Film Music ?

This is an "original motion picture soundtrack" cd but probably not the sort of soundtrack or the sort of motion picture that you might normally encounter. Naqoyqatsi Life as War by the Philip Glass Ensemble conducted by Michael Riesman and featuring Yo Yo Ma on cello. This is the final, or at least most recent, in a trilogy of movies by Godfrey Reggio that are visual collages accompanied continually by the sound collage Glass creates. No dialogue or storyline as such but interconnected images on the themes of sanctioned terror and civilised violence on a global scale. As could be expected from such a theme, the music is soulful and downbeat, given a more human context by the solo parts for Yo Yo Ma in amongst the usual pulsing arpeggios of Glass's orchestrations. Although unlike any other film soundtrack, it does share with that genre diminution of the impact when removed from the visual context.

By the Yard

There is this impression that Telemann was something of a journeyman who turned out music by the yard on demand. He was certainly prolific to say the least and it is a little daunting to know how to approach his output. In fact, this is currently the only cd of his music that I have, Sinfonia Spirituosa String Concertos by Musica Antiqua Koln and Reinhard Goebel. It has to be remembered that in baroque times composers were looked on as craftsmen, expected to be producing music for their employer, be that court or church, on a continuous basis. Telemann was certainly a master craftsman and like Buxtehude would almost certainly have a much higher status now if it hadn't been for the existence of Bach. He is a composer I would like to explore more when I get the opportunity.

Deep

Some very deep blues from the north Mississippi hill country, Wish I Was In Heaven Sittin Down by R L Burnside. Recorded in 2000 when he was 73, the album is a successful mix of his old style hard blues with electronica effects and the playing of a younger band. It is not all downbeat but there are a core of heartbreaking songs that indicate the late Indian summer of his career wasn't really compensation for the hardships that had gone before. Maybe my next one off the shelf philosophy let me down today, in that it is a dismally unseasonal late May day and I just feel generally grouchy about the world. I know blues is supposed to be a release by giving voice to the bad times but it didn't quite work for me this morning. A very recommendable album though.

Supreme

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane is one of those jazz albums that manages to break out of the narrow jazz world and into a wider consciousness. That's not to say it has best seller status in pop terms but you will often see it cropping up in collections where you might not expect jazz to feature. Just over half an hour of music dedicated to Coltrane's vision of God. How much the other members of the quartet bought into the spirituality of the project, there is no doubting their committment to the music. Coltrane's sound is immediately identifiable and soulful but there is still an easy accessibility to any ears that are in the slightest attuned to jazz. I think it was the right decision not to clutter up this reissue with fillers or alternate takes. It may seem short measure in terms of time in the cd age but anything else would be superfluous.

Greenie

The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac isn't a 100% satisfactory album but then no recordings from that early era of Fleetwood Mac come close to conveying the experience of hearing Peter Green live. I saw that original band live more than any other group, in venues ranging from run down pubs to free outdoor festivals and in style from undiluted downhome blues to freeform psychedilia. It was a tight unit and Jeremy Spencer's Elmore James impersonations were always fun but the flawed genius of the band was Peter Green. The only guitarist who ever made BB King sweat according to Mr King ( saw them both at the Albert Hall ). A great vocalist too. His problems have been well documented and it is good to see him making some sort of recovery in the last ten years. This is something of a greatest hits compilation and is fine but if you never heard the band live you might say, it's ok but...It does however include the sublime full six and a half minute version of Need Your Love So Bad and plenty of other hints to what the band was about.

1955

The last of these three cd box sets, The R 'n' B Hits of 1955. The idea behind the series was to take public domain recordings as they fell out of copyright after fifty years, so there should have been a 1956 box by now. The company seems to have folded though so we may stick at 1955. It was a good year anyway, on the cusp of rock 'n' roll, some tracks still hark back to the honking big bands of the forties bit more look forward. There are iconic tracks like Tutti Frutti by Little Richard and I Got a Woman by Ray Charles alongside lesser known gems like Speedo by the Cadillacs and I Wish You Would by Billy Boy Arnold ( covered by Ry Cooder and the Yardbirds respectively ). It also includes arguably the greatest single ever, Pretty Thing by Bo Diddley. Don't ask me to justify that, just listen !

The Eccentric Virtuoso

More wonderful 18th century sophistication in the form of Veracini Sonatas played by John Holloway violin, Jaap ter Linden cello and Lars Ulrik Mortensen harpsichord. They are a long established performing trio now with several fine recordings. Veracini was one of the first musicians to gain a living independently of a specific appointment to court or church, travelling extensively in Europe most notably to London, Venice, Florence and Dresden. A virtuoso violinist as well as composer, he developed a rivalry with Handel and reportedly also fell foul of jealous musicians in Dresden who "may" have made an attempt on his life, his exit from a first floor window remaining unexplained. Some of his eccentricity spills over into his music but there is much that is original. One of those composers more famous in his own time than now relative to others, he may be regaining a foothold in the early music field.

Back to the Chamber

Some Brahms chamber music played by the Belcea Quartet. Brahms wrote chamber music for many combinations but not much for the classical format of the string quartet. I wonder whether that was for purely musical reasons or whether he was intimidated by Beethoven's string quartet legacy in the same way as he famously was for so long with the symphony ? Whatever, this cd features String Quarter Op 51 No 1 and the Belcea's are joined by Thomas Kakuska on viola for the String Quintet Op 111. The Belcea are a fine young quartet who had a spell of heavy recording activity that seems to have slowed down currently following personnel changes. Maybe a period of retrenchment ?

Carefree

Somewhat strangely, this is the only cd that I have by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Blame that record club and the labels it has / had affiliations with. Anyway this is music of Aaron Copland, the famous ballet suites Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Billy the Kid. Fun pieces all, Copland seems to have epitomised that "big country" American sound that later dominated fifties western movie soundtracks. Although listening again to Dvorak's New World symphony, I think Copland picked up a few ideas there too. Appalachian spring, with its' use of the Shaker hymn forever known to fans of Chelsea FC as "carefree", is another BBC Radio 3 staple that suffers from over familiarity but is good to hear every now and again. In an odd piece of programming, the cd concludes with Fanfare For The Common Man which surely should have come at the beginning ?

A space Odyssey

Orchestral music from Richard Strauss with the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan again. Very much core repertoire for that combination. This cd's major piece is Also Sprach Zarathustra but it also contains Till Eulenspiegel, Don Juan and the Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome. ASZ has the famous opening from 2001, A Space Odyssey, of course. Not sure how coherent a piece the rest of it is, there's over thirty minutes after that short burst. Till Eulenspiegel's 15 minutes seems a very frequently used filler for BBC Radio 3 too. Listening to this cd again, I was struck by my changing tastes since first getting into classical music. Richard Strauss then appealed very much with the drama and orchestration but a lot of it now seems a bit overblown to me. Occasional small doses would now suffice for many of the pieces I have.

Faure's a Jolly Good Fellow

The Faure Album. Chamber music played by Gil Shaham, violin, with Akira Eguchi piano and for a few tracks Brinton Smith on cello. The album was recorded by Gil Shaham on his own label after he was purged by DG when the major companies suffered their crisis in confidence in classical music. It represents the kind of programming that the majors wouldn't do anyway and which smaller independent companies excel at and hopefully thrive doing. It is beautiful yet quietly passionate music. Faure is looked upon as a bridge in France between romanticism and the more impressionist developments of the 20th century, especially in his teaching role at the Paris conservatoire, but I think that can tend to underplay the quality of his own music.

Like Clockwork

Beethoven's Symphony No 9 was one of the pieces that I was long aware of before I became interested in classical music, mainly courtesy of Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick and a Clockwork Orange. This recording is by the Berlin Philharmonic and Wiener Singverein with Herbert von Karajan. Sounds pretty damn good to me despite the sniffiness I usually read about Karajan. The disk also features the Coriolan overture as a make weight. Such a well known and frequently performed work, the 9th still retains the power to move, even if the fact that it gets appropriated on occasions such as the post 9/11 Last Night of the Proms presents a somewhat simplistic view of it.

Like a Ripple Spreading Outwards

A cd of modern music by Valentin Silvestrov, Metamusik a symphony for piano and orchestra and Postludium a symphonic poem for piano and orchestra. The performers are Alexei Lubimov on piano with the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Both pieces follow similar structures, with a short sharp loud aggressive orchestral beginning that slowly decays over a period of fifty and twenty minutes respectively, like ripples spreading outwards from a rock thrown in a pool, or the universe evolving from the big bang. sometimes the music almost reaches the point of stasis but just about maintains some forward momentum. The intricate piano utterances delicately pinpointed by subtle orchestral colours reach a kind of calm but with a slight unease hovering.

Portuguese rarity

According to the booklet notes, this remains the only recording of this particular work. Antonio Teixeira's Te Deum by Harry Christophers and the Sixteen with The Symphony of Harmony and Invention. Portugal doesn't have the prolific output of other 18th century centres but this work stands comparison with the orchestrated choral works of Handel for instance. It does need quite lavish resources to realise though, eight soloists, five spaced choirs and a large orchestra, which may explain the failure to become established as a regular in the repertoire. This particular venture had support from charitable trusts, arts organisations and the BBC who gave it a Proms outing.

They Don't Have Titles Like This These Days

The second Steeleye Span album in my collection and the other one featuring their optimum line up, Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again. The rather obscure title has origins in material at Cecil Sharp House, the famous folk song centre in London. The album must be about 35 years old now but it still comes up as fresh as paint and would more than hold its' own with any of the nu-folk acts creating a stir currently. The playing is excellent but what made this lineup of Steeleye special was the song selection and especially the singing, both harmony and solo. Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings continue to make music and by now are revered figures, Maddy Prior is still part of a version of Steeleye Span that is maybve more of a party band than a serious ongoing artistic endeavour but there is a fine legacy.

First Solo Piano Offering......

.....and it isn't by an established giant of the genre but comes a little out of left field, The Early Scriabin by Stephen Coombs. Romantic Russian music, coming out of Chopin but with plenty of interest of its' own. Scriabin himself was apparently a scintillating concert performer. Stephen Coombs plays these with sensitivity and respect for the idiom. Coming as it does from that turn of the 19th / 20th century period in Russia, there is a lot of back story to Scriabin's life and early death. Not too much of that turbulence is noticeable in these early pieces.

Not Exactly Historically Informed

Stokowski's Symphonic Bach by the BBC Philharmonic under Matthias Bamert. It is now generally accepted that Bach's music should be performed by period instrument ensembles in an historically informed manner. Leopold Stokowski's transcriptions are anything but historically informed. However, I think that given the up front nature of the enterprise and the mere fact that these are transcriptions and not attempts to play the originals, it is an interesting and viable way for a modern symphony orchestra to still tackle some of Bach's work. I doubt if many would want to only hear Bach in this fashion, or even listen very frequently, but it is a genuinely musical approach and this recording does it justice.

A High Class of Freebie

The next in line of the freebies from BBC Music magazine. From time to time there have been objections about these freebies from the recording industry regarding possible adverse effects on sales. I don't believe that argument has a lot of validity but it does give slight pause for thought when coming across an example of the quality of this one.Italian Baroque Concertos by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Directed by Catherine Mackintosh from the violin. This would have made a considerable commercial release. It's noticeable that recently the freebies have become a lot more in house with mainly performances from the bBC's own orchestras. Back to the music on this disk, it includes concertos by Corelli, Castrucci, Scarlatti ( Alessandro ), Handel, Vivaldi, Geminiani and Stradella. A real find to revisit since it has ludicrously been sitting unplayed on my shelf for over six years !

A Wife's Legacy

Bartok, the Piano Concertos by Andras Schiff with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer. Pretty definitive performances of all three concertos. I don't necessarily go along with the idea that a performance is automatically better if it is by artists of the same nationality as the composer but admit that is often the case. Bartok's first two piano concertos were written to be performed by himself and ver towards a more modernist approach that has meant they have struggled to establish a permanent place in the repertoire. They don't have too many flashy virtuoso show off segments to appeal to "star" solists and audiences but Schiff brings out the musicality. The third concerto looks back to a more classical form and remains the most popular. It also has a poignant story to hang onto it and make it easier to programme. It was Bartok's final work written in exile and in straightened financial circumstances in the USA during WW2 and the story is that it was written for his wife to perform to provide a viable legacy for her once he had died. In the event, she was unable to bring herself to play it.

A Hero But Not His Finest Hour

Again, the "next one off the shelf" policy throws up an anomaly. The album Mambo Sinuendo by Ry Cooder and Manuel Galban. I have loads of Ry Cooder albums and he is a long standing hero of mine but this album is the weakest. That's not to say it is bad but it does veer dangerously close to kitsch at times. It was recorded in the wake of the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon ( ironically that is one album I don't have ) and Ry here is concentrated on showcasing the guitar style of Manuel Galban. This is a sort of laid back fifties electric sound, heavy on reverb like a kind of sophisticated Shadows. Some of the tunes are pleasing melodies and there is an exquisite version of the old Doris Day hit Secret Love where Ry takes more of a forward role on guitar. I suspect the album works perfectly as an early evening accompaniment to cocktails somewhere tropical.

The Birdie Song Again

It's interesting how this "next one off the shelf" approach is distorting things slightly. By using it, I have another Messiaen disk already whereas there's a whole host of composers and artists still to feature. This one is Des Canyons Aux Etoiles by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Myung - Whun Chung and featuring Roger Muraro on piano. This piece lasts just over ninety minutes and so has slipped over onto a second disk. It was a commission written to celebrate the bicentennial of the USA and was inspired by the landscape of the Utah desert and, not unexpectedly for Messiaen, bird song. It is sparsely scored with much solo piano and xylophone / glockenspiel touches. The orchestra adds colour only infrequently. The bird song influence is recognisable but it is mysterious how the western desert landscape inspired the sounds produced. I don't suppose those who commissioned it expected a spaghetti western score though.

Neurology

Another example of Joanna MacGregor's varied programming style. This cd is titled Neural Circuits and as well as Ms MacGregor, features the Britten Sinfonia and Ensemble Bash. There are two pieces by Nitin Sawnhey, including the title track heavily influenced by Steve Reich, and a traditional percussion piece from Ghana which the Bash crew perform admirably. The remaining pieces are more strictly modern classical, with Arvo Part's sublime Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, Schnittke's dissonant Concerto for Piano and Strings and Messiaen's Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus, one movement from his Quartet for the End of Time ( more of which later )and featuring the late Christopher van Kampen on cello with MacGregor's piano. A satisfying cd programme that hangs together more in the style of a pop album than a typical recital.

Craftwork

A fine cd from Robert Craft in his traversal of the works of Stravinsky. This one is Stravinsky Vol VI and the works included are Symphony of Psalms, Les Noces and Lamentations of Jeremiah. Craft directs the Philharmonia and the Simon Joly Chorale. Craft lived and worked with Stravinsky and his family for many years and his role has inevitably attracted some controversy. He produces authoritative versions of the works, however. The Symphony and Lamentations are quite austere but powerful, with definite traces of the Orthodox tradition. Les Noces is a remarkable piece, mining the same primeval vein as the Rite of Spring but this time with just the forces of voice, piano and percussion. It is often semi-staged, telling the tale of a Russian peasant wedding in some unspecified time past.

Madrigals

Early music from Italy in the form of Monteverdi. Another two cd set, Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi by the Consort of Musicke led by Anthony Rooley. These are from Monteverdi's 8th book of madrigals and are divided into madrigals of love and war. Sadly, the cd I have is a mid price reissue and the record label hasn't gone to the trouble of including texts in the booklet notes. So I am only guessing what they are singing about for the most part, not being fluent in Italian. I expect the texts are online somewhere, may search one day. There aren't any immediately obvious musical differences between love and hate in these pieces, with the exception of Il Combattimento di Tancredi et Clorinda, a folk tale about Clorinda dressing in disguise and following her love Tancredi to war. Tancredi doesn't recognise her, they fight and he ends up killing her ( I think ! ) Anyway, the instrumental accompaniment to this section is much more agitated. Generally, instrumental backing is minimal, some harpsichord continuo and a little solo violin. Much of the singing is unaccompanied. In the early nineties when this was recorded, English ensembles were keeping interest in Monteverdi alive, whereas in recent years more native Italian groups have begun to reclaim the territory.

Gypsy Woman Told My Mother

Unbelievable though it may seem, there is a danger of Muddy Waters' pivotal contribution to blues ( and by extension rock 'n' roll )being overlooked these days. This magnificent double cd The Anthology contains fifty tracks that should be required listening. Muddy wasn't a virtuoso guitar hero, although he could play spine tingling economic slide, which may account for any under estimation of his importance. It used to be a given what a major figure he was but in the years since his death his name crops up less frequently. He was the link between the delta and Chicago. The early recordings are just him with upright bass backing and are very powerful. Later of course he developed the electric blues band sound with support on guitar from Jimmy Rogers, piano from his faithful cousin Otis Spann and most notably a succession of star harmonica players ( variously Little Walter, Junior Wells, James Cotton or Walter Horton ) Willie Dixon produced a string of songs out of the old tradition but the most important thing remained Muddy's imposing presence and dignity and the power and strength of that voice.

Blue Is The Colour

Blue Trane by John Coltrane. Coltrane in a sextet setting, just as he is beginning to cut loose. The other five players ( Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones ) are playing consumate post bop jazz in a hard swinging setting. But whenever Coltrane's solo comes around, the music moves off into another whole sphere altogether giving a glimpse of the fire to come. Interesting how Kind of Blue ( to come later )evolved into the jazz album that non jazz fans have, whereas Blue Trane remains more in the realm of the jazzer. Guess Miles was more marketable and also hung around with us longer.

Up Against The Wall

I'll take a break from my usual practice and make a direct quote from the cd notes because it sums it up. "Listening to Volunteers is like opening a time capsule from the end of an era when young people still believed music had the power to change the world". I might add, and when rock music was still open to all sorts of diverse influences and experimentation. Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane. A band that fell from grace ( no pun intended ) spectacularly ( Starship, good grief ! ) But this is a wonderful album, the cd with bonus live cuts. "Everything they say that we are, we are. And we are very proud of ourselves".

1954

We're back around to the three disk box set of R'n'B Hits, from the year 1954 this time. 85 tracks of remarkable quality and consistency. Last time we were in 1952. There isn't a great change in style and content in these intervening two years, maybe just a few more intimations that rock 'n' roll was just around the corner. The female singers are still glorying in double entendres, there are still giants lurking among the journetmen and some are closer to really hitting their stride. What is interesting in all these box sets is picking out the contrast in styles around the four main recording centres, the west coast cool of Los Angeles, the street smart strut of New York, the hard blues of Chicago and the lilting sub tropical rumba of New Orleans.

Classical Vienna

First cd of Mozart to be considered. Great Mass in C Minor by Paul McCreesh, the Gabrieli Consort and Players with soloists Camilla Tilling and Sarah Connelly. As might be expected from Mozart, a very operatic setting of the mass. Particularly exquisite was the Et incarnatus est sung by Camilla Tilling with sensitive woodwind accompaniment. Some Handelian influence in the choruses too, at least to my ears. A period instrument performance but nothing harsh and scratchy about it. The disk also has two fillers, Berenice's Scena by Haydn and Ah Perfido by Beethoven sung by Sarah Connelly and Camilla Tilling respectively. So all in all, a view of classical Vienna's "big beasts".

More Ludwig

Not much to say about this selection really since it is another double cd by the Takacs Quartet of Beethoven String Quartets, this time the Early Quartets. All that I said in my earlier post about their recording of the late quartets pertains to this one, I expect that soon the entire set will appear as a bargain box reissue. I also have the third release to "come off the shelf" when its' turn arrives. The early quartets aren't as intense or radical as the late ones which is to be expected. It is still possible to hear how they are moving on from Haydn though.

Top of the Tree

Categories like "best ever" are meaningless but by any definition this cd comes very close to the top of the tree. Composer : Ludwig Van Beethoven. Works : Symphony No 5, just about the most famous symphony of them all, and Symphony No 7, famously described as "the epitome of the dance". Performers : The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carlos Kleiber. Pretty near faultless if you ask me and not much more to be said. Except that the life force contained within is irresistable.

Always a Subtext

Still with the Berlin Philharmonic and back to Herbert von Karajan as conductor. This time it is Shostakovich's Symphony No 10. The Berlin Phil and HvK wouldn't be many people's choice for Shostakovich perhaps but the sound is again of top quality and while the performance isn't idiomatically Russian, it does the music justice. There has been so much written about Shostakovich and his relationship with the Soviet authoritiesand almost all of his symphonies have some kind of back story and subtext. The subtext for the 10th is that it was published in 1953 and therefore the first since the death of Stalin. It still ran into Stalinist criticism for being a pessimistic work but while it isn't exactly a barrel of laughs, it has that ambiguity common to many of Shostakovich's works. Many more of his works to be considered as they come off the shelf.

Tweet, Tweet

An entirely different task for the Berlin Philharmonic this time. Simon Rattle conducting Eclairs Sur L'Au-Dela by Messiaen. One of the, if not the, last pieces composed by Messaien but instantly recognisable as treading the same path as most of his later works. The usual preoccupations are there, his religiosity, astronomy and of course bird song, although only the latter is clear from the music. The star of the show this time is raucous song of the Australian lyre bird. Much sparser orchestrations than the Berlin Phil have traditionally excelled at but still committed playing. As an aside, distinctly uninspiring cover art, you get the impression that EMI had to put it out because Rattle was enthusiastic but the marketing department's heart wasn't in the project.

Early Purchase

My first classical purchases came from an introductory offer to a mail order club, eight cd's for a tenner or something like that. I picked from the available list on the basis that I might know a few of the tunes. This cd was amongst those purchased at that time, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Scottish and Italian Symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan. As expected I did find some familiar tunes, probably considered to be "warhorse" repertoire but I think most warhorses achieve that status because of an inherent quality. By the nature of the deals offered from the music club, I have ended up with several cd's from Herbie Vonk. I've since encountered all the doubts about his standing with the dubious wartime past, the self publicising and posturing, the concentration on sound quality over content. All of that has plenty of justification I'm sure but as for that sound from the Berlin Phil, I can only say that it is a great sound however applicable it might be to certain repertoire. It fits Mendelssohn perfectly for instance.

The Elephant in the Room Mk I

For the purposes of this blog, I wasn't sure how to deal with any new cd's that I acquired. I've decided that I may as well catalogue any as I get them though. So, the free cd with the new issue of BBC Music magazine for this month is of Elgar's second symphony with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. I've always had a problem with Elgar stemming from my anti-establishment roots. The big elephant in the room particularly being the Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 and the Last Night of the Proms capering. There was a time when Elgar conducted by Malcolm Sargent would have epitomised said establishment for me. As I have learnt more about Elgar, I realise that he was much more of an outsider and that his music is much more varied than just Land of Hope and Glory, which he never intended to have such jingoistic connotations anyway. I love the second and third movements of this symphony, a slow funeral march style second movement and an abrasive rondo for the third. The first movement and finale still sound a little overblown late romantic to me but I do now appreciate Elgar for the composer of substance that he was.

Something to Keep Quiet About ?

The little logo on the cd cover states "The Voices of Classic FM". I'm not sure that is something I would want to boast about but here we have, with the Classic FM friendly title of "An Eternal Harmony", Harry Christophers and the Sixteen. Thankfully, the cd transcends any consideration of whatever commercial sponsorship they may have with the aforementioned radio station. It is a collection of sacred choral music from mainly 16th century composers of the English and Scottish courts ( Carver, Ramsey and Cornysh ) But there is also a specially commissioned piece from contemporary Scottish composer James MacMillan. The Sixteen's choral style may be a bit too silky for some but it is a sumptuous sound. Again, there is this nagging feeling of the music being treated as some kind of relaxing therapeutic chill out tool. But even if people are approaching it in this way, the deeper meaning is there to be discovered if they ever want to get around to it.

Folk ? Rock ?

Please To see The King by Steeleye Span. Steeleye were at their very best with the lineup that included Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings for two albums, though that is not to underplay the part of the longer tem core of the band Maddy Prior, Tim Hart and Peter Knight. The band had fine musicians but lacked the soloing virtuosity of Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick in Fairport Convention. Steeleye more than compensated by the quality of their vocals and harmony, so arguably they were more in the "folk" half of the folk rock hybrid. This ten track album contains eight wonderful songs a brief acapella carol and a medley of jigs and reels. It maybe shows its' age a little in terms of production values but otherwise sounds as current and relevant as ever at a time when folk is concsidered to be somewhat cool again.

Not a Mandolin in Site

Perfect Sunday morning listening, Corelli Violin Sonatas Op 5 by Andrew Manze on violin and Richard Egarr on harpsichord. Not wanting to be associated with the view of classical music as chill out fodder, there is nevertheless something calming and somehow in touch with the natural rhythms of the brain in this music. Manze's persona may not be the hippest in the world but he is a master in this repertoire. The partneship with Egarr seems in abeyance at the moment with both busy in seperate ventures. Hopefully, it'll be resumed at some point. As for Corelli, I'm pretty sure that the naming of the title character in Louis de Berniere's best selling novel wasn't a coincidence. No mandolins on this disk but de Bernieres does enjoy playing the instrument in a baroque style.

Massive

Well, two masses to be precise. Mass in D Major and Mass in B flat major by Hummel, performed by Collegium Musicum 90 led by Richard Hickox with soloist Susan Gritton featured on a bonus track, Alma Virgo. Hummel was a contemporary of Beethoven in Vienna and important to the musical life of the city at that time. A pupil of both Mozart and Salieri and recommended to the Esterhazy court by Haydn. These masses look back to those of Haydn and Mozart in style and bear comparison with them. Difficult to conceive of them being played any better either and fine recorded sound. To me the masses written at this time sound more akin to a public performance than a devotional act but no less worth listening to for that.

Freebies

I've been trying to decide whether or not to include in this survey the free cover cd's of complete works that I've acquired with BBC Music magazine ( yes I know, get a life etc ) In the end I've decided to do so partly because they often represent the only version I have of a particular work ( as an aside, with classical cd's I tend not to want to have multiple interpretations of the same music, perhaps because my tastes are not specific enough to get into the nuances of different approaches to a work ) I've been collecting these BBC cd's since December 2000 with just one or two missing. The first one to consider here is extended highlights of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Vassily Sinaisky. Sleeping Beauty gets lumped into being part of Christmas but there is no reason for that connection bar it being a guaranteed "bums on seats" presentation at that holiday time of the year. Anyway, Tchaikovsky the supreme melodist and all that. Too sugary sweet ? Well not for this story if you accept it on the level that it is intended to illustrate the tale. Many more of these free disks to consider as and when their place on the shelf rotates again.

It's Not Easter Is It ?

I have some Christmas related cd's that I don't ever think of playing except around those couple of weeks in December. The same restrictions don't seem to matter in the same way with Easter themes. Hence today it is Bach's St Matthew Passion by the Gabrieli Players and Paul McCreesh. McCreesh uses the concept of having just one singer to a part, so that there is no full chorus, the parts for the chorus also being sung by the eight soloists who include Magdelena Kozena, Mark Padmore and Susan Bickley. I prefer this approach which gives the work a more intimate and detailed feel. Based on the biblical text, it is possible to follow the translation of course but that needs an intense attention span over two and a half hours of the double cd. What is intersting if not following so closely, is that Bach's music, while not being joyful, doesn't take on an obviously tragic and mournful aspect, almost as if there is a pre-echo of the consolation to come.

Do I Really Like This, or Just Think It's Good For Me ?

Talking about Complete Cello Concertos by Krzysztof Penderecki. Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by the composer, with soloist Arto Noras. I have several cd's of contemporary classical music and have to admit that the above question occurs to me from time to time. I struggle to get a handle on the form and structure and wonder if there is an element of the emperor's new clothes but then pieces suddenly illuminate for me. I am also aware that expert and accomplished musicians are heavily committed to the field. These particular pieces are no longer exactly contemporary anyway, ranging from forty to twenty five years in age. Cello concertos numbers 1 and 2 and a viola concerto arranged for cello. Oddly, the more recent of the pieces sound less "out there" and are more accessible. It does all seem unremittingly earnest though.

Retirement ? What Retirement ?

Travelogue by Joni Mitchell was supposed to signify her retirement from the music business in 2002 but this year she has decided to record again. Whatever, Travelogue would have made a fitting note to go out on. It is a double cd revisiting some of her back catalogue, some songs well known and others not. The distinguishing feature is the sumptuous orchestral arrangements given to the songs and the appearance of many jazz luminaries. People such as Herbie Hancock, Kenny Wheeler, Plas Johnson, Billy Preston and Paulinho de Costha make cameo contributions but the most significant, both in terms of impact and frequency, come from Wayne Shorter. Larry Klein's orchestral arrangements have a vaguely Gil Evans feel. Joni Mitchell's vocal performances give no hint of any disillusionment, maybe it was the songwriting muse that had left her. if she now feels that she has something to say again, so much the better. As it is, Travelogue would stand comparison with many an early 20th century orchestral song cycle.

Minimal ?

A cd by Ensemble Modern of Steve Reich pieces. City Life, New York Counterpoint, Eight Lines and Violin Phase. Steve Reich probably has more influence with rock musicians than classical musicians these days. Sadly perhaps, since rock musicians tend to take a much more superficial approach to their borrowing than more serious players or composers might. The pieces featured here cover eighteen years. City Life is the most elaborate and is a bit of a trip mixing Reich's early tape manipulation ideas with the ensemble. Violin Phase is like a hypnotic peeling of bells. The other two pieces fall somewhere in between. Reich is often lazily lumped together with John Adams and Philip Glass but I think time has shown the three to be quite different artists following very different tracks.

Late Junctionesque Recital

This is a cd called Play by pianist Joanna MacGregor. A very mixed recital that could have been made for the Radio 3 programme Late Junction. Some might accuse it of being too artfully trendy, attempting to tick all the right boxes. I find it a good record to have playing away while concentrating on some mundane domestic task ( or even typing a blog ) It doesn't perhaps hang together for as a coherent recital for close concentration. There are pieces by what might be termed maverick figures like Nancarrow, Ives, Ligeti, Piazzolla and Cage. Also pieces by contemporary composers like Skempton, early music like Byrd, Dowland and Bach and world music collaborations with Japanese, Indian and African influences. I guess you can't really say that is going gung ho for any obvious "crossover" market, although the thought is still out there in certain circles that she has an art for self publicity.

Early Britten

A Benjamin Britten collection of early pieces. Young Apollo, Double Concerto in B minor, Two Portraits and Sinfonietta, with Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Nikolai Lugansky and the Halle Orchestra with Kent Nagano. Many Russian performers seem to have found this connection with Britten from Rostropovich onwards. These pieces are quite austere and crystalline but played with an obvious affinity. Britten in an international as opposed to English mood.

French Baroque

One advantage of this exercise is that, with a largish collection, there are inevitably cd's that I haven't played for years and have almost forgotten about. Such a case today with a recording on a double cd by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyrique of Les Gouts-reunis by Francois Couperin. And a very welcome rediscovery it is. French baroque suites written for Louis XIV for quiet Sunday contemplation in the disappointing final days of his reign. Music that has a very elegant civilised feel, redolent of the age of enlightenment. Of course, the bulk of the populace were living in dreadful conditions with no chance of the balm of such music to soothe them. But maybe sometimes you just have to divorce music from the background social historical context. Hard to imagine this music better played than by Les Talens Lyrique.

The King ?

King of the Delta Blues by Robert Johnson. Why Robert Johnson ? Why not Charlie Patton or Lonnie Johnson or Son House for instance ? The title was presumably record company hype from Columbia when John Hammond acquired the rights to the recordings in the early sixties but the mythical status seems to have stuck firmly. Certainly young ( as they were then ) white musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Bob Dylan bought into the legendary status of these recordings. There was noticeably less vocal support from contemporary black bluesmen. Don't get me wrong, I love the record. But what I hear is a very fine collection of country blues songs but not anything "apart" from several other performers of that time and place. So, is it the mystery, the early death in unexplained circumstances, the pact with the devil at the crossroads ? Probably not worth worrying about, just be thankful we have the recordings.

Some Jazz

The Bridge by Sonny Rollins. Titled after the time Rollins spent blowing by himself on the railside path of the East River bridge when he was trying to rekindle his drive and inspiration. The resulting album isn't startlingly groundbreaking to modern ears ( it was recorded in 1962 ) and could maybe play quite happily as a background in Starbucks since half of the six tracks are standards. However, it does repay closer listening and shows a confident expressive musician enjoying himself, ably backed up by Jim Hall's guitar and a swinging rhythm section.

Echoes of an Era

My vinyl copy of this cd was one of only two that I ever wore out. The prosaically titled Number 5 by the Steve Miller Band. Stevie"Guitar" Miller, aka the Gangster of Love, or Maurice, or the Space Cowboy, or the Joker, is one of those rock musicians whose longevity outran his creativity but the first five albums recorded between 1967 and 1969 are fine examples of the kind of magpie experimentation that was coming out of west coast psychedelia. Number 5 was the pinnacle of those albums. Recorded in Nashville, it was originally going to be a return to basic simple country values, semi acoustic with the participation of the Area Code 615 team of studio musicians led by the wonderful harmonica playing of Charlie McCoy. The first half of the album follows that plan and includes just about my all time favourite electric guitar solo on the long fade to "Going to the Country". Miller has always been a fine blues player. The album changed direction radically following the National Guard student murders at Kent and Jackson State universities when they opened fire on Vietnam war protesters. The piece de resistance is the wah wah pedal and echoplex tour de force that is "Jackson-Kent Blues", which eventually subsides with the intriguing reprise of the tune from the carol God Rest You Merry Gentleman which weaves like a ghost through the album at strategic points. "Won't somebody help me 'cos I've got to my shoes, those industrial military complex blues".

Different Genre

Three disk box set, The R & B Hits of 1952. Containing 75 tracks and ( virtually ) every one a gem. Oh for such consistently high class popular music. The tracks flow along seamlessly through early doo wop, boogie, slicker jazzy blues and more hard edged Chicago sounds. Amazing amounts of double entendres lyrically, hardly "double" at all in many cases. And often from the female vocalists. I have the hits of 1954 and of 1955 to come later too, missed out on 1953 when the record company issuing this series went bust. How can you go bust when all your material is coming from the public domain ? Oh well. As I said, all these tracks are of a high standard but every now and again the sound of a fully fledged genius cuts through. In the case of this set that voice belongs to Sam Cooke in the ranks of the Soul Stirrers. And then of course there's Muddy too. Others like Ray Charles, BB King and John Lee Hooker are at early stages of their careers here but a lot of the interest lies with the more obscure artists.

Strange How it Works Out

It's early in this random trek but already a second cd featuring the Cleveland Orchestra. I'm not absolutely certain but they may be the only two cd's featuring them that I have. Just the way it's worked out. This one has the two suites of Slavonic Dances by Dvorak with George Szell. More melodies than you can shake a stick at, even if it does veer pretty close to what we now call light music. Dvorak creates his melodies in the style of Bohemian folk music but isn't thought to quote directly from any known tunes, as he didn't with his New World symphony when in the US using native American and spiritual influences ( more when I eventually get around to that cd. )

First Chamber Music

Beethoven String Quartets, the Late Quartets by the Takacs Quartet. The first chamber music to be considered here and one of the pinnacles of the form, of course. It also brings up the question of how you listen to box sets. This is a 3 cd collection, would you aim to sit through 220 minutes of concentrated listening at one go ? I would suggest not in this instance, especially since there are two other 3cd sets from the Takacs in this series containing the other Beethoven quartets. These also reside in my collection and will make an appearance on the blog in due course. It is a futile exercise to try and rank performances of such a staple of the repertoire as these works but the Takacs versions are of very high quality. I came to chamber music a little later than orchestral, there weren't so many obvious "big tunes" to latch onto. But eventually I appreciated the interplay between the members of the quartet in the same way as with a jazz ensemble. The late quartets are among Beethoven's most personal statements and this recording includes the Grosse Fuge. Sometimes posterity gets things right and Beethoven's status is one of those times.

France With a Hungarian Perspective

This cd is the two Piano Concertos of Ravel and Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra by Debussy, given a Hungarian slant by Zoltan Kocsis and the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer. I love the piano concerto in G. Commonly stated to be jazz influenced, what I find interesting is that at the time of composition jazz was still in an early swing phase, whereas the inflections I detect remind me more of a later style. Like Thelonius Monk say ? Maybe it's a more prosaic kind of Gershwin thing, haven't checked the chronology of when it was written compared to his output. I suspect there are better candidates for a definitive library than this Kocsis recording but it is an attractive enough coupling for me.

Third in Line

Next up we have Rachmaninov, Isle of the Dead and Symphony No 1 with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra. I seem to have an affinity with the Russians. although tastes range a lot wider too. Rachmaninov known more for his piano compositions and his own virtuoso playing but coming in at the end of the Romantic era and presaging a lot of Hollywood film music styles too. The Isle of the Dead symphonic poem is impressive on any level. The first symphony had a notoriously disastrous debut conducted by a probably drunken Glazunov. Strange to think back to these days when performances caused such high feelings and had such long lasting effects. Rachmaninov took a considerable time to get over the trauma. Listening now, it's hard to think what could have caused such an outcry, even if it was badly played. There are some current orchestras I could think of ( well, one ) who routinely butcher pieces each summer at the Proms.

Next One Along

And we come to Symphony no. 11 by Robert Simpson, coupled with Variations on a Theme by Nielson. Matthew Taylor conducts the City of London Sinfonia. Simpson was a British 20th century composer of note. Hyperion have recorded all his symphonies but they seldom seem to get a concert hearing. Music waiting to be discovered by many, nothing to scare the horses. Difficult to see why Shostakovich for instance can be found in a concert hall somewhere in the world virtually every day of the year, whereas Simpson maybe once a year. Having said that, I only have two cd's of Simpson's music compared to circa fifteen or so of Shostakovich.

These random musings ill no doubt change in nature as this blog goes along. I didn't see any point in just extracting some info from the cd booklet notes but will try to give a little background to what might be less familiar names. Note the Nielson variations on this disk for instance, when I first began investigating classical music a few years back I had never even heard of Nielson, let alone Simpson.

First One Off The Shelf

With a cd collection of just under 700 and growing, I thought I'd jot down some thoughts on the music. But how to choose where to start and what to play ? I recall reading a remark from Norman Del Mar ( just a name to me but was a conductor I believe ) who said that he always just took down the next one off the shelf. So that will be my method, though moving from one shelf to another to keep some variety in genres. This first selection doesn't indicate any special status to this recording, it isn't my favourite ever or anything like that, just the first one off the shelf. So, here we go with Pierre Boulez conducting the the Cleveland Orchestra in pieces by Stravinsky, namely Le Chant du Rossignol, L'Histoire du Soldat - Suite, Scherzo Fantastique and Le Roi des Etoiles. Music from around the same time as Stravinsky's famous ballet scores for Diaghilev but maybe with less of an overtly Russian feel. I think much of Stravinsky's music retains a balletic / theatrical feel though and Boulez is a long time advocate ( not that Stravinsky currently really needs advocacy in the concert hall )