What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. X)

On double cassette:

Brilliant new album from John Fullbright - great follow up album - superb songwriter -

Recently bought vinyl...

Nick Cave "Boatman's Call". It's 30 degrees Celsius outside and I'm chilling out inside. Never too hot to enjoy good music.

Streaming | FLAC rip

Some solid R&B.

Streaming | FLAC rip

CD 1 of 2

Remastered vinyl...

"Pal Judy" by Judy Nylon. One of my favourite albums of the post-punk era (it was released by ROIR on tape in 1982). This is the 1990 reissue. Cassette seems the best way to enjoy this seminal album, so into the Nak it goes.

Streaming | FLAC rip

Stevee not quite the same but give this a go on spotify .

Purson- The Circle and the Blue Door.

On CD:-

Dear Kuma,

This venerable recording [of the Six Brandenburg Concertos] is one of four that have remained with me for decades now. I first knew them on 78s, then LPs, and then two different EMI sets on CDs. 

The best issue so far is the newest one on CD, though the masters have been used a huge amount over the years and no restoration can ever alter the fact that there is some audible wear in the recording itself.

The story behind these recordings is a curious one. EMI were not keen to record them, as they had only a year or two earlier recorded the famous set under the direction of Cortot, the great pianist in Paris.

Busch was more or less loaned the studio and recording team, and he financed the players out of his own pocket. When the recordings were done it was obvious that EMI had a brilliant new recording that has indeed stood the test of time. I don't think it has ever been unavailable since it was first released - hence the wear in the master parts!

The trumpet player in the Second Concerto had a special high piccolo trumpet made to play in the concerts of this music with Busch, and the Times [of London] described this trumpet playing [in the concert at the Queens Hall] as being the most exciting trumpet player the reviewer had ever heard. It was breaking new ground at the time.

Of course Rudolf Serkin [Adolf Busch's son in law] played a piano in the continuo and also the solo part in the Fifth concerto, but he makes a very good case for the music fitting the possibilities of the piano very well indeed.

The Sixth Concerto deviates most from Bach's original instrumentation in that the two violas da gamba solo parts are assigned to cellos. But as a practical way of playing the music at a time when competent gamba players were almost as rare hen's teeth, it works very well.

I find I listen to this old recording as much as the other three sets put together. These are Mogens Woldike, [EMI in Copenhagen about 1950], Klemperer, [Philharmonia chamber group in London, 1960], and the best of all, being Hans Martin Linde [for EMI/Virgin about 1980].

Do you like this old performance? I see you listening to a much more recent recording a bit later on?

ATB from George

  First listen, enjoyable.

Thanks Steve, I don't know the band or album I will give them a go.

Reference an earlier post of yours I think that Jeff Beck @ Ronnie Scott's is just great and if you get a chance to see it on DVD or SKY Arts 1 HD it is fabulous watching the man "at work"

Streaming | FLAC rip

Double Vinyl complete soundtrack from Head Records Belfast

Frank Black  - Fast Man Raider Man -  2cd.

'35 recording of Busch Chamber Player's Brandenburg. A young Serkin is credited for playing a continuo.

Originally Posted by George J:
Do you like this old performance? I see you listening to a much more recent recording a bit later on?

George,

I find Busch's Brandenburg has a tinge of rose coloured hues. I wish there was a better clarity in hte midrage. This Uk pressing of Angel LP is in excellent condition and it's reasonably detailed but overall distant soiunding particularly horns are too muted.

Performance wise, it's clearer note delivery and more rhythmically in tune than Casals set ('49 recording ) but I found it's got a rose tinted view on things and uneven.

The musicans create more personality and intimate perspective rather than just pushing notes.

Having said that, my favourite so far on the Brandenburg are Rainer and Klemperer. Maybe because Busch is better at playing than conducting plus in the case of Klemperer he had an access to the *A-list* talents for the recording. 

Surprised that Reiner’s got the yen for a delicate chamber music like this. It has a real nice ebb and flow in that easy to get into the groove for me. Adagio gets Reiner’s beautifully sculpted with colourful dynamic expressions. 

Upbeat and rhythmic but avoids sounding mechanical like many others even with a harpsichord.

Klemperer set was worth waiting for. ( I am only a half way through, tho )

Coming off from Busch Players, it is much livelier and has much better rhythmic pulse as at last I am feeling a heart beat behind the notes. As Reiner set, this is well mapped out and well crafted. There is a sense of order and structure which I prefer than a free style. His direction is clear but never astringent. Adagio in No.6 is truly heart felt finally giving a moving story out of this slow number. And I don't even mind that he used a harpsichord instead of a piano because it was nicely integrated into the music. In many of the recordings it sounds like cheap aluminum foil garlands on a fake Christmas tree. 

I have a few newer Brandenburg CDs but I need to save them for some other time. I can't take too much Bach in one sitting but this was a nice change of pace after a series of heavy Mussorgsky and über romantic Chopin pieces.