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bombasticDarren wrote:Stanford - Symphony No.3 Irish (David Lloyd-Jones, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Naxos)

I do like Stanford's music, the Llyod Jones and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performances are very enjoyable.

After recording Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel with period instruments, Jos van Immerseel now turns to Debussy.
Do period instruments matter in music as late as this? Well, not really. You will have to listen very hard to detect a different quality in the string sound, since gut strings were still being used in the first half of the 20th Century. The bassoons were also somewhat different, as late as the 1970´s L´ Orchestre de Paris was still using the early French version of the instrument, till Baremboim insisted in switching to the German bassoon.
So don´t expect a different, period sound, but the performances are very good in their own right, after all many members of the Concertgebouw are playing in this recording.

Jose Echenique wrote:

It´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and it´s time to play our Christmas cds.
This was one of the major Christmas music discoveries last year. Christoph Graupner is no longer an obscure composer, and these Christmas cantatas (it´s misleading to call them an oratorio) show why. It´s gorgeous music with a character all it´s own, you could never confuse Graupner with Bach or Telemann.
The recording is superb and now this is indispensable Christmas time listening.

Please keep the Christmas recommendations coming - I'm working on a playlist for the season and need help.

Sure, besides the Messiahs and Bach Christmas Oratorios, here are some recommendations, all wonderful recordings

For Renaissance Christmas Music this is wonderful. There used to be a similar recording with Pro Cantione Antiqua London conducted by the great Bruno Turner in the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label which I like even better, but I believe that sadly it´s out of print. Anyway, the Tallis Scholars are great too.

The CPO label has dozens of rare but really marvelous Christmas music, among them are these:

Barber - Violin Concerto & Souvenirs (Robert McDuffie/Yoel Levi, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Telarc)

Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique (Myung-Whun Chung, Orchestre de l'Opera Bastille, Deutsche Grammophon)