What are you listening to?

[Jared]

.... I have now officially freed myself from the 'tyranny' of having a proscriptive, set listening schedule and have decided to simply enjoy my collection as the mood takes me.

That is an interesting one Jared. I have always operated on a combination of the two approaches which gives me a chance to get through my collection and also leaves room for "Mood Swings".

I think you're right my friend... I am going to swing back the other way to enjoy my collection more from now on. I am getting to the stage where I know what I naturally wish to gravitate towards in the future, what makes me happiest.

Like all here, I only have a finite amount of money/ space/ listening time which I feel I want to make the most of. I have had over 5 wonderful years of exploring, but in order for me to move forward I feel I have to concentrate on music which really moves me. This is frankly something I've been giving some thought to over the past 3/4 months; it hasn't been a knee-jerk decision.

What will I be listening to more of? In short, choral & vocal music... I love it, and can never get enough... followed by chamber music perhaps. You will start to see more of a predominance of Renaissance, Baroque, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and *some select* Romantic music ala Brahms, Mendelssohn, Dvorak with some late Romanticism such as Bruckner & Mahler.

What less of? Well, more overt Romanticism probably... less Liszt, Berlioz, Nielsen, some British, Russian, 20th Century and so on... I think you get the gist.

[Jared]

Future purchases [] will be very selective in the future

....but you are actually the first one that I have ever heard of Jared that has deleted the Amazon Wish List! You must be very confident in your assertion lad LOL!!!

yes, progress now will be much slower.... I will settle back, enjoy my collection and let it evolve very slowly from here on in. Most future spending will be financed from the future sales of music I have enjoyed and will pass on...

[Jared]

Indeed I am Jared and I had my own fix of JS Bach Cantatas earlier this morning.
BTW that is a very nice list of works that you have been listening to earlier!

thanks Fergus... yes, it's starting to highlight where I am happiest...

and of course, I can't forget my BBC Music collection which believe it or not, I am presently 2/3 of the way through..

I am on my 2nd listen to the Kabalevsky Cello Concerto with Isserlis/ Karabits & Bournemouth.

[fergus]

^^ you and Hummel will get on famously.. although I found his SQs a little dry, he nevertheless had a penchant for writing chamber music for unusual combinations of instruments, sometimes with delicious results...

Yes I do like Hummel's music and I do not have enough of it in my collection.

[fergus]

I think you're right my friend... I am going to swing back the other way to enjoy my collection more from now on. I am getting to the stage where I know what I naturally wish to gravitate towards in the future, what makes me happiest.

Like all here, I only have a finite amount of money/ space/ listening time which I feel I want to make the most of. I have had over 5 wonderful years of exploring, but in order for me to move forward I feel I have to concentrate on music which really moves me. This is frankly something I've been giving some thought to over the past 3/4 months; it hasn't been a knee-jerk decision.

What will I be listening to more of? In short, choral & vocal music... I love it, and can never get enough... followed by chamber music perhaps. You will start to see more of a predominance of Renaissance, Baroque, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and *some select* Romantic music ala Brahms, Mendelssohn, Dvorak with some late Romanticism such as Bruckner & Mahler.

What less of? Well, more overt Romanticism probably... less Liszt, Berlioz, Nielsen, some British, Russian, 20th Century and so on... I think you get the gist.

That is a very natural progression Jared and it happens to us all at one stage or another; sampling as much and as broad a range of music as is possible, establishing what we prefer and ultimately gravitating towards our preferences. The problem that I eventually encountered with my development was that I ultimately developed a "comfort zone" which I could be reluctant to move away from and it restricted further development for a number of years. I eventually overcame that though although I never really move very far away from my Early, Baroque and early Classical music.
However, enjoying one's collection is ultimately what it is all about and of course is the primary reason for purchasing it in the first place.

[Jared]

as you will remember, this is one of the very first disks I ever bought... loved it then, very much... but the problem is, that it certainly hasn't been played during the last 2 years at least.

[fergus]

as you will remember, this is one of the very first disks I ever bought... loved it then, very much... but the problem is, that it certainly hasn't been played during the last 2 years at least.

You convinced me to buy that and I ended up buying all three of them!!

[Jared]

I eventually overcame that though although I never really move very far away from my Early, Baroque and early Classical music.
However, enjoying one's collection is ultimately what it is all about and of course is the primary reason for purchasing it in the first place.

I agree. You and I really do have a broad cross-over in terms of taste; I've always thought this, and I'm sure Pepe will support my decision to invest in more choral music! (talking of whom, he like me, seems to have been a bit quiet on here recently??)

I know I'm biased, but for me, the 3 Hummel Mass disks and the Haydn Mass boxset are near to the pinnacle of Richard Hickox's achievement.. they really are a wonderful legacy.

[Jared]

I think this might be it, before The White Queen starts on BBC1....

[Seán]

.... I'm sure Fergus will be proud that I am squeezing some Bach Motets into this Sunday afternoon...

Indeed I am Jared and I had my own fix of JS Bach Cantatas earlier this morning.
BTW that is a very nice list of works that you have been listening to earlier!

I am inclined to listen to Gloria on a Sunday morning and am not in the habit of listening to Bach after that.