John,

I had forgot how bloody good this album is.

You should have mail about the CD pressings.

Stu.

Yesterday afternoon I listened to Darknesse Visible, the new album from Inon Barnatan that I just received Friday.  I really enjoyed Barnatan's Schubert disc from 2006 so I knew what to expect and was looking forward to this.  The timing could not have been better as the dark storm clouds approached and rumbles of glorious thunder set the stage.   The performance was enhanced by the strength and might of torrents of rain, hail, wind, lightening and thunder that shook the house rather well and significantly at least three times when nearly overhead.  Maybe my love of this sort of weather (cloudy, grey, stormy) makes it impossible to be impartial of such things but I swear that my highest musical pleasure (both my state of mind and sonically) comes when it is raining / damp outside.  A corollary to this fact is that maybe my electricity gets purer as a result of all the Naim owners around the world shutting down there systems during storms, ha, ha.  Besides, several years ago the house four doors away was hit and it started a fire during a lightening storm.  It happens to be the highest house on the street so I'll just keep assuming that lightening is attracted to higher objects only or is it that Naim equipment is sanctified?  I do like to live dangerously...

Many people incorrectly mistake darkness in music for evil or wickedness.  Actually, in my view it is quite the opposite.  Just as with this album cover you should understand that it means that within the darkness or various muted shades thereof you are shining light specifically on something very interesting or worth talking about.  This follows from my love of minor keys which happen to be darker but very interesting, whereas, I generally (my opinion only) find major keys to be happier or rosier but effectively, substantially more uninteresting or apathetic.

I want to say Barnatan's Gaspard de la nuit is less macabre and more impressionistic than your typical rendering but that may not be accurate.  The harmonies are not so much blurred and out of focus as the colouring and details are to be found in abundance throughout, yet, that is what I sense when listening to this.  One could be fooled into thinking you were listening to something from Debussy's Preludes.  I also get the sense that Barnatan has thoughtfully considered every last note & detail which should go without saying for any musician (but might be rarer than you think) but whatever the case, I like the playing of Inon Barnatan very much.

B.B.A - Spirit of the Century

Quality album Stu - back in my teenaged years ('76 or thereabouts) I was hooked on "The Dance" from that album. Must dig out my copy and relive some memories - thanks for the reminder.

It's raining outside (so where better to be but in front of the system), a nice bottle of champagne, roast in the oven and a stack of beautiful Blue Note Music Matters 45RPM's.

This is a lovely record.

Will do EJ.

45RPMs, Adrian? You must have been microwaving your roast..  

Sunny and very warm here. French Suites played by Gould before taking a run which is going to be a low RPM affair due to the heat and humidity.

Jake Shimabukuro
While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Radio Paradise

Haim, the roast is slow roasting - smells good.. Now I guess your CD is doing some 500RPM at the moment. Hard work in that heat.

Now I am onto some groovy organ, vibes and guitar with Grant Green

Tatsuro Yamashita: Greatest Hits!

A perfect tune for this sunny summer day.

夏への扉 (THE DOOR INTO SUMMER)

We had 14 inchs of rain in the past 24 hours. A record 2nd most rainfall since records were kept.

The Levee is about to break.

I'm Audi.

JN,

Its this wonderful album.

Not cheap to buy on CD now though.

Stu.

Recordings:  no.41 in 1961, and no.40 in 1960

CD - Karussel UK Ltd © 1993

One day i'll get to hear the Otto K version...

until then i'll carry on enjoying the Fricsay : )

Just love it, i couldn't find a cover-art picture so i blue-takked the cd sleeve to the kitchen cupboard and took a snap.

It's still available brand new via Amazon uk (other sellers) for £25 or from the pre-owned other sellers for just a few quid which is an even better bargain.

(Oddly enough: no cover picture on Amazon - it's also advertized as...

Symphonies 40 & 44 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Audio CD - 1993)

Okay, should be 41 not 44 but who knows really how many Symphs Mozart actually wrote?

Debs

The Beach Boys - The SMiLE Sessions (24/88 HDtracks)

I had already bought the box set containing five CDs, two vinyl albums, two vinyl singles and a book so I was eager to hear how the HiRes version sounded. The construction of a 'SMiLE' album, based on Brian Wilson's 2004 project was mixed in mono. Mark Linnet obviously thought that this was the most authentic way to present these recordings. With the HDtracks version, there is some added clarity on the mono tracks, which makes this download worth having. The tracks that Mark Linnet mixed in stereo really benefit from the higher resolution. Whichever version you listen to, the importance of 'SMiLE' cannot be underestimated. It remains a milestone in the history of recorded popular music.

Recommended download from HDtracks!

I need this race and what a race  it was. This one if for you young man. Well done Hamilton!

A little Brahms to go along with some rain...

...and now I'm leaning toward being in a mood for some Rachmaninov played by Ekaterina Mechetina:

...and some more.  Why not?  Corelli Variations go very well with the weather.  In the accompanying DVD with a short interview with Arghamanyan with this it is interesting that she rightly points out that earlier composers (especially classical period and earlier) really did not divulge too many secrets about themselves through their music and kept their cards close to their chest, so to speak.  I couldn't agree more except that I would rank Beethoven and Schubert as the turning points in this.  Beethoven being with one foot on either side of the line and Schubert being maybe the first to be willingly and somewhat transparent.  I include Beethoven as I find his music could be very personal at times although we know that Beethoven was very clear about the fact that he couldn't accept or stand the mixing of emotions and music.

I've talked myself into some Schubert now.

CD9...

Rimsky-Korsakov ~ Scheherazade

Rudolf Schulz violin

Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (1956)

Franck ~ Variations symphoniques

Margrit Weber piano

Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (1957)