What download have you bought?

[Bryn]

Debussy, Xavier Roth, period instruments, 24/96 Hi-Res download from eClassical (was quite a bit cheaper than Qobuz).

At least QOBUZ now appears to offer streaming of all of it via of it their web player, though there seems to be a restriction on Jeux on the main listing.

[Beef Oven!]

At least QOBUZ now appears to offer streaming of all of it via of it their web player, though there seems to be a restriction on Jeux on the main listing.

I really must get into streaming properly. I'm still in dinosaur mode and want to 'own' 'hard copy'. It's the collector behaviour winning out over the listening behaviour. I could save a fortune if I crack it.

[HighlandDougie]

Debussy, Xavier Roth, period instruments, 24/96 Hi-Res download from eClassical (was quite a bit cheaper than Qobuz).

Snap! Just listening to the Nocturnes ....

[Beef Oven!]

Snap! Just listening to the Nocturnes ....

Snap! Just as I'm reading your post, Nocturnes is playing!

[jayne lee wilson]

Will check out the Debussy soon on Q-Studio.... would make an interesting comparison with Immerseel, if I can get past the familiarity problem...

[jayne lee wilson]

Well, not a happy first go with Xavier-Roth's Debussy Nocturnes....

It's just far too explicit. Debussy's study in grey or his backlit orchestra? Not much. There's little sense of blended colours here, everything is well-lit from the front, almost an orchestral x-ray with no atmosphere or evocation of anything...Clouds? I could only hear wind and string lines.... I sat chin in hand, utterly unmoved, more glumly insomniac than ever.

The violins are often too bright and loud, the wordless chorus all too analytically separate - the opposite of what Debussy craved. Where the orchestra cuts off suddenly before the Procession in Fêtes, the reverb sounds oddly artificial. And what gives with the climax? The drums seem to stifle the brasses, creating an oddly congested effect. Rhythms throughout, but most damagingly in Sirènes, are stiff and four-square....

New Release of the Day.....not!

(Qobuz Studio Stream, 24/44.1)

[Beef Oven!]

Well, not a happy first go with Xavier-Roth's Debussy Nocturnes....

It's just far too explicit. Debussy's study in grey or his backlit orchestra? Not much. There's little sense of blended colours here, everything is well-lit from the front, almost an orchestral x-ray with no atmosphere or evocation of anything...Clouds? I could only hear wind and string lines.... I sat chin in hand, utterly unmoved, more glumly insomniac than ever.

The violins are often too bright and loud, the wordless chorus all too analytically separate - the opposite of what Debussy craved. Where the orchestra cuts off suddenly before the Procession in Fêtes, the reverb sounds oddly artificial. And what gives with the climax? The drums seem to stifle the brasses, creating an oddly congested effect. Rhythms throughout, but most damagingly in Sirènes, are stiff and four-square....

New Release of the Day.....not!

(Qobuz Studio Stream, 24/44.1)

Jayne, what equipment are you using? Perhaps that might not be helping.

[Pianoman]

From what I sampled, the Jeux on that disc is better - seems to suit Roth’s clear-cut rather than ‘dreamy’ or ‘impressionistic’ approach, at least to my ears...

[Beef Oven!]

From what I sampled, the Jeux on that disc is better - seems to suit Roth’s clear-cut rather than ‘dreamy’ or ‘impressionistic’ approach, at least to my ears...

Did you not like Nocturnes?

[Beef Oven!]

What I found interesting was that having kicked off with Nocturnes, keeping the best for last so as to speak, there was no acclimatising process for this radically different and challenging Debussy sound world that Xavier-Roth uncovers. On first hearing Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in this performance, I was knocked sideways. It was, to use a cliché, as if a curtain had been removed from in front of the performers. Then on to Jeux, and the rhythms were to my ears, perfectly delivered. I think that listeners will have difficulty adjusting to this new type of performance and sound, just as they had with different ways of performing Bruckner, for example. It won't meet your prejudices as to how you want your Debussy to be served to you!

Out with the old, in with the (authentic) new!

[Pianoman]

Did you not like Nocturnes?

Hope to get round to it later today

[Dave2002]

If I buy a download how long - typically - do I have to download the files? Some sites (e.g. Amazon) seem to allow forever, while others might only allow a one time download. I bought some recently, and couldn't find one on my drive, so was able to download again quite easily - based on my email link, but that might not always be the case. Are there any general rules?

[Beef Oven!]

If I buy a download how long - typically - do I have to download the files? Some sites (e.g. Amazon) seem to allow forever, while others might only allow a one time download. I bought some recently, and couldn't find one on my drive, so was able to download again quite easily - based on my email link, but that might not always be the case. Are there any general rules?

Some are time-limited eg Audite. I rarely use these sites as it's a rip-off (no pun) to put a time limit. Qobuz and eClassical are my mainstay.

[Bryn]

Some are time-limited eg Audite. I rarely use these sites as it's a rip-off (no pun) to put a time limit. Qobuz and eClassical are my mainstay.

Amazon mp3s are also availble long term, though they tend not to use the highest mp3 data rate. Handy when they come as a 'free' bonus to a direct CD purchase, however.

[Dave2002]

Amazon mp3s are also available long term, though they tend not to use the highest mp3 data rate. Handy when they come as a 'free' bonus to a direct CD purchase, however.

Bit rates aren't everything though. I could easily create a very poor recording which has a high bit rate.
Generally I would agree that too low an mp3 bit rate isn't going to sound great, though even there I have been proved (well at least partially) wrong. There are quality factors which can be invoked when recording to mp3 too, so perhaps an mp3 at lower bit rate but with a higher quality setting may sound better than one with a higher bit rate but a lower quality setting.

Some sites waver between allowing repeat downloads and not. Originally eMusic allowed multiple downloads, then they went mean and started charging for repeats, but several changes of ownership and management later it seems that the current system, after a revamp, is amenable to users asking for their original downloads to be reinstated and made available again. Partly that's because a whole lot of material seemed to go adrift in an "update" in recent times, and the administrators are aware and sympathetic to this.