Tír Na HiFi

Jose Echenique wrote:

Seán wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:
I´m so old that I even got to hear Maureen Forrester live in Das Lied von der Erde circa 1979.

Oh lovely! Do you remember the orchestra and conductor too?

Sure, it was our National University Orchestra and Klaus Tennstedt conducted.

I would fail to get excited with Tennstedt, I'm afraid.

By the way the scheduled tenor was Jewish and I think it was not made clear to him that the performance was on a friday evening, so since he was very religious he refused to sing because of the Sabbath, so a late replacement had to be found and the ever reliable Mexican tenor Flavio Becerra came up to the rescue.

I am not surprised.

Forrester was obviously past her prime by then, but still gave a most moving rendition of Das Abschied.

Glad to hear it.

fergus wrote:

jaybee wrote:

fergus wrote:Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli....


ditto: but I went with...

I have that one on both vinyl and CD JB and it is a magnificent recording no matter what the medium!

Call me old fashioned but I prefer children voices in Palestrina. Still it is true that the Tallis version is very beautiful.

fergus wrote:Vinyl....

I'm amazed you're able to find images for some of these covers, Fergus!

Jared wrote:

fergus wrote:Vinyl....

I'm amazed you're able to find images for some of these covers, Fergus!

I take the easy option Jared and take the photos and upload them myself LOL!!!

It seems like ages ago when I bought on LP the first recording ever of Vivaldi´s Serenata for Paris, La Senna Festeggiante. That was a pioneer recording with period instruments, certainly for 1978, with the Cappella Coloniensis and Claudio Scimone. It also marked the recording debut of one of my favourite sopranos, Lella Cuberli, and it still is a most beautiful recording. Then came the excellent Concerto Italiano version with Rinaldo Alessandrini, probably still THE choice recording for this work.
A nice and well sung version with The King´s Consort and Robert King didn´t displace Alessandrini´s supremacy, certainly not in Vivaldi, and more or less the same can be said of this newcomer. La Risonanza has made some gorgeous recordings of Handel and Alessandro Scarlatti cantatas, their musicians are marvelous, and when accompanying the likes of soprano Roberta Invernizzi the results are indeed outstanding. There´s nothing wrong with Yetzabel Arias performance, also a frequent guest in the Scarlatti recordings, but glorious Roberta is in a different league, and if she had been chosen for this recording, it would have been a real threat for Alessandrini. But the Concerto Italiano, superbly sung, played and recorded remains numero uno for La Senna Festeggiante.

Jose Echenique wrote:
Call me old fashioned but I prefer children voices in Palestrina. Still it is true that the Tallis version is very beautiful.

My first exposure to his music was through his sung eucharists, live that is, so I do understand the preference for at least juvenile soprano ranks in the choir but I've yet to find one that wasn't a bit saccharine in its delivery.....

...

...

Interestingly I was also listening to Delius....





....on vinyl.

^^ I'm pleased that some of you have been paying him a bit of reverence on his anniversary year...

Jared wrote:^^ I'm pleased that some of you have been paying him a bit of reverence on his anniversary year...

I must confess that I was blissfully unaware of that fact to be honest Jared.