Tír Na HiFi

On vinyl....





....a powerful performance as one would expect from the Lindsays

Richly enjoying Corelli's glorious Violin Sonatas this evening as performed by Pavlo Beznosiuk and his Avison Ensemble (available on the Linn label).  I really enjoyed this ensemble's recording of Corelli's Concerti Grossi and admired their elegant and refined approach to these masterpieces but I was a little lax in picking up their recording of the violin sonatas.  However, I was listening yesterday to Andrew Manze's and Richard Egarr's classic version of these works and I found myself enraptured by this deeply-felt and incredibly moving music and I decided to purchase the Avison version today.  The main difference between the two versions is in the instrumental textures which, in addition to the harpsichord and violin on the Egarr/Manze recording, are embellished by the incorporation of organ, archlute and guitar into the mix.    The result is one of the most entrancing CDs I've heard this year.  

The more I hear Corelli's work, the more convinced I am that he is the true craftsman of the Italian Baroque.  His body of work is significantly smaller than Vivaldi's but everything the man produced was touched with genius.  There is a tenderness and emotional warmth to the man's writing which eschews any kind of empty, showy virtuosity.  Corelli was a master violinist and taught many violinist-composers such as Locatelli, Geminiani and, most notably, Vivaldi, but I think the relative paucity of his creative output as well as the self-evident craftsmanship of his compositions tell us a great deal about what must have been a modest, reserved man who appeared to be more interested in instilling a formal clarity and classical elegance into his music which never comes at the expense of emotional expressivity.  Personally, I can't imagine Bach and Handel and Vivaldi composing their instrumental masterworks without studying at length the works of this master.

mcq wrote:Richly enjoying Corelli's glorious Violin Sonatas this evening as performed by Pavlo Beznosiuk and his Avison Ensemble (available on the Linn label).  I really enjoyed this ensemble's recording of Corelli's Concerti Grossi and admired their elegant and refined approach to these masterpieces but I was a little lax in picking up their recording of the violin sonatas.  However, I was listening yesterday to Andrew Manze's and Richard Egarr's classic version of these works and I found myself enraptured by this deeply-felt and incredibly moving music and I decided to purchase the Avison version today.  The main difference between the two versions is in the instrumental textures which, in addition to the harpsichord and violin on the Egarr/Manze recording, are embellished by the incorporation of organ, archlute and guitar into the mix.    The result is one of the most entrancing CDs I've heard this year.  

I have the Andrew Manze's and Richard Egarr version Paul and Beznosiuk's treatment of these works with the additional instrumentation sounds most intriguing.

I would agree with you on the value and importance of Corelli's legacy.

Spohr's Clarinet Concertos Nos. 2 & 4....

My listening is all over the place recently and here I am back to high Baroque with Georg Muffat....

And finally back to the 18th century with Manfredini....





These are very charming works that are packed full of melody. It is music that is leaving Telemann and Vivaldi behind and is heading in the direction of Haydn and Mozart and is a nice mix of the elegance of Haydn and the vitality of Vivaldi.

Back to Boccherini....

Debussy's La Mer from this CD....

How many female composers (with the possible exception of Hildegard Von Bingen) do you have in your collection? Here is one for you; Barbara Strozzi (1619-1664)....





Beautiful singing from the Soprano, Judith Nelson and William Christie plays harpsichord accompaniment!

fergus wrote:How many female composers (with the possible exception of Hildegard Von Bingen) do you have in your collection? Here is one for you; Barbara Strozzi (1619-1664)....

Composers of classical music? None, I'm afraid, not even anything by Fanny Mendelssohn or Clara Schumann.