CDR Critics Review of the Year

[DracoM]

I don't know why Hilary Finch winds me up so much, but.....

Jeremy Summerley rightly introduces the new Westminster Cathedral Palestrina disc, and HF trots out the tired cliche about the 'continental sound' of the choir that seems to come as a knee-jerk reaction from those who have read someon's back notes on West Cath but don't listen to cathedral choirs in UK very often.

It is not a specifically 'continental' sound at all. It's just the way the kids make their sound from the way they are trained and that could happen in UK, in USA or anywhere.

Listen to Hereford, New College Oxford, and in some repertoires recently heard as in the CE from Portsmouth Cathedral, Exeter. Besides, given the miserable desert that is alas now a good deal of the Eurpoean sacred singing landscape for men and boys choirs, you'd be pretty hard put to make any kind of generic statement of this kind.

And as for that Jacobs / Die Zauberflote..............!

[DoctorT]

I've already tried starting a thread on the Jacobs Die Zauberflote recording, Draco. I love it - the lightness of touch, the flute playing, the fortepiano. In this case I agree with HF and not RC...but then I'm just an amateur!

Best wishes

Michael

[doversoul1]

HF trots out the tired cliche about the 'continental sound' of the choir

Did she now? On 2009 edition, HF pounced upon Stephen Johnson when he mentioned I Fagiolini’s Monteverdi, saying that it was too English middle class. And last year when Simon Heighes mentioned JC Bach, HF lashed out before poor Simon could finish his first sentence. I was so annoyed that I actually wrote to the producer asking if he would consider not include Ms. Finch for 2010 edition. I didn’t seriously think my suggestion would be heard but all the same, they could have chosen someone else, even just for a change. Hilary Finch may be a good critic but I am not sure if she is a good broadcaster.

I just caught Martin’s Golgotha (amazing work!). HF is being fairly civil here. I’ll listen to the whole programme later when I am not pressed with weekend chores.

On 2008 edition

[sigolene euphemia]

DracoM,

I am happy to learn of this. Palestrina. I love the choral work of Morten Lauridsen.

"dingy .. . bland .. . not powerful.. . noble effort of will.. . doesn't reach me".. I do not know Hilary, can you assist.. ?I do not want to Google.

~

09.30am Critics’ Pick of the Year 2010
Andrew is joined by Rob Cowan, Hilary Finch and Jeremy Summerly to discuss some favourite releases of 2010. With extracts from the following discs:

~

"private reach of personal spirituality" Jermey. A beautiful sentiment to me. I am considering placing this in my Holiday correspondence.

warm wishes,
Sigolene

[DracoM]

HF used to be associated in my mind with the early classical chamber / piano / lieder area exclusively, but whenever she is on R3 critics' things, she seems very happy to pontificate on anything. At least RC has the grace to shut up or merely murmur nothings appreciatively when he is merely an interested bystander. Not our HF.

On that panel were Jeremy Summerley and Andrew McGregor both of whom actually know a good deal more than a little about choral music. Like listening to them.

Delighted the Briggs Notre Dame piece got a hearing.

[Bryn]

Apart from Finch's twittering, (does she ever contribute anything of value to these programmes?), I was a bit irked by the baseless assertion that Harmonia Mundi were forced to put the final Prelude and Fugue of Shostakovich's Op. 87 on a third disc. Not only was it unnecessary (1 to 13 fit easily onto a single CD, as do 14 to 24) but by producing that non-standard third disc as they did, Harmonia Mundi have denied some purchasers of the opportunity to play the CD side of that third disc. O.k., it plays well enough in two of my decks, but not in the Pioneer DV-585A. That player refuses point blank to recognise it as a valid CD, and I am sure that it is not the only player to have problems with this dual standard disc. Solution? I ripped the all 24 Preludes and Fugues and burned them to two CD-Rs in the compilation 1 to 13 and 14 to 24 mentioned above. Fortunately there is room in the front cover/slip case for the 2 original CDs in paper and plastic film envelopes. The DVD side of the third disc plays well enough in the various players I have tried it in .

[Bert Coules]

I can't say I was hugely taken with the Götterdämmerung excerpt this morning, though of course it's wholly unfair to judge an entire work from such a brief chunk, especially one which contains so little singing. A pity we weren't given the act one Waltraute scene which everyone was praising so highly (or, rather, they were praising the singer in the role, which perhaps isn't quite the same thing).

[Mr Pee]

I can't say I was hugely taken with the Götterdämmerung excerpt this morning, though of course it's wholly unfair to judge an entire work from such a brief chunk, especially one which contains so little singing. A pity we weren't given the act one Waltraute scene which everyone was praising so highly (or, rather, they were praising the singer in the role, which perhaps isn't quite the same thing).

I agree- I've heard so much praise heaped on this recording, but the excerpt we heard today was distinctly underwhelming. To my ears, it was much too slow- the Valhalla motif in particular- and I wasn't exactly blown away by what I heard of Katarina Dalayman either- the vibrato was way too wide for my taste. Obviously, by this point she was tired and I think I would like to hear more before reaching a final judgement.

[JoeG]

I loved the excerpts from the Jordi Savall discs - anyone else enjoy these?

[darkarchivist]

The missing bits

Pity the timings went badly wrong and the three recordings I was particularly looking forward to got squeezed out of the end. I'd certainly have preferred them to Elder's oddly overrated Wagner. Hope that Maazel's Bruckner gets an airing in the programme soon; the only review I've seen for it seems to suggest that all other recordings are now obsolete! Seems unlikely, but certainly intriguing.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

! i did JoeG! and strangely for me was very taken by the Briggs piece ....

[StephenO]

Oh dear, we're not happy, are we? Pre-Christmas blues, perhaps. I always look forward to the Critics' Review edition and particularly enjoyed this years' offerings. As always I didn't agree with all the choices but I was pleased to hear Znaider's Elgar included, loved the Magic Flute and the Palestrina and thought that Elder's Wagner was anything but overrated. Such a short extract can't give the full picture, of course, but I find the complete performance deeply moving, if not quite in Solti's league. The real discovery for me, though, was the Jordi Saval set. Not something I'd normally be interested in but it made absolutely enthralling listening. The book sounds equally fascinating - specially in Occitan. One for the wish list.

[Curalach]

The missing bits

That explains it. I thought I had missed the Bruckner. What I heard of the Elder Gott didn't impress. I guess you would need to have been there.

[johnb]

Anyone who has read any of Kate Moss' novels (no not that Kate Moss) will have been instantly reminded of them by the Jordi Saval, as most of them deal with the same region of France and the same period.

[mathias broucek]

"Maazel's Bruckner" Much as I love the BavRSO, I doubt he does Bruckner with them better than Jochum, Kubelik or Bohm!