Tír Na HiFi

Jared wrote:This morning, I am giving relistens to all the Cantata disks I posted yesterday, so I won't bore you with the details again... suffice it to say that Jared, like all small children, enjoys repetition... ;-))

Familiarity breeds content!!!

Elgar, Cello Concerto....

^^ a stellar disk in every way, Fergus... of course everyone raves about the CC, but I will tell you that it was Janet Baker's 'Sea Pictures' which helped finally open the door into lieder for me...

Jared wrote:....but I will tell you that it was Janet Baker's 'Sea Pictures' which helped finally open the door into lieder for me...

That is interesting Jared....what was it that "clicked" with you?

Rachmaninov - Symphonies 1-3....

fergus wrote:

Jared wrote:....but I will tell you that it was Janet Baker's 'Sea Pictures' which helped finally open the door into lieder for me...

That is interesting Jared....what was it that "clicked" with you?

I'm not sure how much of this will make sense, but within the first few weeks of having been introduced to all kinds of flavours of CM by Bob & Christine, Bob tried me out on Schubert's Winterreise, which I simply didn't get, as lieder was completely new to me. I had been used to a natural 'rock' voice and nothing more, so I left it. About 9 months later, after having expanded my Orchestral repertoire no end, I bought the 5CD Barbirolli boxset of Elgar's Orchestral works on EMI. Unbeknown to me, the Baker 'Sea Pictures' is the addendum to this set, and I started listening... a couple of weeks later, just before leaving Herefordshire, I visited Elgar's birthplace. When I went into the small house, they had one of the Sea Pictures playing, and it kind of clicked that 'these songs really are lovely'.

I think I became attracted to the warmth of Baker's voice, the power yet simplicity of the songs, and the fact that they weren't something which required a background in music and a degree in German to fully appreciate... from there, I moved onto songs by Butterworth, RVW, Finzi, Britten and eventually into the German repertoire I initially hadn't understood...

does that make any sense??

fergus wrote:Wow, Paul, that is some line up there and you must have started listening at about 7.00 am and continued through non stop all day! I know that it is all pleasure but I admire your stamina!!!

Yes, Fergus, yesterday was a good day. I just woke up early and plugged myself straight into the music. One of those things you can only do as a single man with no family commitments.

fergus wrote:Rachmaninov - Symphonies 1-3....

what are the orchestral textures like on this one Fergus? are they on the 'noticeably thin' side, as with his Mahler?

mcq wrote: Yes, Fergus, yesterday was a good day. I just woke up early and plugged myself straight into the music. One of those things you can only do as a single man with no family commitments.

you and me both, Paul... I just have other people's children to worry about, downstairs in the Youth Hostel...

Jared wrote:

mcq wrote: Yes, Fergus, yesterday was a good day. I just woke up early and plugged myself straight into the music. One of those things you can only do as a single man with no family commitments.

you and me both, Paul... I just have other people's children to worry about, downstairs in the Youth Hostel...

If I had the choice and the means to do so I would listen to music for several hours a day every day.