Album of the Evening

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Dutilleux & Debussy: Tout un monde

 

 

Some more serious-minded work from the exquisitely sophisticated and oftentimes more playful French composer Henri Dutilleux, who is one of my favorites and someone I point to when folks ask for "accessible" modern classical music. This Debussy fellow also appears to be worth watching. An enjoyable and thoughtful collection, very well played and recorded. I listened streaming to CD-quality at Naxos's ClassicsOnline HD*LL.

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Vukan: Tangerine Moon

Bolero Wind Ensemble

 

 

Ragtime compositions and arrangements for wind ensemble. A joy to listen to throughout. Recording quality is what I would call "competent"; about what you'd expect from a big label, not audiophile quality at all. But great playing, fun music, and great musicians having fun are the order of the day here. I listened to this streaming at 16/44 from Naxos's ClassicsOnline HD*LL.

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Elgar: Wand of Youth / Nursery Suite

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd cond.

 

 

I am not a particular fan of Elgar, but this one I like; perhaps because it finds the composer less inclined to impress, less stuffy, more relaxed and, in a word - "fun" - than what I usually associate with Elgar. I do think that a full appreciation of Elgar requires more British blood than I can brag of, but enough of that. This is a gorgeously recorded, splendid performance from a few years back of two Elgar pieces I didn't know about (not that this means much for a professed non-fan of Elgar, of course). The music delights. Downloaded at 24/44 from Naxos's ClassicsOnline HD*LL site (one of my monthly free HD downloads since I took advantage of their annual subscription bargain ... good for another four days, just $90 for a full year's subscription and one free download per month).

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Spain

Vanessa Perez

(Manuel de Falla and Claude Debussy)

 

 

Another big win for Steinway & Sons' recording venture. Playing full of insight and persuasion - also charm - is the only way I can describe it. A performer with a big brain and a big heart, and the chops to carry it off. The recording is beautiful, as all of Steinway's recordings I've listened to have been. Streamed from ClassicsOnline HD*LL at 16/44 (to make it work with Dirac), but also streaming at 24/192).

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Thanks for this great recommendation, mkrzych. I agree wholeheartedly with your evaluation; stunning, indeed! I listened streaming from ClassicsOnline HD*LL at 24/192 (they also have a CD-quality version).

 

Neo-classical music and world premieres of the Dutch composer masterpieces - Vagn Holmboe. Stunning dynamics and recording from DaCapo label in 24/96 resolution FLAC.

 

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Entangled Fortunes

Eddie McQuire (composer)

Red Note Ensemble

 

 

These compositions are inviting and compelling, truly enjoyable 21st-century "light classics," I guess I'd call them. The performances are suave and polished as the pieces seem to require. It won't knock the monocle out of your eye, but it will entertain and satisfy that wish for a contemporary composer you can listen to and simply enjoy.

 

I listened streaming at 24/48 on ClassicsOnlineHD*LL.

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The French Influence

Music for Trumpet and Piano

Gerard Schwarz, trumpet

 

 

A wonderful record of a young Gerard Schwarz and his efforts to record art for art's sake with some friends in 1971. Highly enjoyable, fun romp through these pieces. Not a life-changing experience, but worth a listen. Also, well recorded.

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Rautavaara: Rubáiyát, Balada, Canto V & 4 Songs from Rasputin

 

 

A huge, luscious recording of music that is compelling and sometimes just plain gripping (e.g., Track 10, "Into the Heart of the Light, 'Canto V'"). Rautavarra gets a lot of praise at places like Classics Today, much of which I've found undeserved, and I've never fully bought into it, but this recording is special. Even non-fans of the composer should give this a listen.

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christopher3393, thank you for this wonderful recommendation. There is a certain timelessness to how this group performs this music that I enjoy greatly. For those who might care, it also is available on ClassicsOnline HD*LL, both at 44/24 and 44/16.

 

Guillaume Du Fay: The Tenor Masses (Les messes à teneur)

Jesse Rodin, Cut Circle

2 CDs, 4 Masses

 

New release. Well recorded and well performed masses by one of the most celebrated composers of the fifteenth century who, along with John Dunstable, was a key transitional figure between what we recognize as medieval music and renaissance music. Qobuz has this for a low 11.99 euros. Also available on Tidal.

 

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Wordless Verses

Jackson Trio

 

 

Here is a performance of pieces you've probably not heard, by a trio grouping of instruments equally unusual (viola, piano, oboe). The players here are clearly very talented, but the music doesn't call for virtuosic turns, rather strong ensemble playing. And that is what is on offer here. The three play as if they were one. That might make it sound like they are playing mechanically, but they are not; it's a very organic, fluid, emotionally satisfying performance, from beginning to end. I listened to this streaming at 24/96 on ClassicsOnline (formerly ClassicsOnline HD*LL until yesterday, as it happens).

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Roland de Lassus

Biographie musicale vol. V : Lassus l’Européen

Lionel Munier, Vox Luminis

 

Vox Luminis is , as usual, impressive. Very fine ensemble work on the final installment in this series.

 

"Lassus is today considered to be the chief representative of the mature polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school, and one of the three most famous and influential musicians in Europe at the end of the 16th century (the other two being Palestrina and Victoria)."

 

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Thanks for this wonderful suggestion. Listening to this grand, complex music performed with the seeming effortlessness of this ensemble is hugely gratifying. They sing like a flowing river, until they do not, when one of the soloists leaps out and grabs you by the ears. And the sound is fantastic. I listened at 24/176 streaming from ClassicsOnline. Tons of detail but not a microscope; the whole supplants the parts, while the recording had the detail necessary for a highly analytical listening venture if that's what you seek. I particularly like how the recording manages sibilance. Listen and hear what I mean about that.

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... It was a lovely recording of music that wasn't quite my cup of tea. I'm still glad I gave it a listen though, and I may seek out other recordings by these guys to see if something grabs me more.

 

EXACTLY! That's what this thread is all about. Or at least a big part of what this thread is about. Discovery of music.

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Amazing album and amazing mastering by Bernie Grundman on this one. 3-dimentional sound, depth, warmth and PRaT - toe tapping cut!

 

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Excellent recommendation. I take it you were not listening to Rudy Van Gelder's 2008 remaster. I ask because TIDAL has two versions of this album, and the one with which they associate the album artwork in your post is the Van Gelder version. Just idle curiosity, as I can of course listen to both versions in TIDAL and make up my own mind! =^)

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Very good album, but unfortunately very bad mastering and loud on CD - pita!

 

I have to agree. This was the very first hi-resolution (24/96 PCM) album I ever purchased or heard, and I was appalled. It sounded like congealed gravy. It made me seriously wonder what the bother was all about. But the songs and the performances are of course outstanding.

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I agree with you about the sound of the download. In fact I was listening to Fortune Teller from that album last night thinking how good it sounded.

 

After reading this, I started to doubt myself, so I went back and listened to the HDTracks 24/96 download again. I am not afraid to admit I was wrong. I think it was my old equipment that was the problem, that muddied up the sound of this recording for me. I hadn't listened to it in a long time, long enough that, in the interim, I had replaced my DAC with the Bifrost Multibit and added a Regen, and also implemented Dirac DSP. Those changes have enhanced resolving power in my system, and by golly, that's what I heard just now. Much more detail, none of the cloudy funky fuzz that turned me off originally. So, I retract my prior negative evaluation of the sound. It was me, not you, Robert Plant.

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RAM 6: Manmanm Se Ginen

RAM

 

 

This is just a fantastic album by Haitian-American superstar and hotelier extraordinaire, Richard A. Morse, who lends his initials to the name of his band. If you know nothing about Haitian music, start here. If you know everything about Haitian music, then assuming you have not already heard it, listen to this album. It's a living art album, advancing the Haitian musical styles while inhabiting them with the respect they deserve.

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Testament

Rachel Barton Pine

 

 

I've been a fan and home-town booster of Rachel Barton Pine throughout her career, but I'm really pleased by this recording. Rachel has over the years taken many chances with unusual or underserved parts of the classical repertoire, but here she puts her foot down square in the middle of the violin solo canon. And she scores! It's fun for me listening to this player whose performance style I recognize so well traversing these core Bach pieces with such aplomb, charm and technical savvy.

 

As far as the sound goes, I find it excellent; and the following quote from an interview with Rachel seals the deal: "...the sound was so perfect that they ended up using just a single pair of mikes and no post-production. It was literally a live sound ..."

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Having a first listen on Tidal. Some gorgeous tracks:

 

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Alia Vox: Granada 1013-1502 CATALOGUE / disc

 

Thanks for this recommendation. Once again, Jordi Savall proves himself a great force for the traditional and ancient music at the roots of Western Art Music.

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Tombones

Frank Wess, flute

 

 

An example of where great talent and great fun intersect. Frank Wess made the flute respectable in jazz, but this album is not respectable; just a lot of fun to listen to.

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Tony Molina

"Dissed and Dismissed"

 

 

This to my mind is the perfect pop album, or at least one of the few (Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain would be another). I love the short-format tunes. Say what you have to say, then stop while you're ahead. Also some great rock/pop guitar playing.

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Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff & Makris: Orchestral Works (Highlights)

London Symphony Orchestra

Predrag Gosta conducting

 

 

An intense, in-your-face performance. Real dedication here. Worth a listen, and maybe it will entice you to purchase the whole set. Use this one to show off your stereo to your family and friends, while also reserving some time to just enjoy listening yourself. I listened to this highlights set streaming on ClassicsOnline.

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Just wanted to add that the full performance of the Mussorgsky/Ravel and Rachmaninov LSO recording, the highlights of which I posted on yesterday, are now streaming at CD and hi-resolution at ClassicsOnline. More important, the entire performance is worth a listen!

 

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Durand Jones & The Indications

 

Just released July 1, this is soul music played and recorded live that's just explosively awesome. I can't wipe the smile off my face. What a great album this is.

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Roy Nathanson

 

Sotto Voce

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sotto-Voce-Roy-Nathanson/dp/B000F9RLU8

 

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Different, great music and very well recorded. One of my favorites.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. The music IS different; the enthusiasm of the performers borders on maniacal (the good kind of maniacal). And it is a good recording, most appealing to me being lots of bass that adds solidity and stays this side of muddy, which I always appreciate. Although it does sound like an artificial studio-created space rather than a live performance space, with vocals pushed way front-and-center. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Bach: Keyboard Partitas Nos. 1-6

Sergey Schepkin

 

 

Steinway continues its series of exquisitely recorded piano music with this punchy and assertive performance by Sergey Schepkin, who has at least one other (pseudo-) Bach recording on this label (French Suites). The playing is idiosyncratic and might not match everyone's tastes, but it is at least worth a listen, and the recording quality should satisfy anyone.