What are you listening to now?

[Mirror Image]

I, too, am in the Můůd! 

It's a great place to be!

[Kontrapunctus]

Sonata and Partita No.1. Fantastic playing and sound, but the mics are close enough to pick up a lot of breath sounds.

[SonicMan46]

Hummel, Jan (1778-1837) - Piano Sonatas, Nos. 1-6 w/ Ian Hobson - just arrived from Amazon - all 3 discs are 'used', but about $12 total w/ some credit that I had there - the recordings are 30 years old but excellent Arabesque sound - Dave

       

[Todd]

Disc 2.

[cilgwyn]

[Mandryka]

Disc 2.

why Es ist vollbracht, just because it's the last three sonatas?

[Todd]

why Es ist vollbracht, just because it's the last three sonatas?

Don't know.  Maybe because it's the last volume of the cycle, maybe for some reason mentioned in the liner notes I didn't read, maybe some other reason.

[NikF]

Chisholm: Piano Music - McLachlan.



MacBartok? I don't know about that. But an interesting enough listen.
Also: artwork.

[San Antone]

John Cage : Ten
Barton Workshop

[Drasko]

mine is actually RCA Italiana mono pressing but can't find the image online.

[Sergeant Rock]

Ives Piano Sonata No.2 "Concord, Mass., 1840-60" played by Aimard




Sarge

[Mirror Image]

Pounds the table! Excellent recording. One of my faves.

[SimonNZ]

Scheidt: Sacrae Cantiones - Vox Luminis

[aligreto]

Beethoven: Fidelio, Act 1 [von Karajan]....

[Ghost Sonata]

why Es ist vollbracht, just because it's the last three sonatas?

Curious about this myself and I found this:  "András Schiff observes that the final triptych of Beethoven's piano sonatas shares an interrelationship that is also found in the three final symphonies of Mozart and the final three piano sonatas of Schubert. He points out the allusion to Es ist vollbracht from the Johannes-Passion of Bach; the compaction of material throughout (which, to my mind, is also evident in the F minor string quartet, Op. 95); and, that the sonata, as others have observed, has no beginning and no end, for it arises and subsides in the flow of things." https://culturalrites.com/2016/08/17/beethoven-piano-sonata-30-in-e-op-109-1820/

[prémont]

Re the ladies' voices, though I'm not convinced by those (Premont maybe? ) who say the women mess up to the polyphony because, inevitably, the ear is attracted to the high singers more. Maybe, maybe not. It's not obvious to me.

Machauts Messe is scored for four voices.

1. Triplum
2. Motetus
3. Contratenor
4. Tenor

Of these the triplum and the motetus are approximately written in the same pitch - the triplum a little higher, but crossings between these two parts are not rare. This means, that the motetus happens to have the uppermost tones in between. The contratenor and the tenor are also in the same pitch, somewhat an octave below the triplum and motetus, and crossings between the contratenor and the tenor are frequent, and none of them can be said to be leading. 

It is almost obvious, that the two upper parts should be sung by a pair of identical singers, and that the two lower parts should likewise be sung by another pair of identical singers. The most likely solution is two tenors and two basses. If the triplum is sung by a female alto or a male countertenor, the motetus should be sung by a similar voice to create equality between the two upper parts. Otherwise the triplum will dominate and make the impression, that it is the "solo" and the three other parts the accompaniment, as displayed by many recordings. But I know only one recording, which use two countertenors for both the upper parts (Ruhland). Usually when the triplum is sung by a countertenor or alto, the motetus is sung by a tenor. I am not as such adverse to female voices or countertenors in this repertoire, but the considerations above must be taken into account.

[Karl Henning]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat, Symphony No. 5 in D minor
Boston Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nelsons


So, seeing this set at the local library and in light of recent discussions, I decided to pay tribute to the closest major orchestra around.  As before, I find that the movements I think are the best in both works are the slow movements.

Interesting.

[San Antone]

Machauts Messe is scored for four voices.

1. Triplum
2. Motetus
3. Contratenor
4. Tenor

Of these the triplum and the motetus are approximately written in the same pitch - the triplum a little higher, but crossings between these two parts are not rare. This means, that the motetus happens to have the uppermost tones in between. The contratenor and the tenor are also in the same pitch, somewhat an octave below the triplum and motetus, and crossings between the contratenor and the tenor are frequent, and none of them can be said to be leading. 

It is almost obvious, that the two upper parts should be sung by a pair of identical singers, and that the two lower parts should likewise be sung by another pair of identical singers. The most likely solution is two tenors and two basses. If the triplum is sung by a female alto or a male countertenor, the motetus should be sung by a similar voice to create equality between the two upper parts. Otherwise the triplum will dominate and make the impression, that it is the "solo" and the three other parts the accompaniment, as displayed by many recordings. But I know only one recording, which use two countertenors for both the upper parts (Ruhland). Usually when the triplum is sung by a countertenor or alto, the motetus is sung by a tenor. I am not as such adverse to female voices or countertenors in this repertoire, but the considerations above must be taken into account.

The issue is how the parts are pitched.  There is some recent scholarship that suggests the perception of where in the tessitura these parts would fall was possibly a fourth lower than we have commonly thought/used.  I have a couple of articles on this but cannot put my finger on them away from home.

Certainly female voices are inappropriate.

[Karl Henning]

Complete Webern : Boulez



Symphony, Op. 21

Is Feldman saying easel painter like it's a bad thing?  Just wondering.

[cilgwyn]

Good! My budding Mahler collection is making progress! Jessye Norman's singing is sublime. Wonderful performance. Bim! Bam,now!