Classical Directions...for 'Newbie(s)'

[dhyantyke]

Having been variously challenged, encouraged and offered practical assistance (Fergus' Notes and accompanying cd's sent by post), through a spirited discussion on the 'Tallis Scholars in the UK Charts' thread, I have recently decided to embark on a conscious exploration of CM.

I say 'conscious exploration' because its impossible to reach almost 60 years of age without having ingested/been exposed to CM through various media. (Films, TV, Radio etc.)
I have been a passive consumer of cm with Lyric among the presets on car radio.
And have even bought a number of CM cd's over the years.(!)

However I have never really felt the inclination or given the time to a 'serious' exploration of the genre, for varied reasons, some rehearsed in the Tallis thread.
It seems the time is arrived.

I have been reading some of the wealth of information in the various CM threads and there is more than enough there to be getting on with.

However in starting this thread I am following suggestions from the previous discussions. The thread might be useful in :
Reccommending various recordings -One of the difficulties I have found is being overwhelmed by the sheer number of recordings of various pieces and not knowing which to choose
Reccommending works of particular types/by particular composers etc linked to 'likes'. ie a bit of Orientation.

For example:
I must have spent at least a couple of hours browsing various recordings of Vivaldi's 'Stabat Mater' without clicking 'add to basket' : frustrating indecision.
I did however find in one thread of the forum a very highly reccommended



which I have listened through 3 times since its arrival on monday. (Despite being distracted by an 'upgrade conundrum')

I must say, I was not quite prepared for the sheer beauty, power and depth of the experience of an active 'surrendering' to this recording: quite different to the passive casual listening I normally give to CM. There is a (cultural) familiarity to the music and I'm sure I have 'heard it' before, but this has been a new level of enjoyment.

So the first request for directions is regarding a version of
Stabat Mater/Vivaldi.

P.S. it's too early to claim a Pauline conversion, but, so far so good :)

BTW I am also enjoying this recording



which seems a bit less 'frenetic' (with all due respect/apologies) than my memory of previous listenings to other versions...

[Ivor]

fair play.... I'll follow this thread and try to pick up morsels.

I'll add this to my listening wish list

[Jose Echenique]

fair play.... I'll follow this thread and try to pick up morsels.

I'll add this to my listening wish list

This Andreas Scholl recording doesn´t include the Stabat Mater, the main work is the Nisi Dominus.

[Jose Echenique]

Having been variously challenged, encouraged and offered practical assistance (Fergus' Notes and accompanying cd's sent by post), through a spirited discussion on the 'Tallis Scholars in the UK Charts' thread, I have recently decided to embark on a conscious exploration of CM.

I say 'conscious exploration' because its impossible to reach almost 60 years of age without having ingested/been exposed to CM through various media. (Films, TV, Radio etc.)
I have been a passive consumer of cm with Lyric among the presets on car radio.
And have even bought a number of CM cd's over the years.(!)

However I have never really felt the inclination or given the time to a 'serious' exploration of the genre, for varied reasons, some rehearsed in the Tallis thread.
It seems the time is arrived.

I have been reading some of the wealth of information in the various CM threads and there is more than enough there to be getting on with.

However in starting this thread I am following suggestions from the previous discussions. The thread might be useful in :
Reccommending various recordings -One of the difficulties I have found is being overwhelmed by the sheer number of recordings of various pieces and not knowing which to choose
Reccommending works of particular types/by particular composers etc linked to 'likes'. ie a bit of Orientation.

For example:
I must have spent at least a couple of hours browsing various recordings of Vivaldi's 'Stabat Mater' without clicking 'add to basket' : frustrating indecision.
I did however find in one thread of the forum a very highly reccommended



which I have listened through 3 times since its arrival on monday. (Despite being distracted by an 'upgrade conundrum')

I must say, I was not quite prepared for the sheer beauty, power and depth of the experience of an active 'surrendering' to this recording: quite different to the passive casual listening I normally give to CM. There is a (cultural) familiarity to the music and I'm sure I have 'heard it' before, but this has been a new level of enjoyment.

So the first request for directions is regarding a version of
Stabat Mater/Vivaldi.

P.S. it's too early to claim a Pauline conversion, but, so far so good :)

BTW I am also enjoying this recording



which seems a bit less 'frenetic' (with all due respect/apologies) than my memory of previous listenings to other versions...

My favourite version of the Vivaldi Stabat Mater is with contralto Sara Mingardo and the ensemble Concerto Italiano, quite simply a gorgeous recording.
If you prefer a countertenor or male alto then it should be either Gérard Lesne with Il Seminario Musicale (somewhat difficult to find) or Andreas Scholl with Ensemble 415 in Harmonia Mundi. There are many more, now it´s a very often recorded work, but I´ll say that those are the finest versions.

[dhyantyke]

Indeed, Nisi Dominus and a beautiful 'Salve Regina'...two Concerto for Strings,& Clarae stellae and Vestro Principi divino.
I am requesting a reccommended recording of the Stabat Mater of Vivaldi....sorry if that wasn't clear.

[Diapason]

Hmmm, I'm casting my mind back to my early days of buying classical recordings, and while I have some advice, I fear it may be controversial! You can disregard any or all of this as you see fit:

1) If you're coming at a work from scratch, don't get too bogged down in finding the "best" recording.
It's rarely cut-and-dried and it can just make things very confusing. By all means ask for advice here and elsewhere, but one man's meat and all that. Some of my favourite recordings are ones by unheard-of performers picked up in bargain bins. The "good" recordings that I bought since have never lived up to my "first exposure" recordings, and I like that.

2) Start with a cheap recording.
Naxos used to be great for this, and back in the day there used to be a poor-man's-Naxos by the name of Lydian, and I was introduced to a fair bit of music that way. Nowadays lots of classic, well-regarded recordings of works are pretty cheap anyway, so you need feel in the ha'penny place. Personally, I used to buy cheaper modern recordings (rather than cheaper historical recordings), but you can decide yourself what's important to you. By staying cheap you can explore more music and not worry too much about those discs that don't float your boat.

3) When you find a recording you like, look for more by that performer/label.
It seems obvious, but I went through a long period of buying Harmonia Mundi recordings because they never let me down. Then it was Hyperion records. Then Opus 111, etc. I was most interested in Baroque and Early music, and these labels were great at that. Later I learned which performers I liked, and I started buying more of the performer rather than sticking to the label. I'm still working on it.

4) Don't beat yourself up.
You don't have to like everything. Give everything a good go and you might be surprised what grows on you, but don't kill yourself. There's too much music out there to stick with listening to stuff you don't like.

5) When in doubt, use the web.
While they may not tell you the "best" recordings, I used to find the Penguin and Gramophone guides very useful, and they used to leave well-thumbed copies on the counters in Virgin, HMV and Tower back in the day. That's all gone now of course, but the Gramophone archives are incredibly useful to look up specific works. Again, they're not Gospel, but they can be very handy pointers. http://www.gramophone.net/

6) Don't just stick to the warhorses.
I loved buying music I'd never heard of (often by obscure composers) and just listening. I used to find too much "pressure" to appreciate Beethoven or Mahler Symphonies, etc. Truth be told, I still do. Buy the occasional CD of stuff you don't know at all at all, maybe from a period you don't know anything about, or whatever. It can really pay dividends, and if you're really lucky, can you make you a classical music hipster who wouldn't listen to anything that anyone else listens to.

Can't help at all with the Stabat Mater, BTW.

[markof]

I like this recording of the Stabat Mater by James Bowman and the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood



Also, in general you can use iTunes and Amazon to preview most recordings.

Mark.

[jaybee]

I'll second everything Simon just said.... esp point 1....

the only works I really have more than one version of are Beethoven's Piano Sonatas...

Some versions of certain sonatas still sound "wrong" because they're not what my ear knows....

I've found likewise a lot of great music via particular labels, again ditto for Hyperion and Harmonia Mundi.... if you find a label you like search on amazon and you'll be amazed how cheap places like zoverstocks sell off CM ( I recently picked up 18 CDs for €54)

JB

[fergus]

I am delighted that you have asked for recommendations for Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. I have championed the sacred music of Vivaldi for a long time as I think that it is one of the best kept secrets of Classical Music. There is some wonderful music to be discovered there.

I have a number of versions of this work in my collection and I would agree that the Mingardo/Alessandrini is a terrific recording....





Mingardos voice is wonderful and Alessandrini is a superb musician/director who brings a lot of excitement to his music making.



If, as you said above, you liked the Scholl CD then I would certainly not hesitate to recommend this one to you....





You obviously know what Scholl can do and Banchini is another director that is one to be admired.


I will stop at this one as my final recommendation....





David Daniels is an interesting voice but I consider Fabio Biondi to be one of the best exponents of this type of music that is around today. He brings great originality and excitement to everything that he does.


All of the above are readily available at modest prices and are common enough to be sampled as recommended above I would imagine.


Irrespective of which version(s) you ultimately chose I will be very interested to read how you eventually get on with this piece of music. I wish you the best of luck with it!

[Ciaran]

For the Vivaldi Stabat Mater I love the Mingardo and Scholl versions. When Radio 3 CD Review discussed it on "Building a Library", the top choice was Carlos Mena with the Ricercar Consort



I added it to my collection and didn't regret it, it's really lovely, but then I love everything the Ricercar Consort do! The CD also includes the Salve Regina, Nisi dominus and a Viola d'amore concerto. Have a taste of the Stabat here: