What are you listening two?

[Diapason]

Sounds like something I'd enjoy, mcq. Were the sets expensive?

[mcq]

I bought them some time ago, Simon. The first box was released in 2008 and I believe that the second box was released in 2014. I bought the second box upon its release and the first box a couple of years after its initial release. I forget the exact prices, but I believe that each box was between €75 and €100. The boxes were very fairly priced when you consider that each contains 50 CDs, all of which were very carefully chosen and the consistency from disc to disc is very high. DHM recorded repertoire a little off the beaten path, certainly in comparison with the major labels, which makes these recordings very satisfying. And when they do opt to record a more commonly recorded piece of repertoire material (for example Bach’s Solo Cello Suites or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons), the performers bring something very special to the table, something very fresh and exciting in my view. I referenced the Frescobaldi masses in my earlier post because they are, I believe, so rarely recorded and you more usually see recordings of the composer’s harpsichord and organ music than the masses. And the vocal works by Alessandro Scarlatti are just exceptional and profoundly rewarding. There is also a wonderful mass from the ever-rewarding Zelenka and an exceptional disc comprising Biber’s Requiem and Steffani’s Stabat Mater. If I had to choose one box, it would be the first one because the repertoire chosen is just a little more interesting, in my opinion. There was also a third DHM box released in recent years - 100 Greatest Recordings, a 51-CD box that I passed on because because I already owned most of the individual CDs. However, I am pretty sure that these are all out of print now and I have seen prices of around UK£100 per box on Amazon UK which still represents good value for money, in my opinion.

[Diapason]

Ah yes, I remember considering those boxes at the time, and I honestly can't remember why I didn't buy them.

Of course, my CD listening has utterly nosedived in recent years and virtually everything now is streaming. I miss the sheer joy of a box set and the exploration of treasures inside. There was a time when 50 CD sets were MILES out of reach of my finances, so I find it strange to see boxes on the shelf at home gathering dust. I still haven't quite accepted the new reality!

[mcq]

Revisiting the second 50-CD Deutsche Harmonia Mundi box set has reunited me with a recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano that I had completely forgotten about. Performed by Jos van Immerseel and Jaap Schröder, this was originally released in 1988. I have to say that, to my ears, this strikes me as one of the very best performances of these masterpieces that I have heard. It is certainly the best period instrument version and, among modern instrument versions, it is the equal of Faust/Melnikov (Harmonia Mundi), Kremer/Argerich (DG) and Pires/Dumay (DG). It is perhaps the most intimate and unassuming of all, perhaps because of the use of period instruments.

There are three reasons why I consider this recording to be so outstanding. Firstly, there is an ideal recorded balance between violin and fortepiano, not too close and just enough ambient space around the instruments. Secondly, the performers treat the music not as violin sonatas with piano accompaniment, but as sonatas written equally for violin and piano. Thirdly, there is a genuine chamber interplay between the performers. Neither musician dominates the other and each player displays an alert and keen responsiveness that is, as the music demands, sometimes playful and mischievous and sometimes tender and lyrical.

In terms of the emotional temperament of the performances, I would say that it achieves a balance between the cerebral and the emotional that is Classical rather than Romantic in demeanour. An exceptionally rewarding listening experience and very highly recommended.

[mcq]

One of the highlights of the second 50-CD DHM box is a selection of pieces from the Eton Choirbook as performed by one of the most consistently reliable specialists in 16th century Renaissance polyphony repertoire, the Huelgas Ensemble and their erstwhile director, Paul van Nevel.

One of my most treasured possessions is a 15-CD box of this ensemble’s recordings for Sony’s Vivarte label which is entitled A Secret Labyrinth and contains some of the most enrapturing and gloriously beautiful singing of Renaissance polyphony you will ever find. After Sony unwisely withdrew the Vivarte label, this group moved on to DHM as well as Harmonia Mundi and have continued to craft a magnificent discography of the many glorious byways of choral Renaissance repertoire.

The present recording concentrated on four lesser known composers whose works made their way into the Eton Choirbook - William Horwood, Edmundus Sturton, Johannesburg Sutton, Robert Wylkynson - as a well as a fifth, John Browne, whose work has previously been recorded by the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen. It is the singular achievement of gifted music directors like Paul van Nevel to breathe new life into dusty compositions by neglected composers and make them sound like forgotten masterpieces and that is the impression I have here. These are lithe, graceful, spiritually yearning performances which touch the heart profoundly and purge the mind of distress. An outstanding recording, very highly recommended.

[markof]

Lovely album.

Give it a try if you like Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Mark

[mcq]

The selected recordings in the two commemorative DHM box sets were, on the whole, extremely well chosen but one notable oversight was the omission of Gustav Leonhardt’s recordings of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B Minor. In my opinion, these were supremely rewarding interpretations to match the very best in the catalogue. It is a shame that they were overlooked for inclusion in either of these boxes.

I have been listening this afternoon to his recording of the St. Matthew Passion and it has been an overwhelmingly moving experience. There is an elegant restraint about this recording that appears a world away from the visceral extroversion of Gardiner and the introverted sensuousness of Herreweghe (to recall two of my favourite recordings). Elements of both approaches are to be found in Leonhardt’s recording but they are tempered by a touch of austerity. There is a meditative calm and an understated gracefulness about Leonhardt’s approach which is quietly compelling. Beautifully sung and sensitively played, this is an exceptional St. Matthew Passion which I highly recommend to any who have not yet heard it.

[mcq]

After being so profoundly struck by Leonhardt’s recording of the St. Matthew Passion this afternoon, I just had to revisit his reading of the Mass in B Minor this evening.

To me, the Mass in B Minor represents a profoundly spiritual engagement with one’s God that is as personal an artistic statement as Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and benchmark recordings actively strive to reflect this sense of engagement rather than simply reflecting the technical mastery of the composer.

Leonhardt’s recording of the Mass in B Minor is just such a recording. There is an engagement with the text that is at once engaged and committed with a rapturous urgency. The musical accompaniments are sinuous and lithe, bristling with textural contrast and effortlessly impart to the listener a sense of rhythmic urgency. The sense of occasion of a spiritual event is immediate and profound. There is no grandiosity or bombast here. Instead, Leonhardt imparts the underlying message of the composer with delicacy and grace and understatement. It is at once notable just how Leonhardt can channel the dramatic force and urgency of this work in such a measured way without sacrificing its innately contemplative nature. In short, this is a very special recording and very highly recommended.

[mcq]

After revisiting and rediscovering the joys of the two Deutsche Harmonia Mundi box sets, this morning I turned to another old favourite. Back in 2013, Sony released a 60-CD box devoted to the late and much lamented Vivarte catalogue. (There was a second Vivarte box released which I passed on because there was too much overlap with my CD collection.).

The first two CDs were devoted to the lute works of Bach as performed by Lutz Kirchhof. Beautifully spare and thought-provoking performances. I followed this up with Bach’s sonatas for the viola da gamba, as performed by Anner Bylsma and accompanied by Bob van Asperen. Deeply-felt and highly sensitive performances of some of my favourite of Bach’s instrumental compositions. It is interesting that that van Asperen chooses to accompany Bylsma on organ rather than the more usual harpsichord, but, in the hands of a master like van Asperen, it makes little difference to the overall success of this CD.

The final CD of the morning was a recital by Bob van Asperen entitled “The Harpsichord in the Netherlands”. Very interesting repertoire on this CD ranging from the well known (Sweelinck and Reincken) to the obscure (Pieter Bustijn, Susanne van Soldt and Anthoni and Sybrant van Noordt), all given exceptional performances on this highly rewarding CD.

[mcq]

Returning to the wonderful Sony Vivarte box this evening and the sheer consistency from disc to disc continues to impress, both in terms of breadth of repertoire and technical excellence of the musicians. Like so many great independent labels, the success of Vivarte can be traced directly to the fact that it was an artist-led label, where musicians were nurtured and encouraged either to seek out and perform new repertoire or to revisit familiar material with insights gained from historically-informed performances.

Right now, I’m listening to the two volumes of music for lute by Silvius Leopoldo Weiss as performed by Lutz Kirchhof and I am absolutely entranced. There is an absolute technical mastery and command over the instrument here, but there is also an emotional warmth, a geniality, an unassuming lightness of touch which goes beyond the printed page and which shakes all daily care from the listener’s mind and concentrates the mind on this deeply rewarding music.