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

[Jose Echenique]

In the spirit of following the liturgical calendar, can someone reccommend (choral) music for the easter period?
My favourite classical work at the moment is (the Gardiner recording of) Faure's Requiem, so anything in that sensibility might appeal........
Thanks

I am afraid that the words "liturgical calendar" and "Easter" have only one meaning for me and that is the Passions of JS Bach. Now these are wondrous works but a bit on the "beefy" side and therefore would not be to everyone's liking. However one suggestion that I would make is the "lighter" Easter Oratorio....

The Vivaldi Stabat Mater for contralto and strings is another easy yet hauntingly beautiful work to hear in Easter. There´s no better version than Sara Mingardo´s with Rinaldo Alessandrini. Please ignore the hideous cover, the music is heavenly.

[dhyantyke]

Thanks for that Jose. Indeed I have that recording,it being previously reccommended by your good self amongst others, and agree with your take on both the cover and the contents.

I recently picked up the following and and on my third listen

[fergus]

The Vivaldi Stabat Mater for contralto and strings is another easy yet hauntingly beautiful work to hear in Easter. There´s no better version than Sara Mingardo´s with Rinaldo Alessandrini. Please ignore the hideous cover, the music is heavenly.

Well done Pepe; I forgot the Stabat Maters. You obviously had a better Catholic upbringing than I did LOL!!!

[dhyantyke]

Many thanks Fergus. I have a house full of guests for the weekend so will reply more fully later. DT

Cheers and good luck with those guests; actually if you want to get rid of them quickly perhaps you should play the Bach loudly and that might kill two birds with one stone for you LOL!!!

So I had the opportunity to listen to the Bach Oratorio, though not with the intention of clearing the house!! Honestly :)
I'm afraid your instinct was correct.....not my thing really. For me its a bit too much going on and I find the brass-iness hard on the noggin.
I don't connect emotionally with this work for now.
Will ignorance allow me to escape the firing squad??!!

[mcq]

In addition to the previously recommended versions of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater by Biondi, Jacobs and Lesne, I cannot recommend highly enough Christophe Rousset's superb version with Andreas Scholl and Barbara Bonney (Decca) and Antonio Florio's beautiful reading with Maria Grazia Schiavo and Stephanie d'Oustrac (available on the Eloquentia label and generously coupled with performances of Pergolesi's and Porpora's respective takes on Salve Regina).

There's also a beautiful CD on the BIS label with Daniel Taylor and Emma Kirkby entitled Stabat Mater and comprising Bach's take on Pergolesi's Stabat Mater,  as well as Pergolesi's Salve Regina and Vivaldi's Stabat Mater.

I would also recommend you investigate Charpentier's and Couperin's respective settings of the Lecons de Tenebres.  Herve Niquet on Glossa for the Charpentier and William Christie on Erato for the Couperin would be my choices.

Other fine discs to investigate would include the following:

Philippe Herrewege's readings of Lasso's Lamentations of Jeremiah and Lagrime di San Pietro  (on Harmonia Mundi)
Purcell's Harmonia Sacra (Christophe Rousset - Aparte)
Schein's Israelis Brunnlein (Phillipe Herreweghe - Harmonia Mundi)
Schutz's Musicalische Exequien (Philippe Herreweghe - Harmonia Mundi)
Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri (Konrad Junghanel - Harmonia Mundi)
Ockegem's Requiem (Marcel Peres - Harmonia Mundi)
Zelenka's Missa Votiva and Missa Dei Patris (Frieder Bernius - Carus)

[fergus]

So I had the opportunity to listen to the Bach Oratorio, though not with the intention of clearing the house!! Honestly :)
I'm afraid your instinct was correct.....not my thing really. For me its a bit too much going on and I find the brass-iness hard on the noggin.
I don't connect emotionally with this work for now.
Will ignorance allow me to escape the firing squad??!!

I thought that it might clear your house all right and I am now sure that it would have LOL!!!

If you do not connect with JS Bach then you do not connect and that is fine. You certainly are not alone there! It is difficult to know where to pitch recommendations when one is not familiar with a person's tastes and I wanted to recommend something for you but Paul (mcq) has some very fine recommendations for you to peruse. However, a word of warning; if you find the Bach "difficult" then you may need to check those works on YouTube as you may also find them "difficult". Hopefully not and you may find something very suitable there. The Buxtehude should be a safe bet.

Do let us know how you get on.

[dhyantyke]

In addition to the previously recommended versions of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater by Biondi, Jacobs and Lesne, I cannot recommend highly enough Christophe Rousset's superb version with Andreas Scholl and Barbara Bonney (Decca) and Antonio Florio's beautiful reading with Maria Grazia Schiavo and Stephanie d'Oustrac (available on the Eloquentia label and generously coupled with performances of Pergolesi's and Porpora's respective takes on Salve Regina).

There's also a beautiful CD on the BIS label with Daniel Taylor and Emma Kirkby entitled Stabat Mater and comprising Bach's take on Pergolesi's Stabat Mater,  as well as Pergolesi's Salve Regina and Vivaldi's Stabat Mater.

I would also recommend you investigate Charpentier's and Couperin's respective settings of the Lecons de Tenebres.  Herve Niquet on Glossa for the Charpentier and William Christie on Erato for the Couperin would be my choices.

Other fine discs to investigate would include the following:

Philippe Herrewege's readings of Lasso's Lamentations of Jeremiah and Lagrime di San Pietro  (on Harmonia Mundi)
Purcell's Harmonia Sacra (Christophe Rousset - Aparte)
Schein's Israelis Brunnlein (Phillipe Herreweghe - Harmonia Mundi)
Schutz's Musicalische Exequien (Philippe Herreweghe - Harmonia Mundi)
Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri (Konrad Junghanel - Harmonia Mundi)
Ockegem's Requiem (Marcel Peres - Harmonia Mundi)
Zelenka's Missa Votiva and Missa Dei Patris (Frieder Bernius - Carus)

Thanks for that. I am not familiar with any of the above and look forward to exploring them. That will keep me busy for a while.

[Jose Echenique]

Just a comment about Bach. When I started listening to Classical Music in my early teens I immediately loved Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, let alone Italian opera, but for reasons I can´t even remember I didn´t like Brahms. It´s funny, but I got to love Bruckner and Mahler much earlier than Brahms. For some years I got the "idea" in my head that I didn´t like Brahms and I avoided him like the plague, then one day I went to a Concertgebouw concert with Bernard Haitink where he conducted the 4th Symphony and I loved it!
Since then I have become the most ardent Brahms fan ever and to this day I can´t explain myself why I didn´t love his music in the first place.
So my recommendation is never be terminal about a composer, especially one as great as Bach. There are very good reasons why he is regarded in such high esteem. In fact my recommendation is to persevere, get used to his music, a little dedication always pays handsomely, like good Fergus who didn´t shy away from a 4-hour long opera like Parsifal...now he too is a fan!

[fergus]

Just a comment about Bach. When I started listening to Classical Music in my early teens I immediately loved Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, let alone Italian opera, but for reasons I can´t even remember I didn´t like Brahms. It´s funny, but I got to love Bruckner and Mahler much earlier than Brahms. For some years I got the "idea" in my head that I didn´t like Brahms and I avoided him like the plague, then one day I went to a Concertgebouw concert with Bernard Haitink where he conducted the 4th Symphony and I loved it!
Since then I have become the most ardent Brahms fan ever and to this day I can´t explain myself why I didn´t love his music in the first place.
So my recommendation is never be terminal about a composer, especially one as great as Bach. There are very good reasons why he is regarded in such high esteem. In fact my recommendation is to persevere, get used to his music, a little dedication always pays handsomely, like good Fergus who didn´t shy away from a 4-hour long opera like Parsifal...now he too is a fan!

I think that has a lot to do with my long association with you Pepe!!

[james]

A suggestion if you want to try Bach choral music is the Magnificat .. its quite short and it's in Latin.
james