What are you listening to?
Re: What are you listening to?
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl.
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Re: What are you listening to?
That looks like a very nice disc Dave. I like the composers on it and I have a few recordings by Camden. The City of London Sinfonia are also a good outfit!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
Chopin – Nocturnes Nos. 1-10 (disc 1 of this 2 CD set) played by Ricardo Castro....
Solo piano music is never high on my listening agenda so Chopin's nocturnes are a safe bet.
Solo piano music is never high on my listening agenda so Chopin's nocturnes are a safe bet.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
quite a coincidence Fergus, I was listening to this one earlier this evening. Its a mono recording but still very good.fergus wrote:Solo piano music is never high on my listening agenda so Chopin's nocturnes are a safe bet.
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl.
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Re: What are you listening to?
Tonight I've been absolutely entranced by Claus Guth's staged version of Handel's Messiah (available on a C Major DVD). I'm a big fan of Guth's stagings of Mozart's Da Ponte operas but this is different: a sacred oratorio which has been stripped almost entirely of its spiritual trappings. Originally, I bought this DVD over a month ago and tonight's viewing must be about the fourth time I've watched it. Each time, the power of the performance and the depth of Guth's penetrating vision have completely absorbed me.
It's conducted by Christophe Spinoso with his Ensemble Matheus who have recorded an album of Vivaldi arias with Phillipe Jaroussky as well as a number of Vivaldi operas for Naive's Vivaldi Edition. The choir is the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, which is arguably the world's finest. And the soloists are drawn from strength: sopranos Susan Gritton and Cornelia Horak, alto Bejun Mehta, tenor Richard Croft and bass Florian Boesch, all of which are admirably committed to Guth's visionary staging.
The staging concerns the main protagonist (a non-vocal part played by an actor/dancer), who is ground down by the pressures of the world, both personal and professional. The man is faced with the impending collapse of his business whilst his wife is having an affair with his brother and commits suicide. It is Guth's achievement that he succeeds absolutely in the integration of this very modern world with Handel's words and music without violating the spirit of the composer's intent. It helps a great deal that the musical and vocal performances are of a very high standard and would rate very highly if issued as a standalone CD set. And when you combine the excellent standard of vocal performances with a series of strong, vivid characterisations, you have something very special indeed. Floran Boesch, whose character is that of a drunken outcast is particularly moving. His rendition of The Trumpet Shall Sound is just exceptional, intensely moving by itself, but elevated by the theatrical context of a reconcilation with his recently departed brother. Countertenor Bejun Mehta (who has very recently released an album of Handel arias with Rene Jacobs) contributes a heartrending He Was Despised which I find absolutely draining. And he has a lovely duet with Cornelia Horak in He Shall Feed His Flock, which is heartbreaking in its intimacy and its sense of shared guilt. Susan Gritton's I Know That My Redeemer Liveth is very special in its portrayal of a woman bereft at the discovery of her husband's affair whilst striving for something to cling to. And Horak's closing If God Be For Us is simply transcendent in its beauty.
Perhaps Guth's greatest achievement here is that he never judges these characters; his viewpoint is essentially one of compassion - the characters may judge each other's actions and, indeed, may judge themselves harshest of all, but Guth does not seek to impose any kind of judgement on them. The entire performance is imbued with an overwhelming sense of guilt, remorse, hurt and anger, but you empathise entirely with every character. And perhaps the most important part about Guth's vision is that it is only on the surface that this interpretation is secularised. The message behind Handel's masterpiece is a spiritual renewal that is brought about by Christ's coming into the world which essentially cast away Old Testament viewpoints of intolerance and ushered in a new era of forgiveness and compassion, something that Guth absolutely respects in this extraordinary re-interpretation of - perhaps - an overly familiar masterpiece.
Very, very highly recommended.
Here are some excerpts.
The people that walked in darkness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgz8fVe7 ... re=related
He shall feed his flock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAHng6rXGPE
He was despised (Part 1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI2Qv68p-X8
He was despised (Part 2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4SpuPJi ... re=related
The trumpet shall sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFijABbA ... re=related
I know that my redeemer liveth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPjSUSwO ... re=related
O death, where is thy sting/If God be for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kFZ5XBD ... 9&index=32
Worthy is the lamb that was slain/Amen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GfJwjG ... playnext=6
It's conducted by Christophe Spinoso with his Ensemble Matheus who have recorded an album of Vivaldi arias with Phillipe Jaroussky as well as a number of Vivaldi operas for Naive's Vivaldi Edition. The choir is the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, which is arguably the world's finest. And the soloists are drawn from strength: sopranos Susan Gritton and Cornelia Horak, alto Bejun Mehta, tenor Richard Croft and bass Florian Boesch, all of which are admirably committed to Guth's visionary staging.
The staging concerns the main protagonist (a non-vocal part played by an actor/dancer), who is ground down by the pressures of the world, both personal and professional. The man is faced with the impending collapse of his business whilst his wife is having an affair with his brother and commits suicide. It is Guth's achievement that he succeeds absolutely in the integration of this very modern world with Handel's words and music without violating the spirit of the composer's intent. It helps a great deal that the musical and vocal performances are of a very high standard and would rate very highly if issued as a standalone CD set. And when you combine the excellent standard of vocal performances with a series of strong, vivid characterisations, you have something very special indeed. Floran Boesch, whose character is that of a drunken outcast is particularly moving. His rendition of The Trumpet Shall Sound is just exceptional, intensely moving by itself, but elevated by the theatrical context of a reconcilation with his recently departed brother. Countertenor Bejun Mehta (who has very recently released an album of Handel arias with Rene Jacobs) contributes a heartrending He Was Despised which I find absolutely draining. And he has a lovely duet with Cornelia Horak in He Shall Feed His Flock, which is heartbreaking in its intimacy and its sense of shared guilt. Susan Gritton's I Know That My Redeemer Liveth is very special in its portrayal of a woman bereft at the discovery of her husband's affair whilst striving for something to cling to. And Horak's closing If God Be For Us is simply transcendent in its beauty.
Perhaps Guth's greatest achievement here is that he never judges these characters; his viewpoint is essentially one of compassion - the characters may judge each other's actions and, indeed, may judge themselves harshest of all, but Guth does not seek to impose any kind of judgement on them. The entire performance is imbued with an overwhelming sense of guilt, remorse, hurt and anger, but you empathise entirely with every character. And perhaps the most important part about Guth's vision is that it is only on the surface that this interpretation is secularised. The message behind Handel's masterpiece is a spiritual renewal that is brought about by Christ's coming into the world which essentially cast away Old Testament viewpoints of intolerance and ushered in a new era of forgiveness and compassion, something that Guth absolutely respects in this extraordinary re-interpretation of - perhaps - an overly familiar masterpiece.
Very, very highly recommended.
Here are some excerpts.
The people that walked in darkness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgz8fVe7 ... re=related
He shall feed his flock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAHng6rXGPE
He was despised (Part 1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI2Qv68p-X8
He was despised (Part 2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4SpuPJi ... re=related
The trumpet shall sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFijABbA ... re=related
I know that my redeemer liveth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPjSUSwO ... re=related
O death, where is thy sting/If God be for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kFZ5XBD ... 9&index=32
Worthy is the lamb that was slain/Amen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GfJwjG ... playnext=6
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
Re: What are you listening to?
A frequently played disc!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
A really wonderful disc of solo violin from the German Baroque. Outstanding performances of Bach's Chaconne (from Partita No. 2) and Biber's Passacaglia (which concludes his extraordinary Rosary Sonatas), as well as complete performances of works by Pisendel and Westhoff (whose pioneering set of solo violin works inspired Bach to write his unaccompanied sonatas and partitas). Magnificent playing from Mira Glodeanu but perhaps the real star of the show is the dark burnished tone of her violin, made in 1604 by Marcin Groblicz , the sound of which resonates long in the memory after the disc has finished playing.
The always impressive Marc Minkowski with outstanding renditions of music by Purcell (Ode to Saint Cecilia), Handel (A Song For Saint Cecilia's Day) and Haydn (Missa Cellensis). The transparency of textures he draws from his musicians is quite extraordinary whilst his choice of tempi are so natural. And the quality of singing - especially that of soprano Lucy Crowe who is on radiant form - is exceptional.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
Re: What are you listening to?
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
Tchaikovsky Suites for Orchestra Nos. 1 & 2....
Delightful music wonderfully played by our local band!
Delightful music wonderfully played by our local band!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra