Tír Na HiFi

I'm going to have to go away and think about this one....

jaybee wrote:I'm going to have to go away and think about this one....

It has achieved its purpose so! It is different. For me, the key to it is to seperate the performance from the recording which is miced way too close I think. I will be interested in your final comments JB.

there's an air of Glenn Gould about it... the close miking is stunning in some regards, the breathing is fine, I never found Gould breathing and humming overtly distracting, the fingerboard taps can however, though only really in parts, sound like some dreadlocked recording engineer has lost the run of himself and in a maryjane haze pulled out the djembe to play along...

That's a recording I really admire but don't really enjoy.

Tonight, Ophelie Gaillard's second recording of the Bach Cello Suites. Both recordings have earned the prestigious Diapason d'Or in their native France. I have not heard the earlier recording (on Ambrosie) but the newer version (on Aparte) is particularly rewarding. The virtuousic demands on the part of the soloist (although ably met by Gaillard) are minimised in favour of communicating the emotional gamut that lies at the heart of this great music. I hear a very light touch here that highlights the innate dance-like qualities of this beautiful music and also a vivid sense of intimacy between the performer and the music. Gaillard responds freely and spontaneously to the music, eschewing grandeur in favour of conveying a most natural sense of warmth and emotional engagement as well as a sense of playfulness and sheer elan. Perhaps what is notable about these performances is their sense of character, embodied by a freedom of expression and characterised by an infectiously singing tone. The Cello Suites are a monument of the cello players' canon but it seems vital, to me, for musicians not to be overly reverent of the music. This is intensely human music, showcasing a breathtaking range of emotions and it seems wrong, to me, to present this as a forbiddingly cold, austere slab of marble. This is music that is imperishable, will never fail to entrance or inspire and exists on a plateau of achievement beyond mere cold abstract purity, born of a very human heart that was intent on presenting moments of the deepest profoundity to its audience using the most common and recognisable dance forms as a vehicle for engaging the emotions of the listener and should be presented as such.

jaybee wrote:there's an air of Glenn Gould about it... the close miking is stunning in some regards, the breathing is fine, I never found Gould breathing and humming overtly distracting, the fingerboard taps can however, though only really in parts, sound like some dreadlocked recording engineer has lost the run of himself and in a maryjane haze pulled out the djembe to play along...

LOL!!!

That is the best description that I have come across so far for that particular problem on that recording!

mcq wrote:The Cello Suites are a monument of the cello players' canon but it seems vital, to me, for musicians not to be overly reverent of the music. This is intensely human music, showcasing a breathtaking range of emotions and it seems wrong, to me, to present this as a forbiddingly cold, austere slab of marble. This is music that is imperishable, will never fail to entrance or inspire and exists on a plateau of achievement beyond mere cold abstract purity, born of a very human heart that was intent on presenting moments of the deepest profoundity to its audience using the most common and recognisable dance forms as a vehicle for engaging the emotions of the listener and should be presented as such.

Amen! I feel this way about all of Bach's music, but it's especially true when the music is given the backbone of a dance structure.

Jared is away at the moment I think so while he is absent I will sneak in some beautiful and wonderful French Baroque music....

Diapason wrote:

mcq wrote:The Cello Suites are a monument of the cello players' canon but it seems vital, to me, for musicians not to be overly reverent of the music. This is intensely human music, showcasing a breathtaking range of emotions and it seems wrong, to me, to present this as a forbiddingly cold, austere slab of marble. This is music that is imperishable, will never fail to entrance or inspire and exists on a plateau of achievement beyond mere cold abstract purity, born of a very human heart that was intent on presenting moments of the deepest profoundity to its audience using the most common and recognisable dance forms as a vehicle for engaging the emotions of the listener and should be presented as such.

Amen! I feel this way about all of Bach's music, but it's especially true when the music is given the backbone of a dance structure.

I also agree with both of your sentiments but unfortunately and for too long Bach's music was presented otherwise and possibly turned many people off as a result. The treatment of those dance rhythms that you both talk of was exactly what I found (so long ago now!) so revelatory in the interpretation of John Elliot Gardiner's Bach; I find it to be so infused with joy as a result.

Diapason wrote:That's a recording I really admire but don't really enjoy.

I can certainly sympathise with that... the close miking reveals textures in the tone of the cello that are beautiful... I'd love to hear it via your SuperSer...!!!