Quarterly retrospect

[jayne lee wilson]

Always was a good title wasn't it? Bring it back, Cullingford!

Short of time this year, here's a quick catch-up on some of my favourite music purchases recently...

Birtwistle Moth Requiem; On the Sheer Threshold of the Night; Ring Dance of the Nazarene etc.
BBC Singers/Nash Ens./Kok, Signum CD

David Matthews Symphony No.7; Vespers
Soloists/Bach Choir/Bournemouth SO/Carewe/Hill, Dutton Epoch CD

Panufnik Symphony No.5; Landscape; Bassoon Concerto
(Konzerthausorchester Berlin/Borowicz, CPO CD)

At last we have a recording of Birtwistle's On the Sheer Threshold, a stunning choral masterpiece and one of the finest inspirations of Birtwistle's Orpheus obsession. A work of great power, range and intensity, it's always a shock to reach the end and remember that it really is for voices alone! Remarkable density of event for 13 minutes. The gorgeous Moth Requiem is scored for 12 Solo female Voices, alto flute and 3 harps! It was inspired by a moth trapped in a piano - listen to the opening and you may hear it...

The best thing about the Matthews disc is that it inspired me to acquire all the other Dutton releases of his music, which I now feel ashamed not to have properly discovered or really appreciated before. All the symphonies are very distinct, broadly falling into three groups: the big, challenging epics (2 & 6); the classically or neoclassically shaped 4&5; and 1,3 and 7 as continuous structures of 20 minutes or so. The 7th starts out as a deeply eloquent "haunted pastoral" but soon careers off onto rockier paths. I feel this cycle is just as important as that of Maxwell Davies; Matthews may not be as original of means, or sing with such an individual voice as Max, but his music is always fresh and memorable, cunningly structured, often beautiful, dramatic and with a high entertainment value. I really miss it if I don't play any for a few days. The one cavil is with Katie Bray's solos in the marvellous Vespers; I dislike criticising individual performers, but her otherwise beautiful voice does have an intrusive vibrato which I found hard to ignore... she's a young artist - it could, I hope be ironed out a little.

The CPO Panufnik disc is the last, and one of the best, in a great series including all of the symphonies. Three very striking works, and an especially intense, dark-toned, earthy account of the Sinfonia di Sfere (No.5). The last of a noble line, and a series also notable for lovely cover art, paintings mostly by Andre Dzierzynski, which add much to their pleasure.

In other news...

Mendelssohn Symphonies 4 & 5
CBSO/Gardner, Chandos CD
Schubert Symphonies 3,4 and 5
Swedish CO/Dausgaard, BIS CD
Reger Orchestral Works
Norrkoping SO/Segerstam, 3 BIS CDs
(This set has the most extraordinary performance of the Suite im Alten Stil you'll ever hear; intensely expressive, recreative bar-by-bar conducting of rare quality, letting light into the textures; Reger doesn't have to sound like a post-Brahmsian chocolate pudding. And just wait till you hear the conclusion of the fugue, or the climax of Isle of the Dead from the 4 Bocklin TonePoems: wondrously spacious, tonally seamless, natural, midhall perspective, with a frighteningly realistic dynamic range. THAT, my friends, is how you record a symphony orchestra.)

Over to you for your highlights of the year so far...

[teamsaint]

Thanks for that lovely round up Jayne, many thanks.

Y'know, I might just invest in the Matthews disc to test certain sonic aspects of my new system. WEll, that will be my story anyway. He should be played so much more frequently on R3.

My highlights of the year are all old releases, music with electric guitars, or live performances.

Does anybody have the new Malcolm Williamson Piano Concertos CD?

[DublinJimbo]

Reger Orchestral Works
Norrkoping SO/Segerstam, 3 BIS CDs

Am I right that you're referring to the collection issued at the beginning of the year? This was a re-packaging of recordings from the 1990s. Is it fair to include that in a quarterly retrospective (or does "in other news..." mean it's outside those terms of reference)?

[Richard Tarleton]

A contrasting set of recent purchases

Jakob Lindberg - Jacobean Lute Music Another outstanding performance from Jakob Lindberg on his reconstructed 1598 Sixtus Rauwolf lute, which I've twice heard him play live and which is one of the oldest surviving playable lutes in the world. It sounds fabulous.

There are several original compositions by composers of the day - the programme starts with Dowland's "Tremolo" Fantasia (Poulton catalogue no. 73) and includes his "Battle Galliard" (aka King of Denmark's) and pieces by Daniel Bacheler, Thomas Robinson and Robert Johnson. Lute aficionados may well have multiple versions of some of these in their collections already. But the greatest attraction of this collection is the arrangements or sets of variations ("divisions") on the popular songs of the day of the sort which every composer made, together with a number of arrangements by that important Tudor and Stuart composer Anonymous. There is a lovely set of anonymous Scottish tunes, and my favourite on the whole disc, the English tune "John Come Kiss Me Now" with its superbly executed ornamentation.

Britten Solo Cello Suites - Jamie Walton I've previously only known the first two suites in the Rostropovich versions, and never really got into them, but all that changed when I watched the 2-hour programme on Sky Arts 2 about all three suites in which Jamie Walton talks about then plays them in Blythburgh Church, the "cathedral in the marshes". I quickly bought the CD, recorded in the Maltings. A journey, but well worth it. The programme is repeated from time to time on Sky, catch it if you can.

A discovery for which I'm deeply grateful to the experts on the forum - the 4-movement version of Bruckner 9, in the Rattle/BPO version. But I also topped up my collection with the "new" Haitink, and the 1981 Haitink - so from now on it will depend what mood I'm in and how long I have.

[pastoralguy]

Does anybody have the new Malcolm Williamson Piano Concertos CD?

Yes! Bought, this afternoon, in my local Oxfam shop for a fiver! I don't think the donor had got beyond the first disc...

[teamsaint]

Yes! Bought, this afternoon, in my local Oxfam shop for a fiver! I don't think the donor had got beyond the first disc...

nice. £20 on amazon.
Do let us know what you think about it, PG.

[jayne lee wilson]

Am I right that you're referring to the collection issued at the beginning of the year? This was a re-packaging of recordings from the 1990s. Is it fair to include that in a quarterly retrospective (or does "in other news..." mean it's outside those terms of reference)?

What, there are rules now? Maybe we better have a Replay thread as well! The above is just these-I have-loved-this-quarter-including-reissues, etc... but the Reger didn't get a lot of notice first time out (Gramophone 6/94, 5/96) and is of such high interest and quality that it demanded a mention. A great set, really striking sound and interpretation. The cover is remarkable, like an ultra closeup of a peacock feather (or an abstract texture based on one, disturbingly physical!). A younger Segerstam depicted at his most gorgeously Brahmsian in the booklet too. Quite a physiog...

(ps - Richard - if only Barenboim HAD recorded the finale of Bruckner's 9th...! Mario Venzago, in the notes to his extraordinary new CPO release of the 9th (only the first 3 movements ), says that there will be a supplementary disc with three alternatives on it - a reconstruction of the finale, a "new composition" of it, and the Te Deum. But I dread to think what some here would think of his interpretation - ..or....)

[ahinton]

ario Venzago, in the notes to his extraordinary new CPO release of the 9th (only the first 3 movements ), says that there will be a supplementary disc with three alternatives on it - a reconstruction of the finale, a "new composition" of it, and the Te Deum.

I have a horrid suspicion that the second of these will be the so-called "reloaded" thing by one Peter Jan Marthé and, if so, it's to be avoided at all costs (what does he think Bruckner was? a gun?)...

[Richard Tarleton]

(ps - Richard - if only Barenboim HAD recorded the finale of Bruckner's 9th...!

Thank you for being so gentle in pointing out my senior typo, jayne - I of course meant Rattle, wishful thinking . I can see 9 taking up even more of my time at this rate....if only Uncle Bernard would...I do like the Mozart Requiem remark....

[MickyD]

I've been enjoying the complete "Les Surprises de l'Amour" by Rameau in a new release from Glossa. Nice playing from a youngish baroque group from Lyon. And though the release date was in 2012, I was also delighted to find a bargain price copy of Pieter Wispelwey's third recording of the Bach cello suites.

[DublinJimbo]

What, there are rules now? Maybe we better have a Replay thread as well! The above is just these-I have-loved-this-quarter-including-reissues, etc.

Sorry, Jayne, if I caused upset. I misunderstood, and thought you were referring to new issues.

==============

Mario Venzago, in the notes to his extraordinary new CPO release of the 9th (only the first 3 movements ), says that there will be a supplementary disc with three alternatives on it - a reconstruction of the finale, a "new composition" of it, and the Te Deum.

I almost went for physical CDs rather than downloads for Venzago's 9th and his coupling of 3 & 6, purely to have access to the booklet notes (not included with the downloads). Most probably, I'll forgo downloads for the rest of the series (I already have CD versions of the 2nd and the coupling of 4 & 7). Certainly, Venzago's notes are an important adjunct to the revelatory performances in this very special series. When it comes to Bruckner 9, I admit to being a traditionalist who is content with just the three movements. The concluding pages of the Adagio (surely one of the greatest codas in music) speak such volumes that I feel no need for anything else afterwards.

Incidentally, CPO announced some time ago that Bruckner 5 had been recorded and was to be released (the 9th appeared instead). I wonder what happened.

==============

Anyway, returning to your "over to you", here are my picks from the Quarter:

[1] Harmonia Mundi's Magnificat release for the CPE Bach year with soloists, the RIAS Kammerchor and the Akadamie für alte Musik Berlin conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann.

[2] That Venzago Bruckner 9.

[3] The third volume of Eivind Aadland's audite survey of Grieg's orchestral music, with the superb WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln.

[4] Schubert's 3rd, 4th and 5th symphonies from Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (snap!).

[Parry1912]

Always was a good title wasn't it? Bring it back, Cullingford!

Good idea! Can we have 'Sounds in Retrospect' back as well?

[Sir Velo]

Good idea! Can we have 'Sounds in Retrospect' back as well?

That was a good feature wasn't it? I often wonder whether these reviewers have the hi fi equipment to do recordings justice. This was somewhat borne out when they ran an audio doctor series, in which some of the reviewers, themselves, had fairly shabby set ups in need of fairly urgent surgery. Probably the lack of faith which this inspired in listeners sounded the death knell for the feature.

[HighlandDougie]

I seem to have added quite a lot in the last quarter (I blame Hafod and his eagle-eye for bargains- not that I'm complaining about Christopher Hogwood's Haydn Symphonies et al). New recordings which have captured the attention:

Lars-Petter Hagen: various works - Oslo PO/Rolf Gupta
Meredith Monk: Piano Songs - Ursula Oppens and Bruce Brubaker (Pianos)
Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite/The Wood Nymph - Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
Ravel: Mother Goose (Suite) & Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition - Anima Eterna/Jos van Immerseel
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 - 4 (plus various overtures) - Tafelmusik/Bruno Weil
Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos 3 and 7 - Bournemouth SO/Kirill Karabits
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos 4 and 5 - Royal Stockholm PO/Sakari Oramo

[err, that's enough - ed.]

Not so sure about some of the other stuff - for instance, Truls Mørk's stab at the Shostakovich Cello Concertos with the Oslo PO and Vasily Petrenko needs another attentive listen but I wasn't exactly wowed by the performances (or the recordings) on first hearing. I've also found the Dausgaard Schubert 3 - 5 (as recommended by DJ and JLW) to be just a bit too bracing - I found myself longing for a bit of Beechamian charm.

[pastoralguy]

I was also delighted to find a bargain price copy of Pieter Wispelwey's third recording of the Bach cello suites.