Mark Padmore on Britten

[ardcarp]

What an inspired idea to have Mark P. talking about the new Decca complete edition. He has a deep understanding of Britten's music; and not just the (massive) tenor component of it. The dialogue format seemed to work here as Andrew only had to outline the agenda to elicit Mark's very eloquent and authoritative responses. I had to chuckle when A. said about The Canticles that 'Britten was reviving an old form', which M. clearly thought was total b******s and cleverly prevaricated. I'm glad he included Abraham and Isaac, my favourite of The Canticles, though sorry we didn't hear a bit more Hahessy. That bit was chosen of course because it segued nicely into The War Requiem. I have to agree with Mark that The Serenade for TH&S is probably Britten's landmark piece of tenor writing. OTOH the piece which ended the programme (Journey of the Magi) is possibly my least favourite of Britten's vocal writing. Anyone else like the piece? Mary???

I wonder how much the complete Decca set costs...and how many people will want it (including me) but will not be able to justify the wallet-depletion?

[amateur51]

I wonder how much the complete Decca set costs...and how many people will want it (including me) but will not be able to justify the wallet-depletion?

Anywhere between £180 (Presto) and £150 (Amazon) as pre-orders, from what I've seen

[Stanley Stewart]

Indeed, a most enjoyable discussion with the exception of Padmore's repetition of "fantastic/al" - around a dozen times! Searching around, the best deal for the complete set is £149 on Amazon. Heigh-ho, I think I'll have to settle for the BB-37CD collection on EMI Classics, in addition to the other sets on my shelves. A test of resolve.

[Mary Chambers]

OTOH the piece which ended the programme (Journey of the Magi) is possibly my least favourite of Britten's vocal writing. Anyone else like the piece? Mary???

I'm not mad about it, no! I suspect Britten chose the text because it enabled him to write a piece that involved three close colleagues, Pears, Shirley-Quirk and Bowman, rather than because it really inspired him.

There's a chance to win the Decca set at Sinfini Music. I'd like to have it, but since I already own at least 90% of the recordings there isn't a lot of point in spending so much.

Mark Padmore was very good, I agree. I really enjoyed it.

[Alf-Prufrock]

I'd like to have it, but since I already own at least 90% of the recordings there isn't a lot of point in spending so much.

I am in the same position as Mary, and really could not justify the purchase. But I also have a quirk - I can often buy discs simply because they are claimed as remasterings. Usually I am satisfied because I can detect improvement in the sound. Does anyone know if the many, many discs in this Decca collection have been remastered and therefore display an even more glorious sound than some of them already do?

[Stunsworth]

I have to admit that remastering would be the only reason I'd consider this box - there's so much (inevitable) overlap withe the Britten conducts Britten boxes issued a few years ago.

[Alf-Prufrock]

OTOH the piece which ended the programme (Journey of the Magi) is possibly my least favourite of Britten's vocal writing.

I am puzzled by ardcarp and Mary's disrelish of this work. It (or part of it) was in Catherine Bott's programme today and I immediately listened to the whole work from my collection. I found it dramatic, studded with discomfort and conflict (as it should be according to the words) and buzzing with ingenuity. It is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Its angularity and sharpness may not appeal to everybody, of course, especially when the counter-tenor sings out, but I could not help marvelling at its mastery and effectiveness.

[Ferretfancy]

Has anybody here sampled Ian Bostridge's recent disc of Britten Songs on EMI? This has been very well received by reviewers, and described as a superb recording in BBC MMM
I have to say I am baffled. Bostridge is very close to the microphone in an oddly airless acoustic, while Pappano at the piano is somewhere further down the studio.
I know that Bostridge attracts controversy, but one thing he is usually praised for is clarity of diction. Here he frequently surges in volume on a single note for no apparent reason while whispering on the next, as if he is holding a handkerchief over his mouth.

It's the kind of recording that makes you want to check your sound equipment, But I had listened earlier to Tasmin Little in the Violin Concerto and there were no difficulties there. Neither was there a problem listening to a Wigmore Hall recording of the Nash Ensemble in the Brahms Clarinet Quintet.

What do reviewers listen on, I wonder?

[Nick Armstrong]

What an inspired idea to have Mark P. talking about the new Decca complete edition. He has a deep understanding of Britten's music; and not just the (massive) tenor component of it. The dialogue format seemed to work here as Andrew only had to outline the agenda to elicit Mark's very eloquent and authoritative responses. I had to chuckle when A. said about The Canticles that 'Britten was reviving an old form', which M. clearly thought was total b******s and cleverly prevaricated.

I've caught up with this now and agree it was very interesting, throwing some new light on pretty familiar recorded territory. The sidestep by MP which you mention was not the only instance, in fact - I noticed that on a number of occasions (possibly the majority of their exchanges) MP dealt with AMcG's question with a brief but polite 'yes' and moved instantly to making his own (often different) point

How refreshing to have a top professional giving insights into performance and recording. It would be great if they could engineer more of this, in place of one or two of the more ... vacuous critics they have on.

I bang on a lot about it but the France-Musique CD Critics programme has this additional advantage over CD Review - they often have leading performers as one of their panel of three critics for each work. In recent months, they've had veteran conductor Serge Baudo on a number of programmes including considering Mahler 1, Alain Planès about Schubert piano music, François-Frédéric Guy about (oddly) Bruckner 4, Christophe Rousset about Scarlatti keyboard sonata and most recently (yesterday) François-Xavier Roth about Dutilleux's 'Métaboles'

[Nick Armstrong]

Has anybody here sampled Ian Bostridge's recent disc of Britten Songs on EMI? This has been very well received by reviewers, and described as a superb recording in BBC MMM
I have to say I am baffled. Bostridge is very close to the microphone in an oddly airless acoustic, while Pappano at the piano is somewhere further down the studio.

...

What do reviewers listen on, I wonder?

That is very interesting Ff: you are in complete accord with the reviewer in 'Diapason' (the French equivalent of 'Gramophone'), the current issue of which I bought on a trip there last week. I was surprised to read their review of the new Britten recording only yesterday.

The disc is given a lowly 2 out of 6 for performance and 2 out of 5 for recording quality, the comments (by English music specialist Jean-Charles Hoffelé) being consistent with what you say. The acoustic is described as 'claustrophobic'. The accompanists (piano and guitar) are described as 'beyond discreet', the singer's voice 'pale and grey' and totally lacking its usual qualities. The point is also made that he sounds totally different from the 'formidable' Male Chorus in Knussen's recent 'Rape of Lucretia' for Virgin.

On a broader level, I have often wondered if British reviewers engage in 'wishful listening' - especially when it comes to British singers. Many's the time I've tried to listen to a singer praised to the skies in print or on R3 and found them mediocre at best.

Maybe the example you've raised is a specific instance in relation to a bad day at the office for all concerned in the new Britten recording....

[Ferretfancy]

That is very interesting Ff: you are in complete accord with the reviewer in 'Diapason' (the French equivalent of 'Gramophone'), the current issue of which I bought on a trip there last week. I was surprised to read their review of the new Britten recording only yesterday.

The disc is given a lowly 2 out of 6 for performance and 2 out of 5 for recording quality, the comments (by English music specialist Jean-Charles Hoffelé) being consistent with what you say. The acoustic is described as 'claustrophobic'. The accompanists (piano and guitar) are described as 'beyond discreet', the singer's voice 'pale and grey' and totally lacking its usual qualities. The point is also made that he sounds totally different from the 'formidable' Male Chorus in Knussen's recent 'Rape of Lucretia' for Virgin.

On a broader level, I have often wondered if British reviewers engage in 'wishful listening' - especially when it comes to British singers. Many's the time I've tried to listen to a singer praised to the skies in print or on R3 and found them mediocre at best.

Maybe the example you've raised is a specific instance in relation to a bad day at the office for all concerned in the new Britten recording....

Caliban,
Thanks for those comments, it's reassuring to feel that a reviewer recognised the shortcomings in this recording. Claustrophobic was a good description. I suspect that a lyric tenor voice like that of Bostridge can sometimes be hard to capture, but I do have a couple of his Schubert selections with Julius Drake. These are not in the best possible sound, but they are greatly superior to the Britten disc.
I wouldn't want it to be felt that I judge solely on the sound, but in this case it made it difficult to assess the performance.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I want it, even though I already have the Britten conducts Britten box sets, but none of the other recordings. But can I afford it?

[hmvman]

After much indecision I ordered it and it arrived yesterday morning. Well, that's my winter listening sorted!