BaL 23.10.21 - Mendelssohn: Octet

[Braunschlag]

The Hausmusik one is perhaps a little closely miked but it still sounds well. The cello at the start of the 4th movement is a bit ‘gritty’ but the York University hall (Jack Lyons) seemed to be a good venue, clean and clear. A very fine production all round, and that comes from a member who is not a HIPP fan - if I say my favourite Messiah is the RCA/Beecham/Goosens you might get the drift!

[ardcarp]

It was extraordinary this morning how many recordings overly favoured the lead fiddle

...and the reviewer referred rather too much to the lead fiddle.

[Barbirollians]

...and the reviewer referred rather too much to the lead fiddle.

Missed this but I find I only have the version coupled with Daniel Hope’s recording of the
original version of the VC.

[jayne lee wilson]

Thrilled to hear the Siranossian/Lehman/Anima Eterna Brugge recording of the original Octet so highly commended. If you enjoy Hausmusik in the revision, or even (perhaps especially) if you don't, this is a great one to move onto for a refreshment of the responses.

And you get a terrifically impassioned Op.64 Violin Concerto c/w, again in the Original Version. Wonderful Album from 2017, in excellent, beautifully balanced recorded sound - as you'd expect from Alpha. (Not too close, or spotlighting of the leader in Op.20.)

[BBMmk2]

Thrilled to hear the Siranossian/Lehman/Anima Eterna Brugge recording of the original Octet so highly commended. If you enjoy Hausmusik in the revision, or even (perhaps especially) if you don't, this is a great one to move onto for a refreshment of the responses.

And you get a terrifically impassioned Op.64 Violin Concerto c/w, again in the Original Version. Wonderful Album from 2017, in excellent, beautifully balanced recorded sound - as you'd expect from Alpha. (Not too close, or spotlighting of the leader in Op.20.)

Sounds great!

I thought it was a very good BaL, yesterday. Glad I listened. I don’t think Andrew McGregor was able to get much participation in this one!

[richardfinegold]

More and more convinced that the recording of this work is the key . It was extraordinary this morning how many recordings overly favoured the lead fiddle or had a rotten acoustic, or were too closely miked . Close miking strings doesn’t work - you hear too much of the string starting to vibrate , the impact of the bow , even the finger slides for my liking .
Now difficult can it be to record 8 strings ? The answer appears to very difficult indeed . I wonder if the problem is that the engineers have done plenty of quartets but rarely an octet and they don’t know quite how to make it work.

I can see where this work can be difficult to record. FM alternates between textures of Orchestral sonority and soft delicate intimacy. I can see where an engineer who isn’t conversant with how the piece sounds live looks at a recording roster, thinks 8 players, and makes decisions that will end up sounding like the players are in to small of a space when they really get cooking. And perhaps the opposite can happen as well.

[jayne lee wilson]

I can see where this work can be difficult to record. FM alternates between textures of Orchestral sonority and soft delicate intimacy. I can see where an engineer who isn’t conversant with how the piece sounds live looks at a recording roster, thinks 8 players, and makes decisions that will end up sounding like the players are in to small of a space when they really get cooking. And perhaps the opposite can happen as well.

What about the Spectacular Emersons (see #31)? No acoustic at all there...........
A Mendelssohn Octet for the MDMA Generation.....

(Oh, sorry, no.... that's the Modern (Devotedly Musical) Audiophile....)

[Lordgeous]

Interesting BAL but, what no ASMF at ALL? Or did I miss it?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Interesting BAL but, what no ASMF at ALL? Or did I miss it?

Yes, I wondered about that too.

[CallMePaul]

Thrilled to hear the Siranossian/Lehman/Anima Eterna Brugge recording of the original Octet so highly commended. If you enjoy Hausmusik in the revision, or even (perhaps especially) if you don't, this is a great one to move onto for a refreshment of the responses.

And you get a terrifically impassioned Op.64 Violin Concerto c/w, again in the Original Version. Wonderful Album from 2017, in excellent, beautifully balanced recorded sound - as you'd expect from Alpha. (Not too close, or spotlighting of the leader in Op.20.)

Unfortunately Presto reports that this is "out of stock at the UK distributor". I have not checked Amazon or anywhere else, but reviewers should check availability before playing examples. OK, it's available on download, but this doesn't suit me or several other members, as has often been mentioned in the forum.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/works/65221--mendelssohn-octet-in-e-flat-major-op-20/browse

[jayne lee wilson]

Unfortunately Presto reports that this is "out of stock at the UK distributor". I have not checked Amazon or anywhere else, but reviewers should check availability before playing examples. OK, it's available on download, but this doesn't suit me or several other members, as has often been mentioned in the forum.
www.prestomusic.com/classical/works/65221--mendelssohn-octet-in-e-flat-major-op-20/browse

With downloads and streaming (get with the program, Grandad! ) and many Amazon CD-suppliers..... its all out there.

Reviewers should simply choose their own favourites "within the brief". Or in surveys like the Gramophone Collection, offer as wide-ranging an Eagles-Eye across the decades as they can.
Its up to the individual musiclover what she does with the information....

Ehnes/Seattle is on R3 later tonight.... will listen off Qobuz when I can....
(I'd love to know what others think of the Emersons' loud & fast Mendelssohnian-Orchestral-style-Octet version...

Oh and, yes, the 1978 ASMF is truly a classic as I've said above....

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

With downloads and streaming (get with the programme, Grandad! ) and many Amazon CD-suppliers..... its all out there.

I'm a grandad (10 & 6). Entirely unrelated to this, I buy CDs, which contribute more in royalties than streaming. Also, they work when the internet is down, or at any time in the future when I can't afford the subscription.

[jayne lee wilson]

I'm a grandad (10 & 6). Entirely unrelated to this, I buy CDs, which contribute more in royalties than streaming. Also, they work when the internet is down, or at any time in the future when I can't afford the subscription.

I often buy CDs myself (recently - the Hrusa Bruckner 4x3 (lovely set - reviewed on R3 RR Saturday), the Siranossian Mendelssohn, the Petrassi Solos, the ICA Harnoncourt (advance order due next week) and several 2ndhand original Conifer CDs of the Handley Arnold...).....it isn't either/or....

I never stream off youtube if there is no proper Record Company etc. license....I pay Qobuz for the streaming at HQ, which for me and many others often leads to a physical-disc sale, and endless curiosity-inspired investigations of the new and unfamiliar...

Lossless or hires streaming is a force for musical good, most especially with the new or unfamiliar music or performers....who would not support it otherwise.
Internet volatility in this dangerous world? Just don't commit too much, too far ahead. Monthly subs preferable....

[richardfinegold]

What about the Spectacular Emersons (see #31)? No acoustic at all there...........
A Mendelssohn Octet for the MDMA Generation.....

(Oh, sorry, no.... that's the Modern (Devotedly Musical) Audiophile....)

Well, I didn’t say it would be impossible to make a decent recording, but that I could see it as being a challenge. So how did the Emerson’s do it? I remember reading at the time but was it multitracking?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Lossless or hires streaming is a force for musical good, most especially with the new or unfamiliar music or performers....who would not support it otherwise.
Internet volatility in this dangerous world? Just don't commit too much, too far ahead. Monthly subs preferable....

That's a laudable and ethical standpoint. Unfortunately there are too many others out there who are happy to get something for nothing. Even YouTube pays a tiny bit, but you need a huge number of hits for it to make a difference. My son has a video there with 11.6 million viewings, but he does proportionately better via other outlets.