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

Anna Gourrari: Brahms Intermezzo op. 118/2

ewemon posted:

Borders Nick posted:

First track of her upcoming album - available via Tidal.

Sounds fantastic - making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up !  Straight into second play.

This album will be a belter if this track is representative 

Great track and wish I could tell you about the rest of the album but unfortunately my lips are sealed.

Hmm ..  Curious  now - I take it you have connections in the business ?  Musician , music journalist  ???? .  Just being nosey 

A blend of Jazz & hip hop etc assembled from 48 hours of live improv apparently - astonishing.

On a signed vinyl copy (the cover that is, not the LP!)

Back to more familiar territory

fatcat posted:

Tony2011 posted:

CD rip -WAV

Not sure but I think this was the first time the complete work had been played in its entirety and recorded. I don't think it had been available in any other format before this release.

 

Tony,

I have an old 3 x LP boxset of the Messiah, can't remember whose composing, but it's very good.

I was surprised I managed to listen to all three discs without getting bored, but I must admit I find Handel very easy to listen too.

The problem with Messiah is that it was so frequent;y performed in Handel’s time that there are so many [composer made] versions that one is struck with an immediate decision. Which variant? And by the time of Mozart in Germany he made a [Mozart] modern recomposition including a new version for Orchestra. In England Mozart’s version was widely adopted ... And enlarged upon ...

The Messiah may indeed the most performed [complete] piece of music in Western Art Music though one could never prove it.

Many editions have been made from Handel’s own [variants] but probably the best performing edition was by Watkins Shaw, as this is both a critical edition [literal] and a practical performing text [how it works], which also shows suitable [optional] period ornamentation. Edition Novello.

The first almost complete recording was conducted by Thomas Beecham on 78s in 1928. It has been recorded hundreds of times since, on 78s, LPs and CDs.

Hope that helps.

Volume 1, Love Songs, from this peach of a box set. Along with a glass of sherry, this should help me recover my relaxed mood after this afternoon's disappointing football results.

Blackfield eponymous first album on poor 180g vinyl. This is a really nice album which I've not really been able to enjoy properly owing to the dreadful pressing quality. This is the first of two copies I have currently. The second was even worse. They both have visible staining on the vinyl which is audible as a scraping noise on every revolution. Sadly, I have not been impressed with K-Scope's quality control, either on CD or vinyl. They're both going back. 

My favourite Genesis album.

Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA

Gianluigi Mazzorana posted:

Henry Mancini: Sunflower soundtrack  1970 release

Good film as weel!

Gianluigi,

Was it a hit in Italy?

It was a mega hit in Japan and still is! ( I'd say this was on the same level as  weepy Love Story in the US )

George Fredrik Fiske posted:

fatcat posted:

Tony2011 posted:

CD rip -WAV

Not sure but I think this was the first time the complete work had been played in its entirety and recorded. I don't think it had been available in any other format before this release.

 

Tony,

I have an old 3 x LP boxset of the Messiah, can't remember whose composing, but it's very good.

I was surprised I managed to listen to all three discs without getting bored, but I must admit I find Handel very easy to listen too.

The problem with Messiah is that it was so frequent;y performed in Handel’s time that there are so many [composer made] versions that one is struck with an immediate decision. Which variant? And by the time of Mozart in Germany he made a [Mozart] modern recomposition including a new version for Orchestra. In England Mozart’s version was widely adopted ... And enlarged upon ...

The Messiah may indeed the most performed [complete] piece of music in Western Art Music though one could never prove it.

Many editions have been made from Handel’s own [variants] but probably the best performing edition was by Watkins Shaw, as this is both a critical edition [literal] and a practical performing text [how it works], which also shows suitable [optional] period ornamentation. Edition Novello.

The first almost complete recording was conducted by Thomas Beecham on 78s in 1928. It has been recorded hundreds of times since, on 78s, LPs and CDs.

Hope that helps.

George, 

Thank you for the enlightenment. I was led to believe that most modern  recordings miss the duet no. 50 that Handel, after the original premiere,  had cut from 41 to 24 bars, which was included in Marriner's performance.

As you,  and FC above,  kindly and gently put it , it is easy on the ears and Handel would probably be on Top of The Pops or Hit Parade, (some here are too young to remember those days) had he been  alive today.

Tony

Dear Tony,

Most recordings take whole numbers [sections] out, not least because Handel’s own performances at different times included new sections and left out others, or included completely new versions of old sections. 

One of the most delightful, but almost never heard is the 12/8 version of Rejoice, which was performed only a few times by Handel, but is included in the Basil Lamb edition performed on HMV by MacKerrass in 1966 ...

There is no entirely definitive performing version of Messiah. Shaw offers perhaps fifty choices in his critical edition ... Each painstakingly annotated.

Among my favourites are Klemperer with the Philharmonia, which is about as fine as the old school goes with many modern touches, and extreme adherence to the unadorned Handel text as shown by Watkins Shaw, and Trevor Pinnock, which brings a remarkable warmth and Baroque stylishness to working out Watkins Shaw’s performing notions, which as yet have not been supplanted. Many choices made in each case ...

Sargent made five recordings - all in the old style taking in Mozart’s reworking of Handel’s music, and further “improvements" while avoiding any consideration of Handel’s original intent. ... apart from Grandeur!

Marriner is one of those entirely  competent conductors [very fine violinist also] who would also do their own research, and it is no surprise that he found some small cut [or another] in Handel’s original manuscript, but it is hardly a decider in the case of this music.

Very best wishes from George

George Fredrik Fiske posted:

Dear Tony,

Most recordings take whole numbers [sections] out, not least because Handel’s own performances at different times included new sections and left out others, or included completely new versions of old sections. 

One of the most delightful, but almost never heard is the 12/8 version of Rejoice, which was performed only a few times by Handel, but is included in the Basil Lamb edition performed on HMV by MacKerrass in 1966 ...

There is no entirely definitive performing version of Messiah. Shaw offers perhaps fifty choices in his critical edition ... Each painstakingly annotated.

Among my favourites are Klemperer with the Philharmonia, which is about as fine as the old school goes with many modern touches, and extreme adherence to the unadorned Handel text as shown by Watkins Shaw, and Trevor Pinnock, which brings a remarkable warmth and Baroque stylishness to working out Watkins Shaw’s performing notions, which as yet have not been supplanted. Many choices made in each case ...

Sargent made five recordings - all in the old style taking in Mozart’s reworking of Handel’s music, and further “improvements" while avoiding any consideration of Handel’s original intent. ... apart from Grandeur!

Marriner is one of those entirely  competent conductors [very fine violinist also] who would also do their own research, and it is no surprise that he found some small cut [or another] in Handel’s original manuscript, but it is hardly a decider in the case of this music.

Very best wishes from George

George,

Thank you once again for the insight and taking the time to expand on your previous post. Your knowledge and passion, specially when you mention Klemperer, is always welcome. 

Many thanks and  best wishes for the new year.

Tony

Highly recommended, one of ECM's very best.

Speaking of ECM, this is one of my latest acquisitions, and is quite superb. Jazz with electronics and wonderful sound. 

Streaming | Deezer Elite

(2011)

Dipping into this 2 CD album for the first time, I did not know it existed until a little while ago!

Haim Ronen posted:

 

i could easily buy this and other similar albums right now -- but i have been buying too many CDs lately so need to take a break...

great music...

enjoy

ken

The Beatles. Revolver (1966). On vinyl from the MFSL collection 1982. One of the better albums from this set for SQ. Quite vibrant with well defined bass.