Bakala Janáček operas

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  • makropulos
    Full Member
    • Nov 2010
    • 1669

    Bakala Janáček operas

    There's been quite a lot of discussion about Břetislav Bakala's Janáček recordings (most recently about the Sinfonietta), but CRQ Editions is just about to release something of exceptional interest to anyone wanting to hear Bakala conducting Janáček's operas. In an interview for the Czech Music (Dvořák Society) in 1980, Charles Mackerras described Bakala's radio recordings of the operas as "a great milestone, a real treasure. … It would be wonderful and very valuable for the propagation and teaching of Janáček’s works if this outstanding archive could be gradually published as a historical document on records."

    The "real treasure" to which Mackerras referred was a series of broadcast performances of the opera made during the late 1940s and 1950s conducted by Bakala for Brno Radio. A couple of these have been released before: Šárka on Multisonic and The Cunning Little Vixen on Panton LPs. But CRQ has now got a set (mp3s on a single DVD-Rom) including: Jenůfa, Osud (two different performances), Kát'a Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Makropulos Affair. These make up an extraordinarily interesting group of performances conducted by the man who - at the start of his career - made the piano-vocal scores of Kát'a and Vixen, rehearsed the singers for the premiere of Kát'a and so on. The Supraphon LP of From the House of the Dead extracts (which Bakala helped to arrange for the posthumous premiere, which he conducted) is also included. There's a fascinating performance with Bakala at the piano in a radio recording of the Diary of One who Disappeared, a work he "discovered" in Janáček's wooden chest of manuscripts, and - more importantly - a work he had rehearsed in the composer's presence before giving the world premiere. There are a number of other Bakala recordings as fillers, the most unusual of which is the rare Ultraphon 78 rpm set of Taras Bulba recorded in 1949.

    This is a specialist release, but for anyone interested, it's an amazing archive. I have to declare an interest: I wrote the booklet notes for the set. As a result, I've come to know these performances extremely well and a couple of things stand out. First, the sound is remarkably good for its age. Second, and more importantly, the performances are incredibly idiomatic - with soloists many of whom studied the roles with the singers who had created them a generation earlier. By the way, the booklet is quite extensive (40pp., A5) and I hope it will prove informative.

    Details of the set can be found here: http://crqeditions.co.uk/ (scroll down to "Special Offers"). These performances - of which my own favourite is the 1953 broadcast of Kát'a Kabanová - are just the "treasure" that Sir Charles said they were. Absolutely wonderful stuff.
  • Bryn
    Banned
    • Mar 2007
    • 24688

    #2
    Originally posted by makropulos View Post
    ... Details of the set can be found here: http://crqeditions.co.uk/ (scroll down to "Special Offers"). These performances - of which my own favourite is the 1953 broadcast of Kát'a Kabanová - are just the "treasure" that Sir Charles said they were. Absolutely wonderful stuff.
    Duly ordered. Now you would never have expected that, would you.

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    • makropulos
      Full Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 1669

      #3
      Originally posted by Bryn View Post
      Duly ordered. Now you would never have expected that, would you.
      Quite so, Bryn - and I hope you'll be as thrilled as I was by some of these performances :)

      Comment

      • Bryn
        Banned
        • Mar 2007
        • 24688

        #4
        Re. http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...006#post634006 , turns out I have no need to stitch the mp3s together. I forgot I have the 1992 multiSONic CD of that Bakala Sarka (booklet notes buy John Tyrrell, no less).

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        • David-G
          Full Member
          • Mar 2012
          • 1216

          #5
          Sorry if this sounds a naive question. Is the idea that one puts this into one's computer and then clicks on the mp3s to play them? Sort of like downloads, but on a dvd?

          Comment

          • Bryn
            Banned
            • Mar 2007
            • 24688

            #6
            Originally posted by David-G View Post
            Sorry if this sounds a naive question. Is the idea that one puts this into one's computer and then clicks on the mp3s to play them? Sort of like downloads, but on a dvd?
            Either that or play it in a DVD player with mp3 compatibility. The instructions which come on a sheet separate from the main programme notes suggest that most 'tracks' might be resolved to PCM then burned to CD-R if that would be more convenient for the user.

            Comment

            • makropulos
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 1669

              #7
              Originally posted by David-G View Post
              Sorry if this sounds a naive question. Is the idea that one puts this into one's computer and then clicks on the mp3s to play them? Sort of like downloads, but on a dvd?
              Exactly so. You can play them straight off the DVD, but what I've done is copy the files into iTunes (with one exception all the operas are one-track-per-act that all works very easily) and then burn to CD as needed, in the usual way.

              Just seen Bryn's reply - so this post is probably needless duplication.

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