Future of CD; A worthless pile of plastic, or ... ?

[Music freak]

I've seen Terfel live doing the Ring many times and I have to say I think his Wotan is excellent. I confess I've never been to Bayreuth. Of course he isn't Hans Hotter, but who is? I feel the lack of a great living Brunnhilde and Siegfried more keenly.

" (or at least many parts of it before he pulls out)."


Didn't Terfel, also pull out of doing the big starring role Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersingers in Sydney at a very late stage -some years ago ?

There are countless other singers that have recorded Wotan in Wagner's Ring that leave Terfel's attempts (captured & released so far -on DVD and Blu-ray) 'in the shade' Beside Hans Hotter's ( said by many -less thn perfect) turn as Wotan in the famous Solti Decca Ring, Hotter -in any case- was captured on the Testament label - Ring in 1955 (in early stereo!) in far better voice. Plus there are countless performers others that Hotter , who have recorded ,excellent vocal examples of Wotan. People like Thomas Stewart, George London (in Rheingold & Walkure) , James Morris ( two versions ) ,Norman Baily, and Theo Adam.

Yes, we do need a new true living Brunnhilde. Too may times ,record companies have paraded an assortment of pushed and trumped -up mezzos who 'attacked too often- from under the right note - as they tried to be a Brunnhilde .
In the past, on record, we were spoilt with the real thing - Nillson, Varney, Modl, Hunter and Flagstad.

 

[ultraviolet]

I remember putting all my VHS cassettes into several bin bags, the arrival of recordable DVD had brought that love affair to an end.

 

[mercalia]

I remember putting all my VHS cassettes into several bin bags, the arrival of recordable DVD had brought that love affair to an end.

and now you about to do the same with them when u put onto harddiscs?

re VHS, they looked so good at the time ( on a crt tv ) didnt they - now if you watch any you wonder why you bothered? they are so not good

 

[formbypc]

re VHS, they looked so good at the time ( on a crt tv ) didnt they - now if you watch any you wonder why you bothered? they are so not good

Well, when I watch any of mine, I'm glad I bothered to record those music programmes that the BBC used to be SO good at, and that never made it onto any kind of official release ... and since I took care of them, they look pretty darn good, actually....

 

[ultraviolet]

and now you about to do the same with them when u put onto harddiscs?

re VHS, they looked so good at the time ( on a crt tv ) didnt they - now if you watch any you wonder why you bothered? they are so not good

Think I'll have my CD collection for quite a while yet.

I must admit I wish I had a PC back then, all those TV shows and clips of my favourite bands and celebrities accumulated over the years. Managed to get a few clips onto DVD but with so many tapes I gave up.

Now I know how the BBC felt when they were wiping their tapes.

 

[Minio]

Pre recorded VHS were fairly awful mostly down to machine variance and tracking error.

However tapes recorded on your own machine were nice picture quality.

 

[mercalia]

Think I'll have my CD collection for quite a while yet.

I must admit I wish I had a PC back then, all those TV shows and clips of my favourite bands and celebrities accumulated over the years. Managed to get a few clips onto DVD but with so many tapes I gave up.

Now I know how the BBC felt when they were wiping their tapes.

Before I started using Microsoft Media Center software to record tv ( Windows 7 or 8.1 NOT 10 - has been pulled on 10 as they dont want any competition for their xbox "media center lol" ) on a dedicated home theatre pc I had to use a Humax Freeview box to record them ,then manually transfer to DVD in real time thru scart, then to my pc to edit - that was a horrible experience as often the Humax box lost lipsync so had to keep an eye on the transfer, couldnt go away and come back in an hours time - Thats what you would have had to do with your VHS I suppose so think your self lucky you couldnt! I must have been MAD

 

[mercalia]

Pre recorded VHS were fairly awful mostly down to machine variance and tracking error.

However tapes recorded on your own machine were nice picture quality.

on limited resolution crt tvs yes which were so grainy that the grain made them look good and sharp lol. Try playing back on a modern lcd and you'll see what I mean

 

[formbypc]

Terfel's attempt at Wotan, was lacking in stature , both regarding his 'half- baked character acting and vocally . To actually see as well as hear a hailed singer, taking cheap short cuts in vocal technique to get through a role ......... entire production is coupled "or crippled" with a soprano as Brunnhilde that was 'essaying ' her role which extend across 3 of the 4 parts of the Ring - for the first time.

I have no idea what is meant by 'essaying'. The only two versions of The Ring that I have are the 'without words' versions. I think what turns many folk away from it are the groaning basses and baritones, wailing sopranos, and the wandering, meandering nature of it. It's lacking in good tunes for the vocalists, and surely that's what an Opera (or Music Drama) needs....?

Yes, there's some dramatic music, and some storming, stirring climaxes, but I have to ask myself if the applause following such climaxes is from satisfaction, or from relief at having made it to the end ...... why on Earth he had to doggedly insist that The Rheingold (for instance) COULDN'T have an intermission within its 3.5 hours, I have no idea....

 

[mercalia]

...................

Yes, there's some dramatic music, and some storming, stirring climaxes, but I have to ask myself if the applause following such climaxes is from satisfaction, or from relief at having made it to the end ...... why on Earth he had to doggedly insist that The Rheingold (for instance) COULDN'T have an intermission within its 3.5 hours, I have no idea....

one reason I dont go to concerts - I always fall asleep at some point

 

[bownose]

cloud storage is lighter

 

[Music freak]

I have no idea what is meant by 'essaying'. The only two versions of The Ring that I have are the 'without words' versions. I think what turns many folk away from it are the groaning basses and baritones, wailing sopranos, and the wandering, meandering nature of it. It's lacking in good tunes for the vocalists, and surely that's what an Opera (or Music Drama) needs....?

Yes, there's some dramatic music, and some storming, stirring climaxes, but I have to ask myself if the applause following such climaxes is from satisfaction, or from relief at having made it to the end ...... why on Earth he had to doggedly insist that The Rheingold (for instance) COULDN'T have an intermission within its 3.5 hours, I have no idea....

What I meant by "simply essaying" is : when a listener twigs a singer " is attempting to just sing all the notes, but as for caring or having the slightest idea about / or meaning of the content of the associated words - it is 'neither here nor there to them." It can be put down to many factors...simple miscasting....slipping technique ...vocal inability to interpret or sustain a role throughout its length.... overworked...or being lazy or just "thick".
Wagner's operas' are not built to be "tunes" , unlike I;E baroque and bel canto style - where the singer pulls the show up to show-off their 'mouth wash' throat gargling attributes'
..

The singers' vocal contributions in Wagner - are an integral part of the entire orchestral musical fabric. As for your mention of Rheingold...(3.5 hours duration???.) If it was a conductor like the forever snail-pacing Reginald Goodall, searching for his own non-existent self- made profundity ...even he, only went to 173 minutes on his recorded live version
Most conductors in Rheingold , are around the 2 and 1/2 hour mark at the max. Complaining why didn't Wagner allow any intermission in Rheingold is like asking Broadway shows like Man of La Mancha or A Chorus Line etc. (which virtually have the same running time as Rheingold) to have had, an interval too


It is nothing for people used to Wagner to listen to a couple of his operas. back to back -in one session.

 

[Minstrel SE]

I treasure my cds so its entirely down to the individual. Rip them or dont rip them. I wouldnt store them in the loft because the inserts will ripple.

Ive also seen some horrible mould spots growing on badly stored cds.

Sure I also have cds which are passing through. I bought them for 20p each and they are likely to be stored on a hard drive I had some badly damaged ones and was glad to be able to rip them before chucking them in the bin. Amazing that I could get the information off with no noticable loss in some cases

One thing that will make me question the future of cd is reliable and cost effective downloads in cd quality. I still buy music on cd so its far too early to write them off as history.

We can see the way its going but I dont see any higher resolution downloads from i tunes. It would be convenient to click and download but at the moment I like to buy a new cd thanks