Prom 14 - 25.07.17: Vaughan Williams & Holst

[BBMmk2]

Sounds like I've missed something here, in the final movement?

[Ferretfancy]

The sound lacked some space and resonance around the orchestra, whilst being fairly full, in the string section and midrange generally. The opposite of dry is wet of course . In acoustic terms, a lot of reverberation or resonance (i.e low sound absorption). Think of some of those close-up Cleveland/Szell recordings, where dynamic range and hall echo is restricted, but the orchestral sound is attractively warm and vibrant.

Opposed to warm, a cold sound is one that lacks fullness and richness, and often one with excessive resonance too. (Some Melodiyas in the Moscow Radio Large Hall, Bruckner recordings in cathedrals...etc.)

Blame it on the engineers Jayne, it certainly did not lack space and resonance in the hall. Both the RVW and the Holst have a huge dynamic range and the orchestra did them full justice, producing massive climaxes that engulfed the ear. It's really unfair of me to suggest blaming the engineers, since there isn't a system anywhere that can reproduce the sound of an orchestra in full tilt, however much we may wish for it. I would like to know how the quietest playing came across on air. I'm thinking of the delicate string playing in Venus, or the beautiful and lengthy fade out of the chorus in Neptune which kept us holding our breath for such a long time. Wonderful pedal notes from the organ shook the stomach.

[jayne lee wilson]

Blame it on the engineers Jayne, it certainly did not lack space and resonance in the hall. Both the RVW and the Holst have a huge dynamic range and the orchestra did them full justice, producing massive climaxes that engulfed the ear. It's really unfair of me to suggest blaming the engineers, since there isn't a system anywhere that can reproduce the sound of an orchestra in full tilt, however much we may wish for it. I would like to know how the quietest playing came across on air. I'm thinking of the delicate string playing in Venus, or the beautiful and lengthy fade out of the chorus in Neptune which kept us holding our breath for such a long time. Wonderful pedal notes from the organ shook the stomach.

Yes - that's why I always make it explicit about how I'm listening (HDs, Concert Sound, etc.). I'm in the Home Concert Hall, each time. As I recall, there was little wrong with softer passages in the VW9, and the next night (with the Liszt and Anderson items) the sound was as I said, more open, dynamic and incisive, though with a little manipulation (occasional boost to very soft passages), I thought, nothing too intrusive. All my comments are relative to other webcasts and recordings, and I don't think lamenting the fact that no hifi can ever capture the sound of etc gets us very far, really. The culture of recordings, broadcasts and webcasts is a very rich tradition in itself.

(Even with the Vaughn Williams(**), it wasn't terrible - it was mainly a case, in the HCH, of pushing the volume a bit.... didn't stay on for the Holst).
(**) and something of a musical revelation for me, haven't stopped playing it since! - Boult (1959) and Rozhdestvensky).