I was amused that one of the recordings - was it the winner - seemed to have been named after tomatoes.
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What pleasure to hear extracts from the Anthony Lewis off air recording.
Lewis's performances at the Barber Institute were on 21-22 March 1962 with Catherine Wilson, Patricia Clark, Janet Baker, Alexander Young, Raymond Hayter, Geoffrey Walls. Was this Baker's professional debut?
Baker sounded so so good this morning.Comment
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Should have been issued on the short-lived Tomato record label.Originally posted by Dave2002 View PostComment
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... research is ongoing as to the effects of throwing tomatoes at sopranos -Originally posted by Bryn View Post
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Dare I confess that I quite liked the excerpts I heard from the Leitner recording this morning! I won't be buying it though. I have the Petrou recording and I am quite happy with that so I think I will stick with it.Comment
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Having been looking forward to a BaL which could cover the few available recordings in some depth, I was disappointed at the limited range of the excerpts. The Petrou (which I have) appeared to receive very little airtime before being dismissed, making it impossible for listeners to form their own judgement.Originally posted by Lawrence View Post
I did like the Minasi excerpts, though - not enough to ditch the Petrou, but if I saw it in a sale I would be tempted...Comment
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I fully agree - had been hoping to hear more of the Petrou, as I very much like some of his other Handel offerings and it would have been good to compare. How does the acoustic in each appear to you, Rolmill? I felt that the Minasi sounded rather close.Originally posted by Rolmill View PostComment
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If it’s of any interest, Presto currently have a blu ray double bill of Tamerlano and Alcina (both with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset) in their clearance sale for £22.80."I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square."
Lady Bracknell The importance of Being EarnestComment
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Indeed, I was amazed at how highly Roger Parker rated the Lewis recording. I almost thought it was going to 'win' for a moment, but then we expect HIPP to prevail, and probably quite rightly in this case. Janet Baker had already begun her career as a singer I think, but Anthony Lewis certainly gave a big boost to it. Another singer whom I forgot to mention upthread was Maureen Lehane. She was certainly one of the 'greats' of her day and now, perhaps, a little forgotten.Originally posted by verismissimo View Post
Lewis was arguably not a 'great' himself as a conductor. Not in the same league as Raymond Leppard perhaps. He was however a great scholar and when he wielded his baton he did not try to 'interfere' too much with tempi and expression which he presumably thought unauthentic. In other words he let the music be. I guess if he'd had period instruments he might have made it as a winner today.
I have to disagree slightly with Roger Parker who (rather categorically I thought) pronounced the arrival of the HIPP movement in 1980! Believe me, there was a lot of experimentation with period instruments before that. I for one sang occasionally with a small instrumental group called 'Ripieno Dolce' which exclusively used early instruments and assiduously studied the way in which they were used. Also, a friend of mine, a trumpeter, was one of the three playing in Bach's Christmas Oratorio in the new Coventry Csathedral in the late 60s/early70s using straight (no valve) trumpets. I will concede that the playing of all period instruments (perhaps especially oboes and trumpets) has improved vastly in the past 30 years, but there was much interest well before that...think Arnold Dolmetsch.
PSI agree, and that is so often the case. This element of Record Review needs more time, not to mention more concise chat.Having been looking forward to a BaL which could cover the few available recordings in some depth, I was disappointed at the limited range of the excerptsLast edited by ardcarp; 16-01-21, 19:57.Comment
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I find the Petrou sounds ever so slightly distant, but still quite clear and well balanced (though I am far from an audiophile and use a fairly basic system, so caveat emptor!). Certainly the Minasi excerpts we heard this morning sounded more immediate to my ears, but not unpleasantly so.Originally posted by MickyD View Post
I was surprised at his casual dismissal of the singing on the Petrou recording, as I think it is very well sung (though I did like the Minasi extracts very much)!Comment
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I think I am right in saying that the laurels for the first complete Handel opera recording on period instruments goes to the late Alan Curtis and his Il Complesso Barocco, giving us 'Admeto' in 1977. It's full of good things and I find it surprising that apart from some stage recordings, there have been no other CD recordings since.Comment
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Anyone interested in exploring Handel's role model and major Neapolitan competitor in London, Nicola Porpora, could do worse than:
If you can find it at a sensible price, that is.
Fagioli is a phenomenon - fab phrasing, amazing coloratura and a sound far distant from English cathedral counter-tenor.Comment
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