Tír Na HiFi

fergus wrote:CPE Bach: Magnificat played by Collegium Aurem and sung by the Tolzer Knabenchor with Elly Ameling and Theo Altmeyer as vocal soloists....





This is beautiful music which is exalting, poignant and joyous.

Beautiful music indeed, Fergus. That's a fine performance but this more recent one on Harmonia Mundi is just extraordinary and is very highly recommended.




And perhaps the best version I've heard of the cello concertos is this one. What wonderful music that CPE Bach wrote.

mcq wrote:


And perhaps the best version I've heard of the cello concertos is this one. What wonderful music that CPE Bach wrote.

Both of definite interest!
That Magnificat really is a wonderful work!

Mahler 2 - Bruno Walter....





...what more can one say?

fergus wrote:Mahler 2 - Bruno Walter....





...what more can one say?

Yes, it is fabulous. I need to get a wide range of Walter led performances, he was special.

Seán wrote:.... I need to get a wide range of Walter led performances, he was special.

He certainly was Seán, particularly in Mahler.
I feel another one of those big box sets heading your way!!

Janet Baker sings Schubert songs....

Listening this weekend to the Artemis String Quartet's cycle of Beethoven quartets.  These are briskly played, lively, assertive, insightful and utterly compulsive renditions that I've enjoyed since I first bought the complete box a few years ago.  Perhaps what I treasure most about these performances is their sense of clarity and transparency.  There is an unsentimentalised, upfront directness about this quartet which allows you to really appreciate the sheer boldness and lucidity of the architectural structure that underpins these great masterpieces.  Other versions - such as those by the Italian Quartet and the Talich Quartet -  offer a richer, sweeter and certainly more lyrical approach but few versions communicate such a sense of internal control and structural clarity as the Artemis as they navigate and articulate the intricacies of each quartet's narrative arc with an authority that is utterly compelling.  A wonderfully intense listening experience.

Listening this evening to a recent purchase, Marek Janowski's version of Wagner's immortal Parsifal.  I was listening yesterday to Valery Gergiev's magnificent version and I found myself so moved by the experience, I simply had to buy another version of this great masterpiece.  This is simply exquisite, an utterly transcendent listening experience of great beauty.  Immaculate conducting from Janowski (beautiful, gossamer-light orchestral textures) and passionate, committed singing from all involved.  This is not a grandiose, pious Parsifal but a deeply humane and compassionate one illuminated beautifully by very naturalistic performances by the soloists - the paternal wisdom of Franz-Josef Selig's Gurnemanz, the tortured anguish of Evgeny Nikitin's Amfortas, the heroic ardour and unaffected nobility of Christian Elsner's Parsifal, and the bruised redemptive angst of Michelle DeYoung's Kundry (arguably the greatest single character in all of opera).  How fortunate we are to have such a masterly performance of this work follow so (relatively) soon after Gergiev's mighty version.  Parsifal is such an overwhelming spiritual experience that when I hear a version this profoundly satisfying, I just feel such a sense of gratitude to all concerned.  A wonderful achievement.

mcq wrote:

There is always room on one's shelf for another Beethoven String Quartet cycle!

mcq wrote:Listening this evening to a recent purchase, Marek Janowski's version of Wagner's immortal Parsifal.  I was listening yesterday to Valery Gergiev's magnificent version and I found myself so moved by the experience, I simply had to buy another version of this great masterpiece.  This is simply exquisite, an utterly transcendent listening experience of great beauty.  Immaculate conducting from Janowski (beautiful, gossamer-light orchestral textures) and passionate, committed singing from all involved.  This is not a grandiose, pious Parsifal but a deeply humane and compassionate one illuminated beautifully by very naturalistic performances by the soloists - the paternal wisdom of Franz-Josef Selig's Gurnemanz, the tortured anguish of Evgeny Nikitin's Amfortas, the heroic ardour and unaffected nobility of Christian Elsner's Parsifal, and the bruised redemptive angst of Michelle DeYoung's Kundry (arguably the greatest single character in all of opera).  How fortunate we are to have such a masterly performance of this work follow so (relatively) soon after Gergiev's mighty version.  Parsifal is such an overwhelming spiritual experience that when I hear a version this profoundly satisfying, I just feel such a sense of gratitude to all concerned.  A wonderful achievement.

I am not known for my enthusiasm for Opera but I certainly agree that Parsifal is a magnificent work. I love it. I have the old Knappertsbusch and von Karajan versions along with the relatively recent MET Blu Ray and would most certainly be interested in augmenting my collection of this work.