BaL 16.11.19 - Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Jeremy Summerly sifts through recordings of Stravinsky's austerely beautiful Symphony of Psalms.
A choral symphony from the composer's 'neoclassical' period, Stravinsky's compact, three-movement work has been fortunate on record with a wide range of interpretations from all round the world. It inhabits a unique sound world, omitting as it does clarinets, violins and violas, and comparisons are guaranteed to be fascinating.

Available versions:-

Choeur Des Jeunes, Lausanne, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Choeur De Radio, Lausanne, Ernest AnsermetLondon Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir, Ernest Ansermet
Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Orchestre de Paris, Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris, Daniel Barenboim *
Windsbacher Boys Choir, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Friedrich Beringer
Sündfunkchor und Radio-Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, Gary Bertini
London Symphony Orchestra, The English Bach Festival Chorus, Leonard Bernstein (DVD)
London Symphony Orchestra, English Bach Festival Choir, Leonard Bernstein
American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Pierre Boulez
Chor des Münchner Philharmoniker, Philharmonischer Chor München, Münchner Philharmoniker, Sergiu Celibidache
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Riccardo Chailly
The Sixteen, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Harry Christophers
Simon Joly Chorale, Philharmonia Orchestra, Robert Craft
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Radiokören, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sixten Ehrling
RIAS Kammerchor, Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay *
Monteverdi Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner
Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiender Staatsopernchor, Valery Gergiev (DVD/Blu-ray)
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, Michael Gielen
Collegium Vocale Gent & Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Philippe Herreweghe (SACD) *
Chor & Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Romande Chamber Choir, Lausanne Pro Arte Choir, Brassus Choral Society, Neeme Järvi
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin & Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Lorin Maazel
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian State Academic Choir & Russian Symphony Orchestra, Igor Markevitch (SACD)
Russian State Academy Orchestra, Boys'and Male Voices of the Russian State Academic Choir, Igor Markevitch *
Orchestra of La Fenice, Riccardo Muti (DVD)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
City of London Sinfonia, Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O’Donnell
Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Simon Preston
Berliner Philharmoniker & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw
Tenebrae, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Nigel Short
Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, Sir Georg Solti
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Chorus, Igor Stravinsky
CBC Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Festival Singers, Igor Stravinsky
Academic Symphony Orchestra of the USSR, Evgeny Svetlanov *
London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas *
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Josef Veselka

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Hey!

It isn't advertised as a twofer.

[Pulcinella]

LSO not NYPO for the Bernstein CD too, Alpie.
Didn't know there was a DVD, in fact!

Looking forward to this!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Didn't know there was a DVD, in fact!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-Leonard-Bernstein-Albert-Michel/dp/B00HFQJRYM

[Bryn]

Does anyone here know how many recordings reflect the composer's original intention that only male voices be used. There's O'Donnell and one with Russian forces condiuctred by the Stravinsky (not on CD, as far as I know), but are there any others?

[Pulcinella]

Does anyone here know how many recordings reflect the composer's original intention that only male voices be used. There's O'Donnell and one with Russian forces condiuctred by the Stravinsky (not on CD, as far as I know), but are there any others?

Christ Church, Oxford, with Preston.

The Beringer, too, by the looks of it (Boys).

[Pulcinella]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-.../dp/B00HFQJRYM

With Beroff and the Chorus rather oddly described as 'Actors'!

[Gabriel Jackson]

Does anyone here know how many recordings reflect the composer's original intention that only male voices be used. There's O'Donnell and one with Russian forces condiuctred by the Stravinsky (not on CD, as far as I know), but are there any others?

Igor Markevitch in Moscow

[Bryn]

Igor Markevitch in Moscow

Ah, yes. How did I forget that one. I think I even referred to on this very forum some years ago.

[visualnickmos]

Hey!

It isn't advertised as a twofer.

Is BJ the copy writer?

[Pulcinella]

Does anyone here know how many recordings reflect the composer's original intention that only male voices be used. There's O'Donnell and one with Russian forces condiuctred by the Stravinsky (not on CD, as far as I know), but are there any others?

I've just started reading I saw eternity the other night, Timothy Day's book on the sound of King's Cambridge (amongst others). I wonder if the sound Stravinsky was after from his preferred all-male choir has now effectively been supplanted by that of many mixed-voice choirs that grew from that tradition.

[rauschwerk]

Does anyone here know how many recordings reflect the composer's original intention that only male voices be used.

Stravinsky did indeed say, 'My first sound-image was of an all-male chorus...', and, 'I was careful to keep the treble parts within the powers of child choristers.', but I'm not sure how far that amounts to an actual preference for boys. Comparing Preston to the five other versions I have of this wonderful piece, I have been surprised to find how small is the difference in choral timbre.

[Pulcinella]

The Ancerl recording is a snip at £344.43 here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00008ZL4V/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ancerl+stravinsky+psalms&qid=1573294052&sr=8-1

At least delivery is free.


PS: MUCH cheaper here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karel-Ancerl-Gold-Vol-14-Stravinsky/dp/B00007H4E3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WHFGQN7VBBN2&keywords=ancerl+stravinsky&qid=1573294656&sprefix=Ancerl+%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've just started reading I saw eternity the other night, Timothy Day's book on the sound of King's Cambridge (amongst others). I wonder if the sound Stravinsky was after from his preferred all-male choir has now effectively been supplanted by that of many mixed-voice choirs that grew from that tradition.

Not that the English Cathedral Choir tradition as it was in the 1920s was necessarily the "sound-image" that the Russian-born, French-residing composer had in mind, of course.

(Day's Eternity* is very good: I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it.)

(* - sounds like a quotation from an early 19th Century poem, used as the title of a 21st Century novel.)

[Pulcinella]

Not that the English Cathedral Choir tradition as it was in the 1920s was necessarily the "sound-image" that the Russian-born, French-residing composer had in mind, of course.

(Day's Eternity* is very good: I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it.)

(* - sounds like a quotation from an early 19th Century poem, used as the title of a 21st Century novel.)

Yes, of course!
I should have qualified my comment: a clumsy way of saying that nowadays boys/girls/mixed voices can be virtually indistinguishable (apart from occasionally on the Choral Evensong thread ).