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Holst Perfect Fool Opera

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Albion
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Frederic Cowen (1852-1935)


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« Reply #15 on: September 07, 2021, 04:56:35 pm »

Well,I got my wish! But like in some of those old fairy stories,it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to!! ::) :( ;D Unless some other small label coughs up the Handley broacast,the best hope is for a new recording! Or perhaps a small,provincial operatic company will decide to put it on & a recording will follow (as per,Stanford's Travelling Comanion). But brilliant orchestral writing needs a professional orchestra! And wobbly soloists don't help! When Boughton's Immortal Hour and VW's The Poisoned Kiss were released,they benefited from top notch performances. The sort of recording where you have to make allowances for wobbly soloists can do more damage than good!



Cherish the Handley broadcast, I doubt we'll get any better. Many a promising pioneering recording has been buggered by ill-cast soloists: Dutton's Everyman with Pauls Putnins ( :P) in the title-role springs to mind, as does Foulds' A World Requiem with the ghastly Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet - I can only hope that Beelzebub's imps prick her with their toasting forks into eternity.

 :o

Admittedly Chandos didn't hire the latter and just recorded the live performance. But "Why, oh why, oh why?" Fully in agreement that The Immortal Hour and The Poisoned Kiss are exemplary...

 :)
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)
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« Reply #16 on: September 07, 2021, 08:09:55 pm »

Talking of Nuns! And there have been a few posts about Nuns,recently! The tenor,Yooki Baek,in the Cpo recording of Gounod's wonderful,La Nonne Sanglante! It's a good recording and I always enjoy it. Not to mention the fun photo on the front!! :o ;D But I always find myself wincing,at his (Yooki Baek) reedy,nasal tone's! He's the one thorn in the ointment,as far as I'm concerned. I wish.like in one of those old Twilight Zone episodes,you could go back in time & have them hire someone else for the part! Or fire him! (Preferably out of a cannon! ;D) To be fair,he sings with a degree of earnest conviction. Although,that said,I just wish he wasn't singing,at all! ::) ;D* And he appears in almost every scene! On the plus side,everyone else is so good I usually get used to,or even forget about him (a bit) or,at least,he doesn't bother me so much,as the opera goes on. There is a BluRay or Dvd on the Naxos label now,of course. But,I must admit,I prefer listening to opera than watching it!! In my dreams,emi,or one of the big labels,would have recorded it,in their golden age! And yes,I know,it's a good recording,and I should be (am!) thankful!!



*there'd be gaps with just the orchestra playing!
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #17 on: September 16, 2021, 01:54:09 am »

For what it's worth,this review! Orchestration like this needs a stereo recording,too! :( I'd been hoping for a commercial release for this opera for so-oo long! I even posted multiple times on their forum! And the Handley recording just sitting there! ::)

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Sep/Holst-perfect-REAM1143.htm

Oh well,I've got the Handley on a cd-r!
Will anyone here be forking out for this,by the way? (It would have been a pre-order! :( )
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Albion
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« Reply #18 on: September 16, 2021, 06:48:45 am »

For what it's worth,this review! Orchestration like this needs a stereo recording,too! :( I'd been hoping for a commercial release for this opera for so-oo long! I even posted multiple times on their forum! And the Handley recording just sitting there! ::)

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Sep/Holst-perfect-REAM1143.htm

Oh well,I've got the Handley on a cd-r!
Will anyone here be forking out for this,by the way? (It would have been a pre-order! :( )



Hmmm, think I'll stick with Handley.
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)
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« Reply #19 on: September 16, 2021, 08:21:05 am »




Hmmm, think I'll stick with Handley.

Me too.
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patmos.beje
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« Reply #20 on: September 18, 2021, 01:33:56 am »


If people on this forum acquired the Handley version of The Perfect Fool from the British and Irish music catalogue of Albion, then you have a gentleman somewhere, I think, in the south of England to thank.

Due to posting on another forum, in November 2006, about a French radio broadcast of Marseilles Opera's production of Menotti's Maria Golovin I had acquired in CD format, I ended up in correspondence with an American gentleman and exchanging recordings of rare Menotti operas.  In early 2007 this gentleman introduced me to a wonderful forum where one could download radio broadcast recordings of Operas.  It also included radio broadcasts of some non-operatic music. I had not encountered anything like this.  One day I was indulging myself in fantasising about acquiring recordings of all the Pizzetti operas I would like to hear, the next day after being introduced to the forum, I had recordings of all Pizzetti's operas (10 in total) ever recorded! It was a wonderful forum :) :D ;D

On one occasion when searching through the forum I discovered that a broadcast of a recording of The Perfect Fool had been uploaded but, unfortunately, it was no longer available.  I wrote a private message to the uploader and the gentleman very kindly re-uploaded the recording for me.

Years later, 2011 or 2012 I think, on the UC forum I saw that Albion had a list of wanted recordings including The Perfect Fool. I wrote a private message to Albion informing him I had a recording of the opera and asking him for information on how to upload it. This was the Handley recording now on Albion's wonderful British and Irish music catalogue.

Unfortunately, the forum I was part of required members to upload recordings at regular intervals.  I failed to do so and was removed without notice in 2011  >:( :( ::) :'(.  I think my last benefits were acquiring a superb German radio broadcast of a centenary performance of Mascagni's Isabeau from Braunschweig in 2011 and different British and Australian radio broadcasts of Arthur Benjamin's Violin Concerto which I had long hoped to hear (prior to the Dutton CD).

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Albion
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« Reply #21 on: September 18, 2021, 03:24:26 am »

Years later, 2011 or 2012 I think, on the UC forum I saw that Albion had a list of wanted recordings including The Perfect Fool. I wrote a private message to Albion informing him I had a recording of the opera and asking him for information on how to upload it. This was the Handley recording.

Indeed, and many thanks for it! Judging from the number of downloads it has had since, there is no danger that it will ever go out of circulation. Was it really that long ago?

 :o
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« Reply #22 on: September 19, 2021, 04:15:20 pm »

We could have a download chart here! I wonder which composer & what music/recordings have been downloaded the most?!
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #23 on: November 18, 2021, 10:49:15 pm »

Sad that people get their first hearing of this opera via this recording! Lyrita do a lot of fine work,but this was not a good move! It also means the likelihood of a cd release of the excellent Vernon Handley recording is,well.......pretty remote! ("Well it's on cd now,why bother!") I think the only hope is a new recording? Chandos,again. Or,somebody decides to put it on,somewhere and a recording follows! Stranger things have happened! I just hope it won't be like one of those Prince Consort ones! Or maybe,the Plovdiv Philharmonic will do the honours?!! ::) :o ;D This release should have been a cause for celebration! I have lost count of posts left on the old Chandos forum,trying to get some interest in a professional recording! Oh well,we've got it here! And I've got my cd-r! :)

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Nov/Holst-perfect-REAM1143.htm  Musicweb Review!

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Albion
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« Reply #24 on: November 19, 2021, 09:15:30 am »

Sad that people get their first hearing of this opera via this recording! Lyrita do a lot of fine work,but this was not a good move! It also means the likelihood of a cd release of the excellent Vernon Handley recording is,well.......pretty remote! ("Well it's on cd now,why bother!") I think the only hope is a new recording? Chandos,again. Or,somebody decides to put it on,somewhere and a recording follows! Stranger things have happened! I just hope it won't be like one of those Prince Consort ones! Or maybe,the Plovdiv Philharmonic will do the honours?!! ::) :o ;D This release should have been a cause for celebration! I have lost count of posts left on the old Chandos forum,trying to get some interest in a professional recording! Oh well,we've got it here! And I've got my cd-r! :)

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Nov/Holst-perfect-REAM1143.htm  Musicweb Review!



The late, great Windsor Davies is reluctantly resigned to the situation. At least Vernon Handley's 1995 broadcast is now in wide circulation amongst enthusiasts, but I agree that Lyrita missed an opportunity with this release. Heigh-ho!

 ::)
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)

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