BaL 15.10.22 - Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending

[mikealdren]

These comments about Tom Service remind me of a thought that occurred to me some years ago with regard to another Radio 3 presenter who shall remain nameless but whom I shall call K----e D----m.

I don't criticise the presenters themselves ( I had similar problems with the two star presenters of 'Woman's Hour' who have moved on). I think they do their best at what they believe they've been paid to do. But I do criticise the BBC for spending so much of our money (I believe they are very highly paid) on them when I'm sure there are many genuinely-knowledgeable young graduates who would be willing and able to do the job for much less.

I really don't think you can compare TS with K----e D----m. He has delivery issues but he does know his subject well. He doesn't talk down to and patronise his audience.

[Lordgeous]

What on earth was the dreadful background noise at the end of the Jansen last excerpt? That would totally rule it out for me. I only have the Hahn which I haven't listened to since I bought it. Must give it another spin. Anyway, the usual BAL complaint: very few versions considered (no Hige?) and some excerpts very short. Please make it an hour dear Auntie!

[Mal]

What on earth was the dreadful background noise at the end of the Jansen last excerpt?...

I was wondering about that! But I just listened to the whole performance in Spotify and it was fine. Maybe Tom had put the kettle on? I thought it was a wonderful eerie, ghostly performance, a worthy winner.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2vlSdWgK4eMW90n1ZBR5yN

[MickyD]

Indeed yes, a rare chance to hear VW on period instruments.

What happened to the New QH orch? Are they still around?

I had a dream of having unlimited wealth and rebuilding the QH on its original site (which I think came up for sale some time ago).

I wish I knew what happened to them. I got their discs of VW, Holst and Wagner, but I think that was all that was set down. Would love to have heard them do some Elgar.

[ardcarp]

What on earth was the dreadful background noise at the end of the Jansen last excerpt?

Oh dear yes. It sounded like some dreadful air-conditioning unit, but surely a recording engineer would have banned that? I do remember such an engineer telling me once that you had to record some 'silence' in a venue in order to use it to do an edit. The 'sound of silence' varies according to the building, apparently. But this was someething more, surely?

[smittims]

Hi, MickyD, the NQHO made a CD of 'The Planets', which was well-received, though of course it wasn't the first recording on period instruments, as Holst himself recorded it twice in the 1920s, a point at which HIPP met history itself!.

[Mal]

Oh dear yes. It sounded like some dreadful air-conditioning unit, but surely a recording engineer would have banned that?...

It was OK on spotify. Did their compression get rid of it? Or is it a live broadcasting glitch? Faulty disk?

[rauschwerk]

Oh dear yes. It sounded like some dreadful air-conditioning unit, but surely a recording engineer would have banned that? I do remember such an engineer telling me once that you had to record some 'silence' in a venue in order to use it to do an edit. The 'sound of silence' varies according to the building, apparently. But this was someething more, surely?

It was recorded in Watford Colosseum. There is background noise throughout but if you play the recording at a normal level it hardly registers. At the end, Janine Jansen plays incredibly quietly. Yesterday they boosted the level of those final bars, making the unwanted noise sound louder than it really is. Trust me, there is no problem.

[Master Jacques]

To some extent, I felt that this BaL missed the bull's-eye, in so far as the work's nature goes. The reviewer was right to identify The Lark... as a deep, chamber-like collaboration between soloist and orchestra, rather than some sort of virtuoso showpiece. So it was odd that they ultimately chose a performance notable for the way a - breathtakingly virtuosic - soloist draws attention to her playing (those astonishing pianissimos!) and "interpretation" at many points along the line. There is surely something here which subtly undermines the music. The fact that this point-making could be tied to some (highly questionable) "narrative" about ruined fields and World War I bolstered the recommendation: the Meredith poem - which RVW follows graphically - knocks any such Aunt Sallies for six. This is not the Pastoral Symphony, existing as it does at one pole of that peerless work.

On the plus side, Ms Kennedy gracefully acknowledged that the Bean/Boult performance (which seemed to my ears to blow away the opposition, in the extracts we heard) has classic status - she compared it to the Du Pre/Barbirolli Elgar Cello Concerto in that respect - and is as close as we will get to how the composer himself probably saw the work. Why does it work so well? Because Hugh Bean, an orchestral leader rather than glamorous star soloist, is truly "first amongst equals", playing with rather than accompanied by his conductor and orchestra. Something of the same applies to Lyn Fletcher's recent recording with her Hallé Orchestra under Elder, who understands just why having your leader in the solo role works so well.

The Jansen performance is startlingly good to hear once, but repeated listening (as with some other Larks) has made me at any rate more conscious of the performance, and increasingly less conscious of the piece.

[gradus]

I enjoyed the review and think TS would be a good host when Andrew isn't available.

[Goon525]

I’ve just listened to the (excellent) Jansen on a high resolution system, and am not getting the crash at the end referred to above. Perhaps something happened in the BBC studio?

[HighlandDougie]

To some extent, I felt that this BaL missed the bull's-eye, in so far as the work's nature goes. The reviewer was right to identify The Lark... as a deep, chamber-like collaboration between soloist and orchestra, rather than some sort of virtuoso showpiece. So it was odd that they ultimately chose a performance notable for the way a - breathtakingly virtuosic - soloist draws attention to her playing (those astonishing pianissimos!) and "interpretation" at many points along the line. There is surely something here which subtly undermines the music. The fact that this point-making could be tied to some (highly questionable) "narrative" about ruined fields and World War I bolstered the recommendation: the Meredith poem - which RVW follows graphically - knocks any such Aunt Sallies for six. This is not the Pastoral Symphony, existing as it does at one pole of that peerless work.

On the plus side, Ms Kennedy gracefully acknowledged that the Bean/Boult performance (which seemed to my ears to blow away the opposition, in the extracts we heard) has classic status - she compared it to the Du Pre/Barbirolli Elgar Cello Concerto in that respect - and is as close as we will get to how the composer himself probably saw the work. Why does it work so well? Because Hugh Bean, an orchestral leader rather than glamorous star soloist, is truly "first amongst equals", playing with rather than accompanied by his conductor and orchestra. Something of the same applies to Lyn Fletcher's recent recording with her Hallé Orchestra under Elder, who understands just why having your leader in the solo role works so well.

The Jansen performance is startlingly good to hear once, but repeated listening (as with some other Larks) has made me at any rate more conscious of the performance, and increasingly less conscious of the piece.

You could have taken the words right out of my mouth ...

[MickyD]

Oh dear yes. It sounded like some dreadful air-conditioning unit, but surely a recording engineer would have banned that? I do remember such an engineer telling me once that you had to record some 'silence' in a venue in order to use it to do an edit. The 'sound of silence' varies according to the building, apparently. But this was someething more, surely?

Hi, MickyD, the NQHO made a CD of 'The Planets', which was well-received, though of course it wasn't the first recording on period instruments, as Holst himself recorded it twice in the 1920s, a point at which HIPP met history itself!.

Ha ha, good point! Yes, I have that disc as well, worth hearing.

[Stanfordian]

I’ve just listened to the (excellent) Jansen on a high resolution system, and am not getting the crash at the end referred to above. Perhaps something happened in the BBC studio?

Maybe the presenter's wallet fell on the floor.

[Serial_Apologist]

Maybe the presenter's wallet fell on the floor.