Classical Listening

[LitNetIsGreat]

I feel like I am bathing in Bach here - it is fantastic! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be sure to look those up as soon as possible.

[stlukesguild]

Two of Bach's most deservedly famous... and magnificent cantatas are BWV 140 and 147. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 may just be my absolute favorite of Bach's cantatas. The text for this particular cantata is based upon the Biblical allegory of the wise and foolish virgins who await the coming of their Lord. Like the erotic relationship of Shulamite and her Lord from the Song of Solomon, this too was explained away by Christian theologians as symbolic of the longing of the Church or the soul of the true believer for the coming of the Lord (Jesus). Artists, nevertheless, have long recognized the erotic content of this theme of longing and portrayed it as such, whether in San Juan de la Cruz' Dark Night of the Soul, Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa (or indeed, Theresa of Avila's original ecstatic vision) or Bach's Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme.

BWV 140 begins with a marvelous chorale, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme in which the vocal line of the stately chorus weaves through the noble, rhythmic processional music of the orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSgse...eature=related

This is followed immediately by a recitative in which the singer announces excitedly, "The bridegroom comes... he comes!!!" The marvelous duet, Wenn kommst du mein Heil. In this piece the bride repeatedly asks with longing and anguish "When do you come, my Lord?":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REt_h...eature=related

The pair of lovers sing their duet of love and longing against the most ardent, passionate, and yearning of music played by strings. At the conclusion the full chorus returns again for the chorale Zion hört die Wächter singen. This exquisite tune... well known within the Lutheran Church... results in one of Bach's most memorable and recognizable creations... a work heard repeatedly in orchestral and instrumental transcriptions. Again the chorus offers a staid counterpart to the rhythmic procession of the orchestral music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pmGFqH8iwk&NR=1

The chorale is followed by a brief recitative is which the Lord/Bridegroom invites his Bride to come and go with him for all eternity.

The cantata end with a joyful and jaunty duet in which the lovers sing "My Lord in mine," "And I am thine". The music is almost Mozartian. One can imagine it as having been sung by the lovers at the conclusion of The Magic Flute. The work is then concluded with the noble chorale, Gloria sei dir gesungen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imTIE...eature=related

****************

Cantata BWV 147 begins with an elaborately constructed vocal fugue framed by an almost Handelian orchestral fanfare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wraO_FOpFJ4

This cantata presents a wealth of lovely arias including the exquisite Bereite dir, Jesu, noch itzo die Bahn in which the ecstatic soprano vocal melody is accompanied by a lyrically expressive solo violin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK_cp16Aph8

There is a lovely tenor aria, Hilf, Jesu, hilf which begins the second half of the cantata in which the soloist is accompanied by a continuo of orgna and strings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae9trX3jKX4

There is also a bass aria in which the vocalist declares "I will sing of Jesus' wonder..." to an accompaniment of trumpet, strings and oboe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKrsqh-H5YU

The variety of vocalists and instrumental accompaniment makes this one of Bach's most grandiose and diverse of creations with a rich cast of musical "colors" and "textures"

The most famous section of this cantata, however... one of Bach's most famous creations... indeed one of the most famous works in the whole of classical music is the great chorale, Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe, commonly known as Jesu, joy of man's desiring. This work, which makes two appearances (separate verses) is Bach's reworking and orchestration of the well-known Lutheran hymn by Martin Jahn. Bach's orchestration with strings and oboe is absolutely exquisite and clearly explains the continued popularity of the work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jFxe...eature=related





Finally got around to a first listening of this. I absolutely loved it. I say this especially because this production received some rather mixed reviews on Amazon. Of course one needs to consider that opera (for whatever reason) produces far more than its fair share of absolutely obsessive fanatics
who will relentlessly attack the most talented performers for the simple reason that they are not their own personal favorite. One can find endless postings on YouTube, for example, in which Renee Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Angela Gheorghiu, etc... are called "whores" and worse... by a poster who happens to be the fan of another diva. In this particular instance, Bellini's La Sonombula has been previously recorded by two of the biggest and most beloved (deservedly) divas: Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. Add to this the fact that this recording challenges the previously far more "ornamented" versions of Bellini's work by presenting the work in a Historically Informed Style with period instruments, clarity rather that flourish, and a mezzo-soprano in the role once thought to have been reserved for true sopranos... in spite of what actually exists in the original score. Not taking anything away from Sutherland or Callas... both of whom I love... I still found this set to be absolutely splendid. The sound was crystal clear, the entire cast is rock solid, the production stunning... down to the beautiful packaging in a hard-cover book with color photographs, essays, the libretto, etc... And of course the music... well that goes without saying, doesn't it?
Bel Canto at its finest.:throb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWwQA-TY_pQ

One of the most beautiful arias... in spite of the less-than-perfect sound of this YouTube recording. The actual disc sounds immaculate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31TdmlkfbTg

I'm currently listening to another absolutely exquisite collection of Bach's cantatas... again performed/conducted by the brilliant Philippe Herreweghe:



This disc contains three cantatas dealing with death. I am at present listening to the first of these, BWV 8. In spite of the potential heaviness of the theme of death, this particular cantata, entitled Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? is surely one of the most exquisitely beautiful and playful! of Bach's works. The composition is also one the briefest of his cantatas... clocking in at somewhere around 17 minutes. The text deals with the individual asking questions about dying... when and how... and offers a sense of consolation and comfort with the notion that death is but the end of the outward physical being.

The opening chorale is absolutely exquisite. The chorus sings Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? and speaks of death as a "marvellous dawn" while muted strings provide a rhythmic framework and two oboes weave an ever-changing pattern of melody suggestive of the ticking of the clock as our hours slip away. This achingly beautiful melody is punctured by a chiming piccolo or flute which sounds like the ringing (and not tolling) of joyful bells... or the happy chirping of birds (especially the cuckoo):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Lbf...eature=related

The work includes a is built around a pair of lovely arias. The second one, Doch weichet, ihr tollen, vergeblichen Sorgen was written for bass. The piece is absolutely exquisite with the deep bass voice contrasted to a joyful and bouncing tune played upon the flute. One can almost imagine the Pied Piper at play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhBSA...eature=related

[JBI]

The Bartoli Sannambula is good? How does it compare to other ones?

[stlukesguild]

Obviously her voice is deeper... less able to project the illusion of a young, flighty girl... but then again, Bellini's work is a pastoral piece and one questions whether the girlish voice is inherently more accurate than that of a darker, warmer voice of a woman of peasant stock. Research on the opera reveals that the first two really successful performers of the Amina role were mezzos and the original score was written comfortably within the mezzo range with later higher notes added. When the opera was revived at mid-century the role of Anima became associated exclusively with the soprano and accompanied with the most extraordinary embellishments of vocal display intended to convey the lead character's "madness". The interpretations of Callas, Sutherland and others owes much to the mid-20th century notion that Bellini's work should be seen as a Romantic work with almost hysteric "mad scenes", yet Bellini was far more of a classicist... not overly far from Beethoven, Gluck, Rossini, and Mozart. I wouldn't recommend Bartoli over Callas or Sutherland (or vis-versa) anymore than I would recommend the HIP (historically informed performances) of John Elliot Gardiner or Angela Hewitt over those of Karl Richter or Glenn Gould for Bach. Both offer their own insights into what the composer intended. It all comes down to personal taste. I personally cannot stand the HIP performances of Beethoven's piano concertos played on piano forte... but I love the same by Mozart. Add to that the fact that I pretty much adore anything Bartoli has done.

[JBI]

Ah, good to know, because I have the Callas and Sutherland recordings, and much of Bartoli's other work, just not this one - personally though I like her more in older operas myself, over her romantic work - I think she does Handel very well, for instance, but I don't particularly care for her Rossini. Then again, I am more or less bored with Rossini in general, so maybe that has something to do with it.

[Petrarch's Love]

A quick note to thank St. Luke's for his Bach links, which are helping to keep me sane during a late night writing session.

I feel like I am bathing in Bach here - it is fantastic!

My sentiments exactly, and we get free expert (elitist?) reviews. Ever thought of moonlighting as a classical music critic St. Luke's?

Also, I hadn't ever seen this portrait of Bach before, and I quite like it. I wonder why they don't use this more smiling semblance more often? I thought the only portrait we had of him was that rather somber, black attired one.
[/QUOTE]

And now I must get some sleep!

[bluevictim]

Two of my favorite Bach cantatas are BWV 4, "Christ lag in Todes Banden", and BWV 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit". Both of these were composed while Bach was in his early twenties, when he was organist and choirmaster at a church in Muhlhausen. They are both profound treatments of death and resurrection, and they never fail to move me from the opening sinfonias to the concluding choruses. Another of my favorite cantatas is BWV 61, "Nun komm, der Heiden Helland", from the time Bach was in Weimar, featuring the beautiful aria, "Offne dich, mein ganzes Herze". I'm sure I've worn out the word "favorite" by now, but another of my favorite arias is the fugal "Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben", in the Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248).

For recordings of Bach, I always recommend the American Bach Soloists, especially since they've released their recordings on Magnatune (which, by the way, has a nice selection of classical music for downloading under very friendly terms). "J.S. Bach -- Early Cantatas, vol. 1" (Chandos CHAN0715) is another recording of BWV 4 and BWV 106 that I really enjoyed.

Speaking of fugues, I feel compelled to mention my favorite piece of music of all time, Bach's Art of the Fugue. Of all the realizations I've heard so far, I like the one by the Juilliard String Quartet the best. They built a special instrument with a range between a viola and a cello just for the Art of the Fugue.

Everyone who, like me, loves Bach's counterpoint really should give Palestrina a try. Before Bach, Palestrina was the authority on contrapuntal music. The Tallis Scholars has recorded many of Palestrina's works on Gimell. For anyone interested in getting their feet wet without listening to a whole mass, the "Gaude Barbara beata; Gaude quia meruisti" for five voices and "Sicut lilium inter spinas (1)" are a couple of nice motets to start with. There is a fine recording of the former by Chanticleer, and the Tallis Scholars has a fine recording of the latter on Gimell.

[stlukesguild]

Petrarch... yes, I chose this portrait of Bach intentionally, rather than the usual rather dour looking old man that is somewhat suggestive of the Quaker Oats man with constipation (he needs more fiber in his diet). Bach was not this ever serious Puritan. I have read several stories about his activities as a ladies man including one in which he was caught (doing who knows what) in the church organ loft with a young woman. Considering the number of children he sired we must surmise that he had more on his mind than simply God, the Church, Death, and Counterpoint.

Bluevictim... I concur with your choices of cantatas. They are all among my favorite works. My preferred versions are those conducted by John Elliott Gardiner and Philippe Herreweghe... but I certainly have other versions as well. Herreweghe's recordings were quite reasonably priced when I first began to seriously acquire these works... but they are now largely out of print or quite expensive. Still... they are nearly unrivaled. Gardiner may be his only real rival among contemporaries... and his recordings are in no way cheap... with the exception of a lovely box set on Archiv including the St. John and St. Matthew Passions, the Mass in B-minor, and the Christmas Oratorio.

I also concur on the Art of the Fugue which I own 4 different versions: one on organ by Glenn Gould, another orchestrated for baroque orchestra with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, another on string quartet by the Emerson Quartet... and the most recent played upon recorders by the Loeki Stardust Quartet (highly recommended!):



Palestrina?......
Look also into Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 as well as Guillaume Dufay's isorhythmic motets that utilize the most incredibly complex and limiting contrapuntal rules resulting in a music of almost modernist sound.

[bluevictim]

Bluevictim... I concur with your choices of cantatas. They are all among my favorite works. My preferred versions are those conducted by John Elliott Gardiner and Philippe Herreweghe

I like Gardiner and Herreweghe, too; they have recorded Bach extensively and rarely disappoint.

I also concur on the Art of the Fugue which I own 4 different versions: one on organ by Glenn Gould, another orchestrated for baroque orchestra with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, another on string quartet by the Emerson Quartet... and the most recent played upon recorders by the Loeki Stardust Quartet

Yes, I've heard all of those versions, too (even the Loeki Stardust Quartet), and I never tire of hearing different versions of the Art of the Fugue. I especially like hearing the various completions that have been composed. If it were up to me, BWV1080 completions would be a thriving genre of musical composition.

Palestrina?......
Look also into Monteverdi's Vespers or 1610 as well as Guillaume Dufay's isorhythmic motets that utilize the most incredibly complex and limiting contrapuntal rules resulting in a music of almost modernist sound.

I never really got into Monteverdi. Maybe it's time I give him another chance. The Flemish composers, on the other hand, I've always loved. As you say, the complexity of their counterpoint is awe-inspiring (like Tallis' 40 voice Spem in alium). Their music is the epitome of modal composition.

[mortalterror]

Many music lovers were outraged at the manner in which Mozart was present in the film Amadeus. While the film certainly played fast and loose with the facts, there is much to support the image of Mozart as rather immature... especially with regard to social relationships. There are any number of letters written by him laden with lewd sexual comments and vulgarities of an almost juvenile manner... and yet he was also able to compose Le Nozze di Figaro.

That's actually one of the reasons I like him. His song Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber makes me laugh every time I read it. Another good one is from the lyrics of his Difficile lectu. He also makes use of the most wonderful scatological expressions, telling his father in one letter that he was so annoyed he could **** oranges! The man was colorful and seems like the kind of guy you'd like to have a drink with even if you didn't love his music. That sort of thing doesn't tarnish my opinion of an artist in the least. It's rather endearing actually.

[Petrarch's Love]

Petrarch... yes, I chose this portrait of Bach intentionally, rather than the usual rather dour looking old man that is somewhat suggestive of the Quaker Oats man with constipation (he needs more fiber in his diet). Bach was not this ever serious Puritan. I have read several stories about his activities as a ladies man including one in which he was caught (doing who knows what) in the church organ loft with a young woman. Considering the number of children he sired we must surmise that he had more on his mind than simply God, the Church, Death, and Counterpoint.

Hadn't heard the gossip about the organ loft before.

Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
Many music lovers were outraged at the manner in which Mozart was present in the film Amadeus. While the film certainly played fast and loose with the facts, there is much to support the image of Mozart as rather immature... especially with regard to social relationships. There are any number of letters written by him laden with lewd sexual comments and vulgarities of an almost juvenile manner... and yet he was also able to compose Le Nozze di Figaro.
That's actually one of the reasons I like him. His song Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber makes me laugh every time I read it. Another good one is from the lyrics of his Difficile lectu. He also makes use of the most wonderful scatological expressions, telling his father in one letter that he was so annoyed he could **** oranges! The man was colorful and seems like the kind of guy you'd like to have a drink with even if you didn't love his music. That sort of thing doesn't tarnish my opinion of an artist in the least. It's rather endearing actually.

I was just recently remembering a recording my grandfather sometimes played at Thanksgivings at his house, which had a recording of some of Mozart's music (one of the wind quartets?) and then a voice over reading an English translation of some of Mozart's very bawdy notes on the score. Definitely changed the way one experienced the music.

I thought it was just fine to show the more "human" side to Mozart in Amadeus and certainly it's something that many people found surprising and attractive about that take on the biography. I didn't find it a wholly satisfying as a portrayal of Mozart, though because I just didn't feel that the actor playing the part felt a deep connection to music. I thought Hulce did a marvelous job with a very entertaining character and a good portrayal of one side of Mozart. The humorous, social scenes were very natural and engaging, but in the scenes when he was supposed to be immersed in the music or composing, it felt much more like someone making a big effort to act a role than a really convincing portrayal of a musician. The beautiful score and filming certainly covered this well, but I wonder if some of the objections that Mozart lovers have are less to the inclusion of the bawdy aspects of the man than the absence of a certain bond with the music that I personally just didn't feel was present in that performance in the way that I do feel a very real connection to the music with an actor like Jamie Foxx, both in Ray and in his more recent film, which I've just seen, The Soloist. If I were magically able to recast Amadeus I would probably put a young Hugh Laurie in the role as an actor who has a clear personal abiding love for and dedication to music and the comic/dramatic range to pull off roles ranging from Bertie Wooster to House.

I also concur on the Art of the Fugue which I own 4 different versions: one on organ by Glenn Gould, another orchestrated for baroque orchestra with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, another on string quartet by the Emerson Quartet... and the most recent played upon recorders by the Loeki Stardust Quartet (highly recommended!):

Haven't heard either the Loeki Stardust Quartet or the Emerson Quartet versions. I'll have to see about checking them out. I adore the Gould. I have a disc of him playing them first on the organ and then the piano, which is wonderful.

Yes, I've heard all of those versions, too (even the Loeki Stardust Quartet), and I never tire of hearing different versions of the Art of the Fugue. I especially like hearing the various completions that have been composed. If it were up to me, BWV1080 completions would be a thriving genre of musical composition.

blue--This was reminding me that I have you to thank for inspiring me to try the first contrapunctus of The Art of the Fugue on the piano, which I can now perform decently enough for my own enjoyment. Weren't you trying to pick out parts of it on the guitar? How did that go?

I never really got into Monteverdi. Maybe it's time I give him another chance.

Yes, do give Monteverdi another try. I think the key is to start with something like the 1610 Vespers or some of the arrangements for the psalms (By sheer coincidence I happen to have his arrangement of psalm 109 playing at the moment which is adding much richness to a rather dismal gray Chicago afternoon). Psalm 111 is probably his most famous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0QD...layer_embedded

Some of the madrigals are also wonderful. The operatic works can be lovely but, at least in their entirety, I think may be a slightly more acquired taste.

[Virgil]

Monteverdi is excellent. He's the first trruly great composer.

[stlukesguild]

Petrarch... thanks for this Monteverdi piece. It is indeed truly lovely and I'll need to check into it. My own Monteverdi collection is currently limited to the Vespers of 1610, the Mass for Four Voices, the Mass for Six voices 'In Illo Tempore', and L'Orfeo. The last work especially floored me. I recently purchased it in the highly-acclaimed recording by John Elliot Gardiner...



...and I was completely blown away at how powerful the work was... and how strong it was from start to finish. The liner notes suggested that while it was one of the absolute first operas it is also one of the most perfect... and I could not agree more.

Here are a few outtakes from a production by Jordi Savall... one of the absolute masters of "early music":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wni1GVRlMtc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHFx...eature=related

I especially love the merger of sophistication with a certain rawness and muscularity... something that you find equally in Beethoven... and Michelangelo.

Monteverdi is excellent. He's the first truly great composer.

As an incurable medievalist, I certainly wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't underestimate Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 17 September 1179):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxG-GCV5Es

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450 to 1455 – August 27, 1521):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3H2uGxFLI

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between February 3 1525 and February 2 1526 – 2 February 1594)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y28ZRYF9Q-4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXQuOQccCWA

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5W67uBRZCo

Pérotin (fl. c. 1200):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxsfx2nyz9E

There are a good number more as well as any number of works by anonymous composers. Just as with the visual arts, the medieval composers often remained anonymous as a result of the fact that they did not truly take credited for being creators... they were merely craftsmen. If anyone was the creator it was God who spoke through them. Here for example is one of the oldest known tunes, La Folia, in two very different medieval version of variations which originated on the Iberian peninsula. The first version offers some interesting info about the piece on the YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUeLAF54m_U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4h6lmPGOKk

We actually have medieval music from Greece and the Byzantine Empire as well as Spain that shows the influx of Islamic, North African, and Hebrew influences. A lot of this music is strikingly rhythmic in a manner that we don't find in Western classical music until far later. :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OguZIDbt30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsi3k...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXiYBrrxA7w

Unfortunately, most music from before the middle of the Medieval era has been lost to us for the simple fact that there was no codified system of writing down and recording music until around the 10th or 11t century.

[Petrarch's Love]

Nice selection of early music, St. Luke's.

Here for example is one of the oldest known tunes, La Folia, in two very different medieval version of variations which originated on the Iberian peninsula. The first version offers some interesting info about the piece on the YouTube video:

I just recently picked up a recording by the Purcell Quartet called La Folia: Variations on a Theme



They record six different versions of the theme by different composers--Arcangelo Corelli, Marin Marais, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, CPE Bach, and Francesco Geminiani. I listened to it while traveling about the English countryside recently, and thought it was a lovely recording.

There's also this site: http://www.folia.tk/ which is attempting to list all known variations on the tune and provides other info.

Listening to some of these reminded me of one of my favorite early music tunes, Heinrich Isaac's lied "Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen" (Innsbruck I must leave you) This seemed like the best youtube offering (I have a recording by the Collegium Vocale Koln, that is a little slice of heaven, but the King's singers aren' bad ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z3pg7Ocmx8

Luther later changed the lyrics to "O welt ich muss dich lassen" (O world I must leave you) which brings us back to Bach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYlUj1Hx2BY


And one of Brahms' last works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbPXMmDimVo

My favorite lyrics are Nun ruhen alle walder, by Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676, translated beautifully into English as "Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow" in the Luthren hymnal. A recitation of the German poem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIpBKvCurVg

And the hymnal translation:

http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/luth_hymnal/tlh554.htm

It's possible I'm slightly obsessed with this tune, but not as much as this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8f8cf8SL4s

[stlukesguild]

It's possible I'm slightly obsessed with this tune, but not as much as this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8f8cf8SL4s



La Folia was one of the first classical works of which I became quite enamored. I had an LP (that surely dates me, eh?) of collected Spanish pieces for guitar. My absolute favorite was La Folia.

Here is a marvelous version of Vivaldi's variation performed by Apollo's Fire... a wonderful local (and now nationally and internationally acclaimed) chamber orchestra specializing in early music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3TaFzxlfI