Tír Na HiFi

great stuff to have on as background music while you're reading a book... ;-)

Jared wrote:

great stuff to have on as background music while you're reading a book... ;-)

I am delighted that you like it Jared....one assumes that the book is the life of Telemann?!?!

Earlier, three Bach suites for cello played wonderfully well on theorbo....

One thing that often strikes me when I listen to the concertos that Vivaldi wrote for those young women of the Ospedale della Pietà was the amazing virtuosity some of them must have possessed in order to play to the required standard.

Jared wrote:

great stuff to have on as background music while you're reading a book... ;-)

Or while preparing EOY accounts, as I'm doing now.
Listening on Spotify but will include the piece on my wish list for Christmas.

BTW, anybody heard the Freiburger Barockorchester version of a couple of years ago. How does it compare?

Mark.

markof wrote:

Jared wrote:

BTW, anybody heard the Freiburger Barockorchester version of a couple of years ago. How does it compare?

Mark.

I also have the Freiburger Barockorchester version Mark and it is also sxcellent. It has a slightly lighter feel to it and the music skips along wonderfully. Once again the playing is impeccable and the recorded sound is great, especially that of the brass. One would be more than satisfied with either set to be honest.

Over the past two nights I've been enjoying immensely two enthralling Monteverdi operas.

Last night I listened to one of my very favourite CD sets, Rene Jacobs's exceptional recording of one of Monteverdi's greatest masterpieces, the incomparable L'incoronazione di Poppea.  A quite extraordinary work of art, its characters live and breathe with a striking realism that sets it far apart from its contemporaries.  Here we see innocence and nobility trampled upon and unbridled ambition rewarded with the ultimate prize.  Earthly pleasures are seized with relish while spiritual ideals are mocked.  The nobility of Octaviaj, the naivety of Ottone and the restrained dignity of Seneca are sharply contrasted with the neurotic ambition of Poppea and the unhinged capriciousness of Nerone.  To my mind, this is one of the highpoints of Jacobs' illustrious conducting career.  Flawlessly sung - particularly by the Nerone of Guillemette Laurens and the Poppea of Danielle Borst, who together project the requisite sense of sensuous decadence in their performances - and dramatically gripping, this is intoxicating stuff.

And tonight I've been listening to La Venexiana's superb version of Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (directed by Claudio Cavina and available on the Glossa label).  This is a very natural, intimate performance that rejects Jacobs' more overt theatricality in favour of something more small scale.  Whereas Jacobs' Monteverdi recordings have impressed me from my very first listen, all of La Venexiana's Monteverdi recordings have taken a few listens to weave their more understated charms into my affections.  What I prize about La Venexiana is their sense of declamatory sincerity, a well of reserved emotion that is more plain-spoken than Jacobs or Alessandrini, yet just as keenly felt. There is more warmth in Jacobs's recording but I find myself more deeply touched by La Venexiana's version which is imbued with a beautiful sense of understated restraint that is patiently cultivated by the conductor, Claudio Cavina.  The closing duet between the reunited Ulisse and Penelope is notable for its delicacy and the sense of eavesdropping upon a very private moment is very touchingly conveyed.

Tonight I listened to the following broadcast from the NCH on Lyric:

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4 in G
Mary Nelson Soprano
Christian Arming - Conducting

I retired to my listening room, book in hand, to listen to this concert, however, I never got any further than the first paragraph as I sat engrossed listening to the entire performance, I enjoyed it immensely.

Koopman´s complete traversal of Buxtehude´s oeuvre is almost finished, only 3 more albums to come, and what an extraordinary experience it has been. These 2 cd set is a feast of cantatas, each and everyone a masterpiece, superbly performed.

mcq wrote:
Last night I listened to one of my very favourite CD sets, Rene Jacobs's exceptional recording of one of Monteverdi's greatest masterpieces, the incomparable L'incoronazione di Poppea.  A quite extraordinary work of art, its characters live and breathe with a striking realism that sets it far apart from its contemporaries.  Here we see innocence and nobility trampled upon and unbridled ambition rewarded with the ultimate prize.  Earthly pleasures are seized with relish while spiritual ideals are mocked.  The nobility of Octaviaj, the naivety of Ottone and the restrained dignity of Seneca are sharply contrasted with the neurotic ambition of Poppea and the unhinged capriciousness of Nerone.  To my mind, this is one of the highpoints of Jacobs' illustrious conducting career.  Flawlessly sung - particularly by the Nerone of Guillemette Laurens and the Poppea of Danielle Borst, who together project the requisite sense of sensuous decadence in their performances - and dramatically gripping, this is intoxicating stuff.

That is both interesting and timely Paul as I was just about to schedule a listen to L'incoronazione di Poppea soon [Gardiner]. As I was putting it on the scheduled playlist I was also contemplating buying another version. I had been considering the Hickox version but the Jacobs seems like a very good idea.