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New Classical purchases

Forqueray & Son played by Gustav Leonhardt: extracts from several harpsichord suites, originally composed by Antoine Forqueray for the viol and transcribed by his son Jean-Baptiste Forqueray for the harpsichord. (It seems that if you wanted to make it in the music business in 18th century France, being called Jean-Baptiste was a definite plus).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gustav-Leonhardt-joue-Forqueray-clavecin/dp/B00T0JPP4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1442005785&sr=1-1&keywords=forqueray+leonhardt+diapason

Antoine (1671-1745) was a very talented viol player spotted by Louis XIV. He was a contemporary of Marais and Rameau. He composed a lot but the only surviving pieces are those that were published by his son, both for the viol and in a transcription for the harpsichord. The viol suites are very difficult to play, and the harpsichord version is not transposed, so it dwells on the lower range of the instrument.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Forqueray

Leonhardt had recorded essentially the same programme in the 70s but returned to these pieces towards the end of his career. This is a re-release of a 2005 recording Leonhardt did to support some friends and a short-lived Russian baroque music label: this was CD001. He plays a fabulous 1751 Hemsch harpsichord from a château in Belgium. The sound of that instrument is just divine, especially the way it growls in the lower registers. The music itself is charming.
 
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Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion etc. Mravinsky, Leningrad SO
For those who like their Bartók muscular and uncompromising: Mravinsky gets huge intensity from an excellent orchestra (superb strings in particular). Recorded live in Prague in 1967, this has been remastered and the sound is rather good. Excellent balance between the two string orchestras and the various percussions. I have several versions of this piece (Boulez, Ormandy, Fricsay) and based on a couple of listens this could be my favourite. The Boulez sounds rather polite and elegant in comparison, while the Ormandy is more plodding and less refined.

The other major work on the CD is Stravinsky's Agon. This late period (1957) score was for a Balanchine ballet with 12 dancers, appropriately enough as it marks Stravinsky’s transition to 12-tone serial composition. There are, yes, 4 x 3 = 12 movements, with short interludes separating the 4 sections (but a lot more than 12 instruments). The 12-tone technique is introduced gradually during the ballet, preceded by a short 17-tone section to confuse the enemy.

Sandwiched between these two major works by giants of the 20th century is Honegger’s Symphonie Liturgique. Not quite the same level perhaps, but a big score to celebrate peace after WW2, and well served by the Leningrad SO.
 
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Angela Hewitt's Liszt recital including the B minor Sonata, various Sonetto and a Fantasia. We're seeing her in concert in a couple of weeks time so bought this is anticipation
 
I’m working my way through my Saturday haul from Yarborough House in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire.

Claude Le Jeune: Ansermet / Cherici
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This is on at the moment, and it’s rather good. £2,50

Transfigurations. Les Esprits Animaux
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£2,50

Orient-Occident II: Hommage à la Syrie. Jordi Savall
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A classic Savall programme with a thoughtful and engaged booklet, with lots of Syrian history. The gist seems to be that Damascus gets flattened every 500 years or so. Lovely music, though. £7,-

Guardian Angel (works by Biber / Bach / Tartini / Pisendel) : Podger
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Only dipped into this so far. The recording is excellent, and the Tartini, I see, was nominated for a BBC award in 2014. £7,-

Bach: Christmas Oratorio. WDR Big Band / King’s Singers
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Bought for £3 out of curiosity. I gave up after half way through CD1. I’ll try again when I’ve more time (and courage !)

RVW: Choral Works. Christ Church Cathedral Choir; English String Orchestra
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The EMI recording of an Oxford Elegy is one of my favourite records. The choir (King’s / Willcocks) gets it just right, as does, especially, the speaker, John Westbrook. Jack May on this, by contrast seems peculiarly detached, as if he just had his eye on the pay cheque. It was recorded just down the road at Leominster Priory in 1989. I don’t remember the recording sessions taking place (unlike for the Philips / JEG recording of the Fauré Requiem), even though I was a regular there at the time. The rest of the disc is fine, though. £2,-

Johann Bach / Johann Christoph Bach / Johann Michael Bach: Motteten. Vox Luminis
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Still sealed at the moment, but I’m glad I found it as it’s had excellent reviews. £10,- (2 CDs)

Shostakovich Symphonies 4 / 5 / 7 / 9. Haitink / LPO
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A Kingsway Hall recording. You can hear the tube even over (under ?) Shostakovitch.

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To plug most of the gaps in my Haitink series. £4 each

http://www.yarboroughhouse.com/
Rummaging through real CDs is so much more satisfying than looking online, although that has its place, too. No doubt I could have found some of these discs just as cheap or cheaper online, but I had a good morning out, and Bishop's Castle is a nice place. The Three Tuns (brews its own) is just round the corner.
http://www.thethreetunsinn.co.uk/
 
I’m working my way through my Saturday haul from Yarborough House in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire.


The EMI recording of an Oxford Elegy is one of my favourite records. The choir (King’s / Willcocks) get it just right, as does, especially, the speaker, John Westbrook. Jack May on this, by contrast seems peculiarly detached, as if he just had his eye on the pay cheque. It was recorded just down the road at Leominster Priory in 1989. I don’t remember the recording sessions taking place (unlike for the Philips / JEG recording of the Fauré Requiem), even though I was a regular there at the time. The rest of the disc is fine, though.

I also have both recordings of the Oxford Elegy but much prefer the Jack May version - it`s a good job we`re all different.
Bishops Castle used to have a good pub which brewed their own beer I seem to remember.
 
I've just edited my post with a link to the Three Tuns !

As for the Oxford Elegy, I suppose the version you first hear is the one you always "hear"!
 
That was it - I can never remember whether it was the One or Three Tuns as I used to frequent the other in Goodge Street.
I had the John Westbrook recording first but I always liked Jack May`s speaking voice. He gives a languid feel to the piece that works for me.
John Westbrook is very fine in the Bliss Morning Heroes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000026LQ8/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
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I've just bought this:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=171976863433

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SZFQDM6/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

I bought the original 3 CD set around 1984 for £30; a fortune at the time. Disc 2 wasn't even mastered properly and had very noticeable hum on it. Decca sent me a replacement, which marginally better.
I wonder if I'll hear an overall difference. If I do, will it be down to the remastering or the 96kHz transfer ? Who knows. One disc for the whole hi-res Messiah seems quite boggling, though!
£15. Take inflation since 1984 into account, that's peanuts.
I'm looking forward to it arriving.
 
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I've ordered this double SACD version of Mahler's 10th by Sieghart/ArnhemPO to see how it compares with the Rattle/BerlinPO performance I own on DVD-A. The Rattle version is quite dynamic (I feel) compared to the Zinman/Tonhale Orchestra version I've heard, and although I haven't came across a lot of comments on Sieghart's, the word on the web suggests it's good - with a nice and not too aggressive multichannel mix.

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This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
I've just bought this:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=171976863433

71btFIxLcAL._SX425_.jpg


http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SZFQDM6/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

I bought the original 3 CD set around 1984 for £30; a fortune at the time. Disc 2 wasn't even mastered properly and had very noticeable hum on it. Decca sent me a replacement, which was marginally better.
I wonder if I'll hear an overall difference. If I do, will it be down to the remastering or the 96kHz transfer ? Who knows. One disc for the whole hi-res Messiah seems quite boggling, though!
£15. Take inflation since 1984 into account, that's peanuts.
I'm looking forward to it arriving.

It turned up yesterday. I've only listened to the bluray disc so far, and that only on the second system.
It's quite curious. This is a recording I know really well. I first heard it on German radio (HR2) in '81 and made a tape copy. I bought the CDs in the mid 80s. I don't know whether it's the remastering of the analogue masters or the 96kHz transfer to bluray (we all know HiRez audio makes no difference!), but I'm picking up on things I've not really noticed (or had my attention drawn to) before. Some of the solo singing seems less secure than I remember, but the sense of "air" and lightness (always a strength anyway) is much greater. In short, it's more "live", like a good pew in the church.
I need to listen a few more times, and on the main system in the loft, but so far I'm really pleased with this.
 
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This arrived last night:

http://monteverdi.org.uk/shop/albums/other-releases/b-minor-mass

This'll be this weekend's listening.

Gardiner's first recording of the B Minor, something like 30 years ago, for Archiv, was a revelation. Up to that point, said one reviewer, people talked about "original instruments" B Minors and "modern instruments" B Minors, but suddenly it didn't matter any more.

Since that time, Gardiner has done the Bach cantata cycle and written a book on Bach. Will this total immersion have made a difference to his interpretation? I'll be interested to hear, but somehow I doubt it. To my ears, his interpretation of the Monteverdi Vespers hasn't changed a lot since the 1988 famous live recording at San Marco. I am also not the most musically perceptive person you ever met. But let's see.

Update: in a word, ditto. It's a nice performance, but, to my ears, not substantially different from that original ground-breaking recording of 30 years ago. Given that the old recording is available for half the price, it's questionable as to whether it's worth buying. But perhaps, as I say, it's my lack of proper musical appreciation.
 
Thanks to a fellow pfm member I've just scored a complete set of the 200 disc Great Pianists of the 20th Century. Still only up to A for Arrau and not quite believing my luck. Seriously coveted when it came out!
 
Lucky you ! I bought quite a few of these separately when they came out, but the complete set was way out of my price range. Be interesting to know what it fetches these days...:)

They were superbly produced, and you have many treats in store (I've dug out the wonderful Lipatti as I write..)
 
Lucky you ! I bought quite a few of these separately when they came out, but the complete set was way out of my price range. Be interesting to know what it fetches these days...:)

They were superbly produced, and you have many treats in store (I've dug out the wonderful Lipatti as I write..)

I'm like a dog with two tails. Just enjoying going through them one by one. Some of them are still in the cellophane!
 


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