Bargains

[Beef Oven]

I know it's one of those works that's supposed to be great, but I've never quite got it somehow.

If you do end up 'getting it', this original Decca performance will make the process surer. I think that Ben was quite ill at the time and Reggie Goodall conducted a fair amount of it in his stead, but he is not credited or acknowledged. Makes it a bit more interesting.

[Parry1912]

I think that Ben was quite ill at the time and Reggie Goodall conducted a fair amount of it in his stead, but he is not credited or acknowledged. Makes it a bit more interesting.

Really? I've never heard that before. It's a long time since I read 'Putting The Record Straight' but I don't remember John Culshaw mentioning it. Surely, Goodall would have been a strange choice for the work given his political views.

[cloughie]

If you do end up 'getting it', this original Decca performance will make the process surer. I think that Ben was quite ill at the time and Reggie Goodall conducted a fair amount of it in his stead, but he is not credited or acknowledged. Makes it a bit more interesting.

With other priorities I'm not sure how important getting it is, but thanks for suggestion - I had the original black-boxed LP Set, bought v cheaply in a sale somewhere around 1971 tried it a couple of times....never took to it, then as now preferred Daphnis, Heldenleben, Job, the Elgar Symphonies and Mahler.

[MickyD]

... my rough back-of-envelope calculation: there are about 850 individual 'pieces' by Weiss, mainly in the form of about 100 'sonatas' (each containing say 6-10 pieces). Of the 100 or so 'sonatas', Barto has so far given us about thirty, in eleven CDs. So perhaps we are looking at some thirty or forty CDs in total?

My goodness, is Naxos really going to issue the lot? It puts me in mind of that Brilliant Classics 21 disc set of the Haydn Baryton trios, which I still haven't got round to purchasing. Do you have it, Vinteuil?

[Curalach]

I think that Ben was quite ill at the time and Reggie Goodall conducted a fair amount of it in his stead, but he is not credited or acknowledged. Makes it a bit more interesting.

I too have never heard of this before. A more likely collaborator, if such were needed, would have been Meredith Davies who conducted the Coventry premieres with BB conducting the Melos. Do you have a source?

[Chris Newman]

Really? I've never heard that before. It's a long time since I read 'Putting The Record Straight' but I don't remember John Culshaw mentioning it. Surely, Goodall would have been a strange choice for the work given his political views.

Goodall who worked at first at Glyndebourne and with Britten's English Opera Group was a regular choice for Britten premieres. He was the god-father of Peter Grimes as well. I doubt if he would have master minded the War Requiem though ans by the time of the recording there were plenty who knew the work.

[Beef Oven]

Goodall who worked at first at Glyndebourne and with Britten's English Opera Group was a regular choice for Britten premieres. He was the god-father of Peter Grimes as well. I doubt if he would have master minded the War Requiem though ans by the time of the recording there were plenty who knew the work.

It was Britten's recording of Peter Grimes in 1958, not War Requiem - mea culpa.

To quote Jeremy Cullen from John Lucas' book as Reggie's biographer, "......the composer had just started rehearsals for a complete recording of the opera for Decca at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, when he pulled a muscle in his shoulder while shaving. Such was the pain he had to stop conducting. At Britten's suggestion Goodall was called in to rescue the situation. Goodall conducted the rehearsals and the test recordings, and then Britten grasped the baton and conducted the final takes as best he could".

Lucas continues, "It seems the composer did not manage quite all of them. Peter Pears, who sang the title role, claimed that Goodall recorded part of the beginning of Act 2, because 'Ben was, almost literally, prostrate'. When the sessions were over, Britten wrote to Goodall:
Dec 20th 1958

My dear Reggie,

I shall never forget your kindness & generosity in coming to helpme out on the last days' recording of Peter Grimes. It was typical of you - also typical was the way you conducted the piece, without any preparation at all. I am most grateful to you - & send my thanks along with best Xmaswishes to you & your wife -

yours ever
Ben "

This is from 'The Genius of Valhalla' by John Lucas.

[Beef Oven]

I too have never heard of this before. A more likely collaborator, if such were needed, would have been Meredith Davies who conducted the Coventry premieres with BB conducting the Melos. Do you have a source?

It was Britten's recording of Peter Grimes in 1958, not War Requiem - mea culpa.

To quote Jeremy Cullen from John Lucas' book as Reggie's biographer, "......the composer had just started rehearsals for a complete recording of the opera for Decca at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, when he pulled a muscle in his shoulder while shaving. Such was the pain he had to stop conducting. At Britten's suggestion Goodall was called in to rescue the situation. Goodall conducted the rehearsals and the test recordings, and then Britten grasped the baton and conducted the final takes as best he could".

Lucas continues, "It seems the composer did not manage quite all of them. Peter Pears, who sang the title role, claimed that Goodall recorded part of the beginning of Act 2, because 'Ben was, almost literally, prostrate'. When the sessions were over, Britten wrote to Goodall:

Dec 20th 1958

My dear Reggie,

I shall never forget your kindness & generosity in coming to helpme out on the last days' recording of Peter Grimes. It was typical of you - also typical was the way you conducted the piece, without any preparation at all. I am most grateful to you - & send my thanks along with best Xmaswishes to you & your wife -

yours ever
Ben "

This is from 'The Genius of Valhalla' by John Lucas.

[Parry1912]

I certainly didn't know that. Very interesting.

[Curalach]

It was Britten's recording of Peter Grimes in 1958, not War Requiem - mea culpa.

Thanks BO, that's interesting.

[Beef Oven]

Really? I've never heard that before. It's a long time since I read 'Putting The Record Straight' but I don't remember John Culshaw mentioning it. Surely, Goodall would have been a strange choice for the work given his political views.

Parry1912 - mea culpa, see my replies below.

I'm not sure that Reggie's political views were, for most people, anything more than poor judgement on his part.

[Beef Oven]

With other priorities I'm not sure how important getting it is, but thanks for suggestion - I had the original black-boxed LP Set, bought v cheaply in a sale somewhere around 1971 tried it a couple of times....never took to it, then as now preferred Daphnis, Heldenleben, Job, the Elgar Symphonies and Mahler.

Fair enough, it's good that people know their own minds and aren't influenced by the majority view.

I did not buy anything so lofty in 1971 - Just pop including, 'Get it On', T. Rex and 'American Pie', Don McLean!!

[Dave2002]

Europadisc sent me details of Brahms' Requiem conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. Their price seemed reasonable for this new issue from the Edinburgh Festival from 2008, and I've not so far found a cheaper one for this CD. Then I found JEG's earlier recording - first at a high price, but then for £5.10 from prestoclassical. Seems they're having a sale of The Originals, so might be worth browsing here - http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/originals.php This offer finishes on March 7th. There are however even cheaper versions of the earlier recording to be found here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...&condition=new

In the meantime, are the JEG Brahms discs worth having? Are there any other really good versions of Brahms' Requiem? I already have Klemperer's from EMI.

[cloughie]

'American Pie', Don McLean!!

Now you're talking - that was class!

[Parry1912]

Are there any other really good versions of Brahms' Requiem?

Rattle's is excellent (despite neither of the soloists being on top form).

Incidentally, a quick look at Amazon suggests that some 'Originals' can be had for very good prices there.