My Essential Classical Albums.

[AnotherSpin]

5 hours ago, accwai said:

 

Well, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra was mentioned in the Album of the Evening thread recently. It's well known for its ravishing middle movement. That's rather essential. And of course, middle movement of the Mozart's Clarinet Concerto is equally ravishing. And along the same line, Carl Maria von Weber has the Concertino for Clarinet. Beautiful slow first movement develops into a lively sprint. Short and sweet.

 

There you go

 

Breaking things down into time period and/or genre would help focus the "seeding". So what interest you the most?

 

And, middle movement of flute and harp concerto...)

[sphinxsix]

8 hours ago, christopher3393 said:

You're probably set then. If I were to choose one Hildegard recording myself it would be:

Hildegard von Bingen - Canticles Of Ecstasy

Thanks for this. I'll check it out soon.

 

9 hours ago, accwai said:

reaking things down into time period and/or genre would help focus the "seeding". So what interest you the most?

Actually with few exceptions my collection starts with Baroque and ends with 20th century composers.

Maybe a good idea to start with would be to ask you guys about earlier - Medieval and Renaissance - periods. I'm practically 100% ignorant here.

I'll repeat it once again - both performance and SQ matter but music comes first. I prefer hi-res formats - 24bit, DSD, SACD especially with well recorded material but I listen to 16bit too.

 

[Apesbrain]

Listening to this at the moment and it is stunningly good:

 

 

Sad story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Judd

[sphinxsix]

@accwai

Ps.

As for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante - got Vilde Frang in my collection. 

Clarinet Concerto - i like it too - it's Neville/Andrew Marriner.

I'll have to check out Carl Maria von Weber's Concertino for Clarinet, don't know this one.

[accwai]

On 4/24/2017 at 5:38 PM, sphinxsix said:

[...] Actually with few exceptions my collection starts with Baroque and ends with 20th century composers.

Maybe a good idea to start with would be to ask you guys about earlier - Medieval and Renaissance - periods. I'm practically 100% ignorant here.

I'll repeat it once again - both performance and SQ matter but music comes first. I prefer hi-res formats - 24bit, DSD, SACD especially with well recorded material but I listen to 16bit too.

 

No taker at all. Sigh...

 

Medieval and Renaissance cover a much broader time range than Baroque to 20th century, so summarizing is not easy. Below is based on the RCM History 2 syllabus. They are not all that comprehensive to be honest.

• Early Middle Ages (476-850):
  • Gregorian Chants. Perhaps somebody else can recommend an essential album here.
• Romanesque Period (850-1150):
  • Notre Dame School: Tonus Peregrinus' Sacred Music from Notre-Dame Catherdral is probably the most easily available. Covers a broad range of organum styles by Leonin and Perotin.
  • Hildegard von Bingen also falls in this time period. Already covered earlier in this thread.
• Gothic Period (1150-1450):
  • French Ars Nova: Guilliaume Machaut. christopher3393 is going through Machaut's motets in the Album of the Evening thread right now. Also Messe de Nostre Dame, the earliest complete setting of the Mass Ordinary attributed to a single composer.
• Renaissance (1450-1600): Dufay, Josquin, Palestrina, Ockeghem, Lassus, Monteverdi, etc.
  • Josquin Desprez: RCM History 2 his Ave Maria ... virgo serena as example of high Renaissance motet. There are quite a few recordings. Don't know off hand which one is best. But his output is much more than that.
  • Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: RCM History 2 uses his Missa Papae Marcelli as example of high Renaissance Mass and influence of Counter Reformation on music. Tallis Scholars recorded it twice, paired it with Gregorio Allegri's Miserere both times. The early recording is legendary. The recent one has great review as well. Again, his output is much more than that.
• Transition to Baroque:
  • Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, for example. Have to think about what would be consider essential.

Then there are mainly secular genres like troubadours, trouvères, instrumental music, madrigals etc. Anyway, a bunch of random thoughts off the top of my head. Now the real experts can chime in.

[christopher3393]

On 4/24/2017 at 4:38 PM, sphinxsix said:

Maybe a good idea to start with would be to ask you guys about earlier - Medieval and Renaissance -

 

5 hours ago, accwai said:

No taker at all. Sigh.

Daunting task, which accwai addressed well. I'm far from an expert, but listen to a lot of this music. I don't have favorites, but am happy to gradually make a few recommendations.

 

Guillaume de Machaut is generally considered  the single most "important" composer of the middle ages and his Messe de Notre Dame his most famous work. But which recording? I think I have 4 favorites that are all different, so I'll do some fresh listening and post later.

[sphinxsix]

@accwai Thanks. I'm unfamiliar with all (!) the names you've mentioned. Which is great! Will explore the subject step by step.

@christopher3393 Yes, I've noticed your interest in  Guillaume de Machaut  on 'Album of the..' thread recently. Just listening to his  Messe de Notre Dame. I hope to hear more from you on this subject!

[sphinxsix]

Ps. A question to all of you guys - are there any Scarlatti compositions as charming as his piano sonatas.? If so - which recordings would you recommend?

[accwai]

13 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

Ps. A question to all of you guys - are there any Scarlatti compositions as charming as his piano sonatas.? If so - which recordings would you recommend?

 

You mean like this?

 

Domenico Scarlatti: Stabat Mater a 10 voci
Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini

 

 

Or like this?

 

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonatas for Viola d’Amore & Harpsichord
Valerio Losito, Andrea Coen

 

 

The latter is a little contrived though, as most of the material is already present on CD #34 of the Scott Ross complete set. They just claim it's supposed to be for viola d'amore.

[sphinxsix]

23 hours ago, accwai said:

Gregorian Chants. Perhaps somebody else can recommend an essential album here.

I'd appreciate some recommendation too..

 

17 hours ago, christopher3393 said:

Guillaume de Machaut

 

17 hours ago, christopher3393 said:

Messe de Notre Dame

Listening to this is like being transprted back in time.. I like purity and clarity of this composition. Waiting for recommendation of a particular recording (patiently).

[christopher3393]

6 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

17 hours ago, christopher3393 said:

Messe de Notre Dame

Listening to this is like being transprted back in time.. I like purity and clarity of this composition. Waiting for recommendation of a particular recording (patiently).

Yes! Which performance are you listening to? I'm working on it now.

 

As to essentials, perhaps one of the best ways to wade into Machaut's Mass and beyond is through a repackaging of the fine performance of the Messe that accwai linked:

 

Guillaume de Machaut: Sacred and Secular Music; Messe de Nostre Dame

Ensemble Gilles Binchois / Dominique Vellard

 

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=570906

 

3 discs, accessible, mellifluous performances, not the final word, good sound quality but nothing spectacular. recorded around 1990. Here's a more recent performance of the Messe by this ensemble (with some personnel changes):

 

 

[sphinxsix]

@christopher3393 I picked up (quite accidentally) Oxford Camerata performance last night.

[christopher3393]

6 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

@christopher3393 I picked up (quite accidentally) Oxford Camerata performance last night.

This is an accessible performance, maybe a bit "polite", with ok sq. I'll be mentioning other performances soon. Thanks for your patience. Will also recommend chant, Gergorian plainchant as well as other forms.

[sphinxsix]

35 minutes ago, christopher3393 said:

This is an accessible performance, maybe a bit "polite", with ok sq

I didn't buy it, just checked what the composition sounds like.

 

36 minutes ago, christopher3393 said:

I'll be mentioning other performances soon.

There's no hurry at all.

 

37 minutes ago, christopher3393 said:

Will also recommend chant, Gergorian plainchant as well as other forms.

Will appreciate it.

[christopher3393]

Great link on Machaut's Mass that includes mini-reviews of most of the best recordings: https://fdleone.com/2015/11/20/machauts-messe-de-notre-dame-an-overview/

I disagree with the reviewer on one recording: 

In Memoriam – Guillaume de Machaut: Messe Notre Dame

Ensemble Musica Nova – Lucien Kandel, dir.

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/in-memoriam-guillaume-de-machaut-messe-notre-dame-philippe-de-vitry-codex-robertsbridge/3760058360934

This, along with their 2 other Machaut albums are on a short list of favorites!

 

 

[christopher3393]

Finally, https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/7577-album-of-the-evening/?do=findComment&comment=545978

 

[christopher3393]

To start off Gregorian chant recommendations, here is an old standard and a great sampler by one of the great chant directors and one of his choirs:

Gregorian Chant

Konrad Ruhland, Choralschola of the Niederaltaicher Scholaren

https://www.amazon.com/Gregorian-Chant-Konrad-Ruhland/dp/B00000295L/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1493328160&sr=1-1&keywords=Gregorian+Chant+Konrad+Ruhland%2C+Choralschola+of+the+Niederaltaicher+Scholaren

 

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/gregorian-chant-konrad-ruhland-choralschola-of-the-niederaltaicher-scholaren/0074645389929

 

[christopher3393]

More Gregorian chant favorites:

Filia Sion

Vox Clamantis / Jaan-Eik Tulve

 

 

Reviews: http://www.allmusic.com/album/filia-sion-mw0002357802

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=773508

 

24/44.1 download: http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/filia-sion-vox-clamantis/0002894811388

 

 

Some of the tracks are not Gregorian, but the whole project is just excellent!

[accwai]

On 4/28/2017 at 6:40 AM, christopher3393 said:

More Gregorian chant favorites:

Filia Sion

Vox Clamantis / Jaan-Eik Tulve

 

[...]

 

Some of the tracks are not Gregorian, but the whole project is just excellent!

 

A Perotin composition that is not organum... In fact, the droning in the background sounds suspiciously like harmonic chanting. Intersting

[sphinxsix]

47 minutes ago, accwai said:

Intersting

Yes it is. IMO these overtones sound great. I understand that harmonic singing might not be known in Europe in the Middle Ages but I don't mind it at all in this musical conext.

[christopher3393]

59 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

Yes it is. IMO these overtones sound great. I understand that harmonic singing might not be known in Europe in the Middle Ages but I don't mind it at all in this musical conext.

Yes, I agree!

Speaking of Perotin (as if on cue):

Perotin 

The Hilliard Ensemble

 

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/perotin-the-hilliard-ensemble/0004228377512

 

Some of the best early polyphony from the Notre Dame school in Paris circa 1200, an artful performance and fine recording.

 

 

[christopher3393]

I would want to have an album or 2 from each of these ensembles in an "essential" selection based on performances

1. Marcel Peres and Ensemble Organum
2. Anonymous 4 or Trio Mediaeval
3. Jordi Savall and Hesperion XX/XXI
4. Christopher Page and Gothic Voices
5. Sequentia

There may be others, but I'll stick with this for now.

 Marcel Peres is one of the most important contributors to Medieval Chant in our time. I'm going to make an odd choice for Marcel Peres. He has dedicated his life to the belief that medieval chant sounded more Byzantine/Arabic, and sounded this way as communicated through the Mediterranean world, particularly through Corsica:

Chant Corse: Manuscrits Franciscains

Peres / Ensemble Organum

 

This is based on manuscripts from the 17th and 18th century, but Peres is convinced that somehting like this style goes back to the Dark Ages and was mostly handed down aurally. So, in a way, this album epitomizes hos signature sound.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Harmonia%2BMundi/HMA1951495

 

 

 

[christopher3393]

Two Trio Mediaeval albums. Half of the tracks on both of these are actually modern compositions with strong medieval influence.

 

Stella Maris

Trio Mediaeval

includes 2 Perotin pieces

 

 

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/stella-maris-trio-mediaeval/0002894763021

 

 

A Worcester Ladymass

Trio Mediaeval

 

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/a-worcester-ladymass-trio-mediaeval/0002894764215

 

 

[sphinxsix]

@christopher3393 Thank you very much for your recent recommendations! I will need some time to check them out. Both Trio Mediaeval (full of subtle gentleness..) and Marcel Peres & Ensemble Organum (wow it's really powerful and I don't mind Eastern influences in music at all, just the opposite) sound magnificent! As for Jordi Savall - I have to confess I have 9 his albums (5 with Hesperion). I discovered his music some time ago and have lots of respect for him! His both 'Orient - Occident' albums and 'Armenian Spirit' are just fantastic.

 

 

 

One word quite often comes to mind when I listen to early music (regardless of its origin) -

timelessness...

 

 

 

[Teresa]

Sphinxsix, I don’t consider any classical albums essential to everyone, no one likes exactly the same music and this is true with all kinds of music. I like all kinds of music including rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, and world, but only a small percent of each. Music has to grab me emotionally and generally be exciting.

 

I use the streaming audio samples at high-res sites to see if I might like something. I’m not a fan of a lot of mainstream stuff and prefer the more exotic classical music. With that said, I'll list my 10 that I can’t live without, since no one has suggested these yet.

 

Antill: Corroboree / Ginastera: Panambi Eugene Goossens, London Symphony Orchestra (Everest / Classic Records 24-bit 96kHz DAD DVD) Don’t get the 24-bit 192kHz download from HDTracks as it sounds horrible with terrible distortion on climaxes. The 24-bit 96kHz DAD DVD Classic Records version was mastered by Bernie Grundman and has no audible distortion even on climaxes. I don’t know who mastered the 24-bit 192kHz HDtracks version. I believe that the HDtracks version was either mastered at too high a level driving it into digital distortion or the original analog master tape was not utilized. Also the HDTracks version must have used aggressive noise reduction as it has no audible tape hiss even through headphones which could be the reason strings sounds so shrill, on the other hand the Classic Records 24-bit 96kHz DAD DVD has very low level of tape hiss and nice smooth string tone.

 

Arnold: Overtures Malcolm Arnold, London Philharmonic Orchestra (Reference Recordings 24-bit 176.4kHz HRx Data-DVD with .wav music files)

Gandolfi: The Garden of Cosmic Speculation Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Telarc SACD)

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Telarc SACD)

Schnittke: Gogol Suite / Khrennikov: Love for Love Mark Gorenstein, Russian Symphony Orchestra (Pope Music CD)

 

Shilkret: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, Dedicated to Tommy Dorsey / Högberg: Concerto No. 1 for Trombone and Orchestra "The Return of Kit Bones" / Lindberg: Helikon Wasp Christian Lindberg, John Neschling, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (BIS SACD or 24-bit 44.1kHz download from eclassical.com) This is a really fun jazz inspired classical recording.

 

Ravel: All the Works for Orchestra Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Minnesota Orchestra (24-bit 96kHz DAD DVD Vox Turnabout / Classic Records - 2 discs)

Stravinsky: Petrouchka, The Firebird Suite, Scherzo à la Russe Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Telarc SACD)

Thomson: The River, The Plow That Broke the Plains Leopold Stokowski, The Symphony of the Air (Vanguard Classics SACD)  

 
Turina: Danzas Fantàsticas, La Procesión Del Rocio, Sinfonia Sevillana / Debussy: Images for Orchestra: Ibéria Jesús López-Cobos, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Telarc SACD)