommendations on others in that series?  I'm a huge HM fan, and like pretty much everything I've heard from the label (don't like Paul Lewis's Beethoven Sonatas, particularly, but that is the only exception I can think of).

I have 3 recommendations for you, Baklavaboy:

Freiburger Barockorchester Edition DHM
[asin]B0054MEHZ8[/asin]

Tafelmusik 'Baroque Box' Handel, etc. Vivarte
[asin]B005TLWO68[/asin]

Tafelmusik Haydn Symphonies Vivarte
[asin]B005TLWOH2[/asin]

All 3 sets are excellent!

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks, Hipster. Actually, I have the Haydn! When I heard a disk from that set in the big Vivarte box, that went to the top of the list.  Almost got the Freiburger last time I was in the shop. Looks like it's next in the queue

[Ken B]

I have 3 recommendations for you, Baklavaboy:

Freiburger Barockorchester Edition DHM
[asin]B0054MEHZ8[/asin]

Tafelmusik 'Baroque Box' Handel, etc. Vivarte
[asin]B005TLWO68[/asin]

Tafelmusik Haydn Symphonies Vivarte
[asin]B005TLWOH2[/asin]

All 3 sets are excellent!

Yes yes yes.

And no I am not predicting Mirror Images three favourite composers.

[Mookalafalas]

Yes yes yes.

And no I am not predicting Mirror Images three favourite composers.

And performers.

  But Ken, I confess I'm a bit disappointed. I thought you'd have a numbered list.  For example there is a Schutze box, and I know you are a big fan of his music, although I don't know if the DHM Schutze box is particularly worthy (it's 1/2 the price of the Amazon listing, for some reason, so I will almost certainly pick it up at some point...).

[Ken B]

And performers.

  But Ken, I confess I'm a bit disappointed. I thought you'd have a numbered list.  For example there is a Schutze box, and I know you are a big fan of his music, although I don't know if the DHM Schutze box is particularly worthy (it's 1/2 the price of the Amazon listing, for some reason, so I will almost certainly pick it up at some point...).

But I already said all of those are worth getting! Unless you have dupes. Yes to the Schutz box. 
I passed on a few of those due to duplication but have 10 or 12 of them.