I have listened to the first 2 CD's so far. Impressive performances to say the least.
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl. Luxmann PD-151 TT, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Mjolnir Audio KGST, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
I've been listening today to some excellent sacred choral music courtesy of Wilfried Rombach and his very fine Ensemble Officium. All of these discs are available on Christophorus.
There is a beautifully pared-down intensity to these quite solemn performances which seems entirely fitting for this repertoire and which I personally find very moving. Very highly recommended.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
Buxtehude – CD 4 of the Complete Organ Works [for Easter] played by Urlik Spang-Hanssen....
Simon, the stand-out pieces for me on this disc were....
Ciacona in C BuxWV 159
Praeludium in E BuxWv 141
Fuga in C BuxWV 174
Tocatta in F BuxWV 156
Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein BuxWV 210
Canzona in C BuxWV 166
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
I have listened to the first 2 CD's so far. Impressive performances to say the least.
Well it is Doctor Reiner after all.
I have to confess that when I consider the performances of all of the conductors that I have in my collection the one who stands out for me as being consistently brilliant is, Fritz Reiner. I do not normally seek out recordings of Dickie Strauss's music (sorry Fergus), but I have that box set in my amazon.fr basket because it has Reiner conducting the CSO, I must order it soon.
"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
It is truly exquisite music, Sean. Really great sacred choral music like this just seeps into your bones and consumes you completely.
I've also been listening tonight to Schutz's Matthaus Passion as performed by Ars Nova Copenhagen and directed by Paul Hillier (DaCapo). An intense experience and a quite superb climax to Hillier's series of Schutz recordings on DaCapo, which collectively must form a career highlight for Hillier.
And finally, I played O Gente Brunette, a serenely beautiful disc of Franco-Flemish Renaissance polyphony as sung by Odhecation and directed by Paolo Da Col (and available on Ramee).
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.