What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2017
2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Mary Chapin Carpenter - Age Of Miracles
Now....Melody Gardot - Currency Of Man
Both very different but both captivating in their own way.
I'm sure we've all heard this many times but its the first time I've listened with my current set up . Whilst packing things away for my builders imminent arrival I found this CD that had been missing behind a bookshelf . I immediately loaded it to the Core and took a break . Wow , it sounds fantastic and original as ever . It took me straight back to the first time I heard it on a Sony Walkman early 80s , a borrowed cassette late one evening which freaked me out (12 years old ) with all that banging on doors / windows sounding so real !!! Give it a spin if its overdue .
On CD:-
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Angela Hewitt - Bach: Tocattas
From Amazon:
A toccata--from the Italian word meaning "to touch"--was originally a glorified keyboard warm-up, in which scales and arpeggios were tossed off with improvisatory abandon. But as Angela Hewitt shows, Bach's youthful forays into this genre were finely wrought gems, masterpieces in miniature. This dazzling CD matches the extraordinarily high standards she has set herself in the complete keyboard Bach she is building up year by year. Her touch is springy and muscular, her pulse rock-steady; the more anarchic Bach's fancy becomes, the more rigorously she controls its expression. Taking her cue from the absence of autograph manuscripts, she puts these works into a satisfying running order, so we can savor them as we would at a recital. The liner notes are--as usual with this coruscating communicator--a performance in themselves. Musical commentary is seldom so fresh, or so illuminating for those who want to follow in her footsteps. And yes, she makes a brilliant case for the piano in Bach: in these 65 glorious minutes, there's not one dull moment.
Jeroen20 posted:Angela Hewitt - Bach: Tocattas
From Amazon:
A toccata--from the Italian word meaning "to touch"--was originally a glorified keyboard warm-up, in which scales and arpeggios were tossed off with improvisatory abandon. But as Angela Hewitt shows, Bach's youthful forays into this genre were finely wrought gems, masterpieces in miniature. This dazzling CD matches the extraordinarily high standards she has set herself in the complete keyboard Bach she is building up year by year. Her touch is springy and muscular, her pulse rock-steady; the more anarchic Bach's fancy becomes, the more rigorously she controls its expression. Taking her cue from the absence of autograph manuscripts, she puts these works into a satisfying running order, so we can savor them as we would at a recital. The liner notes are--as usual with this coruscating communicator--a performance in themselves. Musical commentary is seldom so fresh, or so illuminating for those who want to follow in her footsteps. And yes, she makes a brilliant case for the piano in Bach: in these 65 glorious minutes, there's not one dull moment.
Angela is very often my go to person when I want to listen to Bach on piano...
Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) | György Fischer (piano)
Arie antiche | Se tu m'ami
My partisan views in music are not calculated nor do I follow anyone else's direction nor feel the need find consensus among the 'progessive' views of the day. I simply follow my heart.
In this regard, I tend to not enjoy happy music as much as I enjoy profound, contemplative, sad, and spiritually challenging music. In general, this means I am mostly attracted to music in the minor key mode. Most albums and most composers has some degree of both but major keys obviously outdid minor keys in the baroque era.
To reinforce the point, notice in the following assessment that composers like Vivaldi spent their effort on writing hits for the good characters (usually in major key mode) and picked music in existence written for the villians (usually in a minor key mode).
"Sposa son disprezzata" ("I am wife and I am scorned") is an Italian aria written by Geminiano Giacomelli. It is used in Vivaldi's pasticcio, Bajazet.
The music for this aria was not composed by Vivaldi. The aria, originally called Sposa, non mi conosci, was taken from the Geminiano Giacomelli's opera La Merope (1734), composed before Vivaldi's pasticcio Bajazet. It was a common practice during Vivaldi's time to compile arias from other composers with one own's work for an opera. Vivaldi himself composed the arias for the good characters and mostly used existing arias from other composers for the villains in this opera. "Sposa son disprezzata" is sung by a villain character, Irene. Vivaldi has recently been attributed as the composer of the work, perhaps because Cecilia Bartoli's album "If You Love Me—'Se tu m'ami': Eighteenth-Century Italian Songs," which uses Alessandro Parisotti's 19th-century piano version, attributes the work solely to Vivaldi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sposa_son_disprezzata
As you can see, Geminiano Giacomelli actually wrote Sposa son disprezzata but on this album they erroneously attribute it to Vivaldi.
So my point is that for me, here we have an album full of mostly happy, upbeat, quick tempo songs which more correctly represent the Baroque ideals but it is a gem such as Sposa son disprezzata that attracts me. So much so that I simply cannot listen to any other pieces on the album that are not similarly as profound.
Listen to the clip below as evidence. Even though there are several cases of poor sound quality at the beginning this is a religious experience for me. Especially, after the 3' mark to the end. It is beyond eroticism and this is what the best music gives without exception.
Find a nice quiet time late this evening and watch / listen. If you are moved to tears then you understand too.
Passenger - The Boy Who Cried Wolf
I can't remember who posted this originally but it is lovely.
Beethoven Sonatas Op 57 (Appassionata) and Op 10 No 3 - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Another LP from Oxfam for £1.99 a few years ago.
I've also been playing the Barenboim Sonatas (HQS 1206) on EMI
No 9 in E major, Op 14, No 1
No 10 in G major, Op 14 No 2
No 12 in A flat major, Op 26
But this one beats that recording hands down. Of course Appassionata is much more well known, but this recording is absolutely tip top and draws you in from the beginning. I love his playing which is so fluid combining subtle lightness with power as required. The Barenboim recording just seemed to plod through with little excitement.
Phil
Still on a Holger trip: original UK vinyl (1981):
(2017)
A couple of singles remixed from their latest Mirage album ahead of this summer's UK gigs.
still in a plucking state of mind..
and the latest Jonny Lang to see if it is a patch on his early stuff
(2009)
Because I like to give this an airing once or twice a year. Lovely haunting Scandi' electronica, sometimes dark with great hooks, psychedelic and wonderful. It's a crying shame she never followed it up.
Jah Wobble. The Edge. Holger Czukay. From the album Snakecharmer
PaulM160 posted:and the latest Jonny Lang to see if it is a patch on his early stuff
Paul, let us know what you think. I am a fan especially of his earlier stuff and would be very interested in your thoughts on this.
Dexter Gordon - Manhattan symphonie
(2013)
Their last release to date, as ever they offer up that wonderful Shpongleness, once bitten by them you will never regret it. 
lutyens posted:PaulM160 posted:and the latest Jonny Lang to see if it is a patch on his early stuff
Paul, let us know what you think. I am a fan especially of his earlier stuff and would be very interested in your thoughts on this.
Just had a first run through; it is not a bad album with some definite strong tracks but not quite up to his early stuff - still worth a listen to take a view though.
Stevee_S posted:
(2013)
Their last release to date, as ever they offer up that wonderful Shpongleness, once bitten by them you will never regret it.
yep, badly bitten here Steve. Had the first album on my headphones today while working.
PaulM160 posted:Stevee_S posted:
(2013)
Their last release to date, as ever they offer up that wonderful Shpongleness, once bitten by them you will never regret it.
yep, badly bitten here Steve. Had the first album on my headphones today while working.
Good on yer 
Paul, have you had a chance to sample Simon's Hallucinogen albums yet?
So loud and sweet 
The late great bassman and sampling supremo. UK first press.
Stevee_S posted:PaulM160 posted:Stevee_S posted:
(2013)
Their last release to date, as ever they offer up that wonderful Shpongleness, once bitten by them you will never regret it.
yep, badly bitten here Steve. Had the first album on my headphones today while working.
Good on yer
yes indeed.....younger brother, you name it (& you probably have), they get added to my growing listening/purchasing list!
PaulM160 posted:Stevee_S posted:PaulM160 posted:Stevee_S posted:
(2013)
Their last release to date, as ever they offer up that wonderful Shpongleness, once bitten by them you will never regret it.
yep, badly bitten here Steve. Had the first album on my headphones today while working.
Good on yer
yes indeed.....younger brother, you name it (& you probably have
Good stuff, nice to know someone else is "diggin it".