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What are you currently listening to?

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Author Topic: What are you currently listening to?  (Read 96801 times)
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #2355 on: June 16, 2021, 04:59:30 pm »

Regarding Owen Brannigan's 'sonorous' vocal chords! Indeed! There was a family living me near for a while! They used to stay up late,playing music and talking! I think they were East European? They seemed nice people;but the car park was full of little kid's screaming & shouting,for hours on end at times!! :o ::) ;D The man had a deep,sonorous rumbling voice,which seemed to carry all over the place. It wasn't so much that it was loud;it just seemed to rumble away. I'd be thinking,'Where's it coming from?' It seemed to penetrate ever corner and,yet,as I say,it wasn't,particularly,loud! In fact,it was quite a nice voice! Just a low,sonorous,all pervading,omnipotent rumble!! :o ;D

Composer of the Week: Robert Simpson     Episode 4  (Nearing end of program):

Eppur si muove for organ - Ricercar
Iain Quinn (organ)
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« Reply #2356 on: June 16, 2021, 05:14:55 pm »

Radio 3 Composer of the Week: Robert Simpson     Episode 5 "The End is C Sharp"
I liked the excerpt from his String Quartet No 13! Unfortunately,as you point out;there's just isn't enough time to explore everything. And Robert Simpson composed allot of quartets (I don't want start up that path! The expense!! :()

That's a good point, well made: not only isn't there enough time to explore everything, there isn't enough mazuma in the bank either!
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« Reply #2357 on: June 16, 2021, 05:20:48 pm »

Vortex
The Desford Colliery Caterpillar Band
James Watson (conductor)

(Radio 3 Composer of the Week: Robert Simpson:  Episode 5)

Interesting! Very much like one of those symphonies;but with just the brass,of course! I may listen to another episode?

This has interrupted my Gilbert and Sullivan marathon!!!

I would imagine that a Gilbert and Sullivan marathon is a somewhat less taxing (and, dare one say it, a more enjoyable) experience than a Simpson marathon which, while worthy (and worthwhile, of course!), must be pretty demanding, at least intellectually.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #2358 on: June 17, 2021, 03:23:01 am »

Gilbert and Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance Soloists,D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus/ Isidore Godfrey    Decca 2 cd's 

Aharr & Shiver me Timbers! This is the 1968 recording with dialogue. If you do like dialogue,this has got to be the most successful G & S,on cd,with dialogue,imo! And,I'll explain why,in a minute! I used to borrow the original Lp's from the local library,as a youngster;and I still find the dialogue funny and entertaining,to listen to. John Reed is just brilliant as the Major-General. Donald Adams is a rip-roaring Pirate King;and the clincher,in some ways;Owen Brannigan going way over the top as the Sergeant of Police. What was he on?!! :o ;D He's got to be the best ever,next to Kenneth Sandford in the 1957 D'Oyly Carte. Of course,Owen Brannigan recorded the role before,in the Sargent recording. Although,his performance was a bit more restrained. Both recording's are excellent,though!




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« Reply #2359 on: June 17, 2021, 08:47:28 am »

Gilbert and Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance Soloists,D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus/ Isidore Godfrey    Decca 2 cd's 

Aharr & Shiver me Timbers! This is the 1968 recording with dialogue. If you do like dialogue,this has got to be the most successful G & S,on cd,with dialogue,imo! And,I'll explain why,in a minute! I used to borrow the original Lp's from the local library,as a youngster;and I still find the dialogue funny and entertaining,to listen to. John Reed is just brilliant as the Major-General. Donald Adams is a rip-roaring Pirate King;and the clincher,in some ways;Owen Brannigan going way over the top as the Sergeant of Police. What was he on?!! :o ;D He's got to be the best ever,next to Kenneth Sandford in the 1957 D'Oyly Carte. Of course,Owen Brannigan recorded the role before,in the Sargent recording. Although,his performance was a bit more restrained. Both recording's are excellent,though!


This was the first recording of The Pirates of Penzance I ever bought and, like you cilgwyn, I think it's a great performace for all the reasons that you state, on top of which I would add Valerie Masterson's terrific Mabel.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #2360 on: June 18, 2021, 12:44:47 am »

Gilbert and Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance Soloists,D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus/ Isidore Godfrey    Decca 2 cd's 

Aharr & Shiver me Timbers! This is the 1968 recording with dialogue. If you do like dialogue,this has got to be the most successful G & S,on cd,with dialogue,imo! And,I'll explain why,in a minute! I used to borrow the original Lp's from the local library,as a youngster;and I still find the dialogue funny and entertaining,to listen to. John Reed is just brilliant as the Major-General. Donald Adams is a rip-roaring Pirate King;and the clincher,in some ways;Owen Brannigan going way over the top as the Sergeant of Police. What was he on?!! :o ;D He's got to be the best ever,next to Kenneth Sandford in the 1957 D'Oyly Carte. Of course,Owen Brannigan recorded the role before,in the Sargent recording. Although,his performance was a bit more restrained. Both recording's are excellent,though!


This was the first recording of The Pirates of Penzance I ever bought and, like you cilgwyn, I think it's a great performace for all the reasons that you state, on top of which I would add Valerie Masterson's terrific Mable.
I think that if every recording with dialogue was as good as that one,it wouldn't be quite such a problem for some people! But,if you still can't stand dialogue,Owen Brannigan,conveniently,recorded the part for emi,as you know! And,I often,just want to enjoy the music,so........ :) :) :)
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« Reply #2361 on: June 18, 2021, 08:42:20 am »


I think that if every recording with dialogue was as good as that one,it wouldn't be quite such a problem for some people! But,if you still can't stand dialogue,Owen Brannigan,conveniently,recorded the part for emi,as you know! And,I often,just want to enjoy the music,so........ :) :) :)

We buy records so we can listen to stuff more than once and I find that on repeated hearings dialogue becomes irritating. I'd far rather do without it. I can read up about the plot if I feel the need -- not that I do for the works of Sullivan, of course!  ;D 
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #2362 on: June 18, 2021, 05:26:12 pm »

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one! I think the dialogue segments in the 1968 Pirates are funny and entertaining to listen to. The parts are well acted and,vividly,characterised by the performers. I enjoy it every time I listen to it............oh,and the music,as well!! ;D That said,the dialogue in the 1968 Pirates is of an exceptionally high standard & imo,the best of the series. The Pirates also has a more entertaining plot than others in the series. With the exception of Ruddigore! Which was recorded without it.
I must admit that,even though,I like the inclusion of dialogue,do I really,avidly,follow every twist & turn of the plot of The Gondoliers or HMS Pinafore? Well.probably not?!! Although,I found myself pricking up my ears at the jokes about cutting off heads in The Mikado,and wondering how well this might have gone down a few years ago,bearing in mind some of the lurid headlines!! Also,it's true that,as with Offenbach,allot of the in-jokes and parodying of sacred institutions & public figures,which would have cracked up Victorian audiences & which would have  been accompanied by stage action,is lost on present day audiences. And dialogue is,obviously,very hard,even,you might argue,impossible,to reproduce in studio conditions. Particularly,when it is supposed to be funny and witty! And,it wasn't supposed to be listened to in that way,anyway!!
There,you see! I'm even destroying my own argument for dialogue,now! ;D (And this from a man who professes to enjoy listening to dialogue in languages he can't understand! ::))

I do,actually,prefer to listen to Gilbert and Sullivan without dialogue,as well,though! These days,I'm probably more in line with you,in some ways. But I do still enjoy it,at times. Which is why I have collected allot of those Ohio Light Opera recordings. Although,if they were as bad as Oakapple seem to think they are,even I wouldn't have bothered! (The ones to avoid are the ones with a chap called John Pickles in the cast! :o ::) He seems to have left the OHO now,anyway. Or,hopefully,got sacked!! :))
Anyway,what are you moaning about Lionel?! ;D You've got the Sargent Pirates with Brannigan and all the other Glyndebourne recordings,without dialogue! And virtually every D'Oyly Carte. We pro-dialoguer's got a measly five D'Oyly Carte recordings,to listen to :(,and the Marriner Yeomen (although we had to wait a bit,for that!)!! :( ;D

Where's Albion,by the way? (I miss his humour!) I fear my long-winded posts have driven him away! I must learn to make them more succinct! ::)
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« Reply #2363 on: June 18, 2021, 06:54:49 pm »

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one! I think the dialogue segments in the 1968 Pirates are funny and entertaining to listen to. The parts are well acted and,vividly,characterised by the performers. I enjoy it every time I listen to it............oh,and the music,as well!! ;D That said,the dialogue in the 1968 Pirates is of an exceptionally high standard & imo,the best of the series. The Pirates also has a more entertaining plot than others in the series. With the exception of Ruddigore! Which was recorded without it.
I must admit that,even though,I like the inclusion of dialogue,do I really,avidly,follow every twist & turn of the plot of The Gondoliers or HMS Pinafore? Well.probably not?!! Although,I found myself pricking up my ears at the jokes about cutting off heads in The Mikado,and wondering how well this might have gone down a few years ago,bearing in mind some of the lurid headlines!! Also,it's true that,as with Offenbach,allot of the in-jokes and parodying of sacred institutions & public figures,which would have cracked up Victorian audiences & which would have  been accompanied by stage action,is lost on present day audiences. And dialogue is,obviously,very hard,even,you might argue,impossible,to reproduce in studio conditions. Particularly,when it is supposed to be funny and witty! And,it wasn't supposed to be listened to in that way,anyway!!
There,you see! I'm even destroying my own argument for dialogue,now! ;D (And this from a man who professes to enjoy listening to dialogue in languages he can't understand! ::))


I have a lot of respect for a man who can argue himself tightly into a corner and then out again at once. It reminds me of those old radio serials where, at the end of one episode, the hero was in dire peril but at the beginning of the next the narrator would simply announce "And with one bound, he was free!!"  ;D ;D  I'm maybe thinking about Dick Barton – Special Agent. It had that wonderful signature tune, Devil's Galop by Charles Williams.


Where's Albion,by the way? (I miss his humour!) I fear my long-winded posts have driven him away! I must learn to make them more succinct! ::)

I don't know where Albion's gone but I miss his humour too. I know your expansive (as opposed to "long-winded") posts won't have driven him away because in the past when you have wondered whether you could be more succinct he has protested, saying how much he enjoys your style. I, too, very much look forward to reading what I might describe as your "stream of consciousness" posts. They often cause me to think mightily (as my old dad would have said) and sometimes to laugh uproariously! They often make my day, in fact.  ;D So keep 'em coming, please.
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« Reply #2364 on: June 18, 2021, 07:13:51 pm »



This makes for an interesting (and very fine) change from the usual suspects!
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« Reply #2365 on: June 22, 2021, 07:24:52 am »

Things seem to have gone a little quiet here lately, so I thought I'd try to chip in with what I'm listening to. Actually it's not only what I'm listening to now but what I've been listening to for the last half year or so.

At the beginning of this year I decided that it was time to see what all the fuss about Mieczyslaw Weinberg was about. I'd noticed that more and more of his music was being recorded, generally to positive reviews, but I hadn't really got an idea of what it sounded like. So over the last half year I've been listening to all his recorded symphonies (meaning all 22 except nos 9, 11 and 15). I've been trying to listen in depth, only moving on to the next symphony when I felt I knew the last one well.

It has been a most engrossing experience - now I certainly get what the fuss was about. Weinberg is now firmly established as one of my favourite composers. From the robust energy of the early symphonies via the more enigmatic, modernist middle works to the long, icy laments for the victims of war in the late ones - it has been really fascinating to follow that development. I basically like all the symphonies, though I still find some of the middle works a bit difficult. In fact I "cheated" and moved on to no 14 before I felt that I had "cracked" no 13, but I found that I was somehow stuck in that work and had to move on and then return to it later. It's still the one symphony I find hardest. But that is more than compensated for by the many highlights among the rest.

To sum up I hesitate to make any pronouncement on greatness etc. I don't know enough about musical theory to do that. But for me at least Weinberg is now up there with my very favourite Soviet composers.
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« Reply #2366 on: June 22, 2021, 12:13:01 pm »

That's a very interesting post, regriba, thanks. I have only dipped my toe in the water sporadically with Weinberg over the years, rather than undertaking an in-depth study of his work as you have. I have recordings of five of his symphonies (2, 4, 10, 12 and 21), the Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, Trumpet Concerto and a sprinkling of chamber music. I have listened to all of these pieces at least once and the fact that none of them seems to have left a strong impression on me undoubtedly says more about my powers of concentration than it does about the quality of the music! On the basis of your comments, I must try to find the time to revisit these recordings in the near future but, as I so often say, there are only so many hours in the day and I am now at the stage of my life where I enjoy the comfort of the familiar (it seems in music as in food!) rather than relishing the adventure of trying something different.  :-\
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« Reply #2367 on: June 22, 2021, 09:56:42 pm »

I am working through Emilie Mayer's symphonies, I haven't listened enough times to remember any highlights off hand, but I am quite pleased with them all so far, sounds like she had a hard life, but composing saved her from some of the pain of the eating disorder and isolation. I like that more and more orchestras are exploring symphonic works by women, especially of the 19th and early 20th century. I would be interested in the other symphonies of Johanna Senfter especially for example (No. 4 is on YouTube). Does anyone know of a complete recording of Mayer's No. 5? All I have seen is a fragment on YouTube.
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« Reply #2368 on: June 23, 2021, 04:30:26 am »

I have lost my mind--I actually own the Dreyer-Gaido CD with Sym No. 5! Duh, Jim. Now I must find the CD AND my mind, wish me luck.
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« Reply #2369 on: June 23, 2021, 08:58:38 am »

I have lost my mind--I actually own the Dreyer-Gaido CD with Sym No. 5! Duh, Jim. Now I must find the CD AND my mind, wish me luck.

Welcome to my world, Jim! Good luck. :)
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