Tír Na HiFi

mcq wrote:Beautiful music, Fergus. I strongly recommend the following discs.

Thank you for those recommendations; the Maisky version of the cello concerto certainly would appeal as I do not have too many versions in my collection.

markof wrote:
On a different tack, some lovely stuff here too.

It has been a while since I have listened to any Purcell but I like Fretwork as an ensemble.

Diapason wrote:Trying this again, it appeals much more to me today for some reason. Might be the spring weather to match the Spring Symphony.

Enjoying Schumann can definitely be a case of being in the right mood or giving it time since one's last rejection. I have that one and the 3 & 4 disc and I do like them both. Continued enjoyment.

Listened to this for the second time within a week....





....I really like it!

I do not listen to this set very often but when I do I always enjoy it. This time around I detected something that I had not noticed before; I got definite overtones of Bruckner’s music, which was interesting as I do not know if this is intentional, purely coincidental or merely a figment of my imagination.

An exceptional performance of a wonderful opera, only now receiving its long overdue recognition in the form of two near-simultaneous recordings (the second, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock and featuring the wonderful Véronique Gens, has recently been released).  A noble and profoundly moving work which is strongly influenced by Handel and Lully.  Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, as musical co-directors of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, have made several important recordings of operas by Lully and Charpentier for CPO so their addition to the Erato roster is a significant one, especially in the light of this magnificent debut.  Strongly recommended.  It is really wonderful to see such passionate advocacy for such formerly underappreciated gems as this work, and also Vinci's Artaserse and Hasse's Siroe re di Persia which must be numbered among the most rewarding opera recordings of recent years.

mcq wrote:An exceptional performance of a wonderful opera, only now receiving its long overdue recognition in the form of two near-simultaneous recordings (the second, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock and featuring the wonderful Véronique Gens, has recently been released).  A noble and profoundly moving work which is strongly influenced by Handel and Lully.  Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, as musical co-directors of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, have made several important recordings of operas by Lully and Charpentier for CPO so their addition to the Erato roster is a significant one, especially in the light of this magnificent debut.  Strongly recommended.  It is really wonderful to see such passionate advocacy for such formerly underappreciated gems as this work, and also Vinci's Artaserse and Hasse's Siroe re di Persia which must be numbered among the most rewarding opera recordings of recent years.

Is that Paul O'Dette the lutenist?

Winding down with some harpsichord music....

mcq wrote:An exceptional performance of a wonderful opera, only now receiving its long overdue recognition in the form of two near-simultaneous recordings (the second, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock and featuring the wonderful Véronique Gens, has recently been released).  A noble and profoundly moving work which is strongly influenced by Handel and Lully.  Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, as musical co-directors of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, have made several important recordings of operas by Lully and Charpentier for CPO so their addition to the Erato roster is a significant one, especially in the light of this magnificent debut.  Strongly recommended.  It is really wonderful to see such passionate advocacy for such formerly underappreciated gems as this work, and also Vinci's Artaserse and Hasse's Siroe re di Persia which must be numbered among the most rewarding opera recordings of recent years.

Absolutely, and please don´t forget Veracini´s Adriano in Siria, another gem.
I have already ordered the live Covent Garden Niobe because I expect it to complement rather than compete with the studio recording, still what a treat to have 2 versions of a masterpiece. Bravo to ERATO for all the lavish care and love they put into this production. OUTSTANDING!!!!

And yes Fergus, Paul O´ Dette and Stephen Stubbs, both lutenists, share the conducting. I don´t know how they did it, but it worked to perfection.

And no, not every forgotten, unperformed opera it a masterpiece. Saint-Saëns composed one great opera: Samson et Delilah, and a few others that are performed every now and then like Henry VIII, but I had never heard of Les Barbares before. There are a few good moments and a few strikingly dull ones, so no, not recommended.