What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Chopin - Études (Nikita Magaloff)

[asin]B000025W1F[/asin]

The best set I ever had the pleasure to hear.

[Scarpia]

Imagine, a whole book about Tippett.   

In any case, thanks for your passionate advocacy of Tippett's music.  I'm glad that I finally figured out that I like this stuff.  I even had enough confidence to order a used copy of the 3rd symphony.  Maybe I'll even try the 4th (gulp).

[karlhenning]

Yesterday, I gave The Vision of St Augustine a fresh listen. It is as if I had not listened to it before . . . and there is still a sensation of it being 'a lot on my plate' . . . but I do like it, and will give it more time and audition.

[Luke]

Listened to Harvey's Passion and Resurrection today. Do you know it, Karl? As I listened I kept thinking of your music, for various reasons - I think you would like it very much indeed, this piece. A huge amount to admire and be moved by here, with its fusion of liturgy and ritual with a beautifully thought-through and understanding use of contemporary techniques (at some of which Harvey has no peer). It's the successor to Britten's Church Parables, in many ways, and yet totally its own of course. The final scene, the Resurrection itself, in which the bass/male voice dominated music moves upward into treble/female voices, with a loosening of the edges, mobile scoring, spectralist harmonies for the angels, is utterly ravishing. There's a rather appropriately awestruck review on amazon uk I feel like quoting:

I had seen Passion and resurrection, as a few people did, on the BBC some years before. I got this CD, I think, because I was curious and it had taken some effort to remember who had originated it, Jonathon Harvey, now old, now some 71 years old.

Good grief, what on earth do I do NOW?

After listening to this, I was shocked, stunned, completely overcome with I know not what, trembling and shaking. It must be the most convinced meeting of music with deep spiritual enlightenment and vision that I have ever heard apart from Handel's Messiah, and really, it must be the case that both pieces were the result of some incredible meeting... and comprehension of things that few of us get a chance to see apart from shadows and the most fleeting imnpressions.

The music is scored for an array of rather unusual instruments, including a lot of percussion, all of which allow sounds quite different and at times, very distant from the conventional sounds of the orchestra. Harvey has made many interesting observations about how classical music has been pigeonholed into a smaller space over the years. Why not use electronic amplification? Why not make it possible for the audience to move about a bit? Why not? Here, Harvey uses what instrumentation there is to create a highly variable soundscape which does all manner of things; the voices sometimes chant beautiful plainsong (Magnify my soul) to exquisite alien song (they have taken my Lord), sometimes mournful, but containing more colour and beauty in the mourning than you would have believed possible; And then..

I really don't know how I can possibly write tribute to this. It's musically similar to the visual effects at the end of 2001, where Bowman steps into infinity and beyond. I give up. How Harvey DOES this I have not the faintest idea. While this is going on, I can't even THINK straight, let alone analyse it.

The various movements take you through the story of Jesus's betrayal, death, and the impossible miracle beyond. All of it morphing and shifting from ancient song to Schoenburg to literally, I have no idea.

And I have no idea what to do now or even what one should do. It's marvellous and terrifying.

Do listen to it.

So yes. Do listen to it!

[Conor71]

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3

Good morning! - havent listened to this Symphony in quite a while: Beautiful! 0:).

[Antoine Marchand]

Now:

[asin]B00005OKSI[/asin]

Later tonight:

[Coopmv]

Now playing this CD from my Mendelssohn collection ...

[SonicMan46]

Some new arrivals - listened to for the first time this Sunday afternoon:

Maione, Ascanio (ca. 1570-1627) - Harpsichord Pieces, 1st Book w/ Francesco Tasini - wonderful performances which prompted me to just order the 2nd volume of these works w/ the same performer - if you're into to this instrument then these early compositions are a MUST!

Johnson, Robert (1583-1633) - Lute Works w/ Nigel North; the elder Johnson & John Dowland both had sons named Robert who also became lute performers/composers - North as usual does quite well in these intimate performances - 

Handel, GF - Violin Sonatas w/ Hiro Kurosaki & William Christie - these works spanned Handel's composing career and are well done w/ these performers, as expected - 

   

[Sadko]

Just played another one from this set:

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Chopin - Nocturnes, part 1 (Nikita Magaloff)

Aahh, so nice. It made me happy again after lots of difficulties today.

[Sadko]

Now:

[asin]B00005OKSI[/asin]

I bought it in this set:

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I think I liked it a lot then, I'll have to refresh my memory now.

[Mirror Image]

Who knows, maybe Herreweghe can even get me to like Stravinsky ...

What is it about Stravinsky's music that you do not like?

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B001O5ZNYI[/asin]

Listening to Ebony Concerto right now. This is a great version of it.

[listener]

HAYDN  The Creation    in English
Judith Raskin, John McCollum, Chester Watson   STB
Musica Æterna Orchestra and Chorus      Frederic Waldman, cond.
(According to the Munchinger set on London, Haydn wrote Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge as the opening section)
Clear diction, libretto unnecessary.   Sounds like a fairly small ensemble.
Harpsichord continuo by Charles Fuller.

[Que]

Thanks Dave, for reminding me - still sounds super!

Good morning - a beautiful sunny day at this spot on the globe. 

Q

[Que]

Later tonight:

Alarmingly  my taste in organ music seems to widen..how is this?

Q

[listener]

Alarmingly  my taste in organ music seems to widen..how is this?

Q

Today is BACH's Birthday
my playlist  (from the to be played stack):
The Art of Fugue   -   Fretwork
The 6 Suites for solo cello    - Maurice Gendron
6 Partitas   BWV 825 - 830  - Gustav Leonardt, harpsichord  (copy of a 1745 Dulcken, Amsterdam)
Cantatas 106: Gottes Zeit is die allerbeste Zeit,  198: Laß, Fürsten, laß noch einen Strahl
Bach-Ensemble,  Helmut Rilling, cond.
I just noticed those are funeral cantatas and will recover later with some organ music

[Opus106]

Today is BACH's Birthday

You must be a Julian, then.

Cantatas 106: Gottes Zeit is die allerbeste Zeit,  198: Laß, Fürsten, laß noch einen Strahl
Bach-Ensemble,  Helmut Rilling, cond.
I just noticed those are funeral cantatas

Two of my favourites, and I enjoyed listening to the Gardiner (Archiv) version during the weekend.

[listener]

You must be a Julian, then.

I've got enough to celebrate twice (the Koopman organ set is unheard), and it would be a pleasure.

[Opus106]

I've got enough to celebrate twice (the Koopman organ set is unheard), and it would be a pleasure.

Ditto.

[Brian]

Modest goal for today: Jos van Immerseel's complete Beethoven symphonies with the Anima Eterna. I'll certainly be sitting in the library long enough to hear the whole set.