BaL 3.11.18 - Stravinsky: Mass

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The New York Times published a short obituary for Mr Foley on 20/2/78:

Warren A. Foley, an organist and choir director at a number of New York churches, died Saturday morning at Mount Sinai Hospital after a short illness. He was 75 years old and resided at 600 West 111th Street in Manhattan.

Mr. Foley began teaching Gregorian music at the age of 20. From 1924 until 1949, he directed the choir of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament and later directed the West Point. Chapel choir. In recent years, he served at St. Brendan's Church, 205th Street and Perry, in the Bronx.

He is survived ‘by his wife, Esther; daughter, Sara, of New York, and two stepsons, John Gallivan of Berkeley, Calif., and Peter Gallivan of Northampson, Mass.

So, the Stravinsky recording was one of the last things he did as choirmaster of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament.

[Bryn]

Much better, but it's all in the big box (other than works conducted by others) isn't it?
Superficial check in the booklet suggests it is.

I have not checked, either. I got mine back in April 2006. Amazon has lost the price I paid. It lists the order, but not what I paid. Very strange. I doubt very much that I paid anything like as much as £20.

[Pulcinella]

So, the Stravinsky recording was one of the last things he did as choirmaster of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament.

Just listenening: it's pretty grim.

[rauschwerk]

Listening again to Craft's Naxos account, I find the balance unsatisfactory. The choir is really too small (or perhaps the problem is my ageing ears).

I used to have the Preston on LP and remember that as a satisfying account.

[verismissimo]

This morning I'm going to give my ancient LP copy of Colin Davis/ECO/St Anthony Singers from 1963 a spin.

[Pulcinella]

This morning I'm going to give my ancient LP copy of Colin Davis/ECO/St Anthony Singers from 1963 a spin.

It's a shame that the Mass never made it to CD: the Cantata did, in this Decca Enterprise release I have.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-Dumbarton-Danses-Concertantes-Concerto/dp/B00000E44B/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1540892725&sr=1-1&keywords=Stravinsky+dumbarton+davis

[Master Jacques]

It's a shame that the Mass never made it to CD: the Cantata did, in this Decca Enterprise release I have.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-...umbarton+davis

The very performance of Cantata which has been haunting my ears all week! A pity indeed that Davis's Mass didn't make it to that early CD transfer (would it have fitted onto the disc?) I for one won't be parting with my old L'Oiseau Lyre LP, though I see you can at least get an MP3 download from Amazon, which looks like an official Decca job:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-Anthony-Singers-English-Orchestra/dp/B001LJZXLK

[Pulcinella]

The very performance of Cantata which has been haunting my ears all week! A pity indeed that Davis's Mass didn't make it to that early CD transfer (would it have fitted onto the disc?) I for one won't be parting with my old L'Oiseau Lyre LP, though I see you can at least get an MP3 download from Amazon, which looks like an official Decca job:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-.../dp/B001LJZXLK

Available from Presto too:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8042313--stravinsky-cantata-mass

[Pulcinella]

I wonder if any mention will be made of the inclusion (or not) of the 'intonation' (I think that's the word: I nearly wrote incantation!) for the celebrant at the start of the Credo: it is given (marked The Priest) in the score but left out of many recordings.

[Bryn]

I might have to 'do a BBM' later. I am off to the local GP surgery for my flu jab.

[Pulcinella]

I didn't know Westminster Cathedral Choir had recorded it so thanks for the heads up. Have ordered a used copy.

You did the right thing.

What a splendid BaL: many interesting revelations into recordings of a work I thought I knew very well!
But no mention of Herreweghe, though there was of some others that did not feature in the combined Alpie/Pulcie list.
(I blame the Presto site. )

This work has been a constant earworm (in a happy way) all week: just adore it.
I wonder if Barbirollians has been converted.

[Bryn]

The FLAC option from the Hyperion site looks to be the best bet, currently (£8.99), for those who do not already have the O'Donnell.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What a splendid BaL: many interesting revelations into recordings of a work I thought I knew very well!

- a superb presentation: JS's "blind testing" leading him to observations that surprised even him. Regardless of the work being discussed, this was a programme that was worth listening to as an example of excellent broadcasting. Fair, well-judged commentary - most of which I completely disagreed with, but supported by the soundest arguments from the score and the composer's comments on it.

But no mention of Herreweghe,

There was - right at the very end in his list of "runners-up". (One of those occasions when I wondered if an earlier illustration had been edited out.)

This work has been a constant earworm (in a happy way) all week: just adore it.

- that ending!!! Yet another example where this composer re-invents "beauty". Absolutely breath-taking.

[Pulcinella]

There was - right at the very end in his list of "runners-up". (One of those occasions when I wondered if an earlier illustration had been edited out.)

Must have blinked (or whatever the aural equivalent is): I though that all those he mentioned had had at least one sample played and didn't hear Gent or Herreweghe mentioned.

Bryn: my flu jab is not scheduled until 17 November. Perhaps we're tougher up north.

[Bryn]

. . . my flu jab is not scheduled until 17 November. Perhaps we're tougher up north.

I could have waited. There are mass[sic] jabbing sessions each Saturday for the next few weeks. I just picked a day when I had nothing crucial to prevent me attending.