Sloop John B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_KY_d9MQv8&NR=1

Just for fun!

George

Beethoven Fidelio. Leonora's Aria: "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0CmnFtg19A&feature=related

Flagstad, showing that where there is something significant in the music, she perfectly understood how to bring it out! Bruno Walter leads the Metropolitan Opera splendidly in 1940. I did not know this existed, though Flagstad was justly revered in the Wartime in the USA.

George

Kathleen Ferrier sings the "real" sung version of "Land of Hope and Glory," with the Halle Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli at the re-opening concert for the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1951. This is how it should be done! Not shouted, but just sung almost calmly with real emotion and catching the mood of the moment.

I have always been struck by the monstrous faux nationalism of the wretched renditions at the Last Night of the Proms, where the incorrect version for orchestra alone is employed to dreadful effect. Here is the real idea Elgar had in mind! [He made a recording of this in 1928 with Margaret Balfour and the The Royal Choral Society, and it shows an equally splendid and restrained approach, which is totally lacking in the horrid bombast that seems inextricable from the music nowadays].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnB1cxgZifQ&feature=related

George

A Concerto for four Violoins, String Orchestra.

Peerlessly performed by Oistack and Kogan with their respective sons and a slightly oversized Russian Orchestra under a professor of viola at the Moscow Conservatoire!

Still worth ten minutes of anyone's time, and the Back take on it may be found on the "Arranged" thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJgUFXz3VYE&NR=1

Bach was a humble man, and quite capable of not only learning from his contemporaries, but taking the trouble to arrange their works [especially known are works by Marcello and Vivaldi, which he recast to fit his own possible performing forces] and thus for a long while the works of others were attributed to the German Master, though he seems not to have signed his arrangements of others' works. Which other composer in history hand made copies [himself] of his contemporariies' works so he could produce them in public? None I can think of.

George

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
Hunting around I found this wonderful Youtube of the Toccata and Fugue in F major BWV 540, of old Bach, played by Helmut Walcha, in what sounds the old mono recording which I have on CD. Bach is a musical Universe really!

The joy in this has to be listened to to be believed!

George

Reminds me of the day, in Copenhagen a long time ago, I heard him play this piece at a recital. He also played BWV 535 and the Canonic variations and closed the recital with his own arrangement of the six-part Ricercare from Mus.Opf. It is not too much to say, that the interpretations were exactly like his recordings except of course the Ricercare, which he never recorded, even if he often played it at recitals. The Ricercare was remarkably fussy , almost romantic on the surface because of too much change of registration despite rock-like pace and wonderfully clear part-playing.

Walcha composed a number of Choral preludes. I have heard only a few of them, but "You tube" offers one of them, a short moving piece, played by an uncredited organist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9E1iJcWZcQ

Regards, Poul

This is almost a true period perfomance. Albert Coates conducts the London Symphony Orchestra [not Philharmonic] in Mussorgsky's Sorochinsky Fair. Great fun recorded in about 1926.

In spite of his name Coates had Russian roots!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZnlMQWC_Hw

George

Annie Fischer playing very much the piano pianistically in a little piece by Handel. The music is really theChaconne in G, and not a Passecagliaas wrongly stated]. Both styles work on arepeated ground bass, for all that. I have Edwin Fischer [no relation] playing this, plus a version on the harpsichord.

Really this is very romantic in approach, with broad swings of tempo and very large dynamic gradings, but still worth the time to listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKupUqfP7Ac&feature=related

George

The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba from "Solomon."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TGKJ9MgCOQ

George

Annia Fischer playing Beethoven's Opus 111 Piano Sonata. I found this the other day, and it prompted me to start the Annie Fischer thread, where Naim Nymph postsed the first part of this, so here is the whole thing. Wonderful music making in my opinion.

First Movement

Second Movement [1/2]

Second Movement [2/2]

George

Kirsten Flagstad, Saint Matthew Passion. Erbarme dich, mein Gott.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZYLByidfPg

George

Ferrier singing Father Of Heaven, from Handel's Judas Maccabaeus. This recording has been known to bring me close to tears [not just close in honesty], and was made at her final recording sessions in October 1952 with the LPO and Adrian Boult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwpE2AZLvw&NR=1

George

For joy and wisdom to accept life and still be joyful whilst knowing not every part is a bed of roses:

Haydn's Te Deum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WehL-d5Nocc&feature=related

George

Mozart Krönungsmesse ( Coronation Mass ) Agnus Dei, Vienna Boys Choir:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISbXbsxDPQ0

Best wishes

Manfred

Dear Manfred,

That film is completely amazing! I love the simplicity and purity of a treble rather than lady soprano when it is this fine!

Thanks for the link.

George

A great noise, and great fun. I suspect a rather fine performance!

Part One

Part Two.

Have fun with this!

In holiday mode! George

Wow, you go George, great stuff on youtube. I always loved Warwick too, classy woman and with an honest light touch on the music unlike today.

Thanks for the Brain recommend, I have his box set from a friend's gift of several LPs and just never opened it up till now.

Magnefico!

Mozart; Ave Verum Corpus.

Vienna Boy's Choir!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TfAyX8l5-g

This is a prayer in music, and one I cannot listen to without a tremendous sadness at the way the world goes.

Let time stand still to ponder ...

George

JS Bach Mache Dich, Mein Herz, Rein...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGj1xcPpIZM&feature=related

If there is more wonderfully and inviting Aria, then I have yet to find it.

You don't really need to understand the words to find the consolation in this. It is about the sinner [it is a commentary Aria from the Second Part of the Saint Matthew Passion] who, not better or worse than any other, asks for the worldly to leave him. and Jesus to enter in stead.

65. ARIA (BASS)


Mache dich, mein Herze, rein,
ich will Jesum selbst begraben.
Denn er soll nunmehr in mir für und für
seine süße Ruhe haben.
Welt, geh aus, laß Jesum ein!

Purify yourself, my heart,
I myself will bury Jesus.
For he shall henceforth evermore
sweetly take his rest in me.
World, get out, let Jesus in!


Probably my favourite piece of Music. George

Schubert, Der Leiermann from "Winterreise"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPOw0AyH1qA&feature=related

This music is not only sad, but also hopeless and tragic.

Manfred

Dear Manni,

Thanks. I always struggled with this. I have Hotters excellent recording for EMI, which is not nearly so engaged with the text as DFD, but though it only gets played over less than annually, I can still find something in it.

Winterreise

Song Cycle by Franz Peter Schubert. Poetry by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827). [English translation: The Winter Journey]

24. Der Leiermann

Drüben hinterm Dorfe
Steht ein Leiermann
Und mit starren Fingern
Dreht er, was er kann.

Barfuß auf dem Eise
[Schwankt]1 er hin und her
Und sein kleiner Teller
Bleibt ihm immer leer.

Keiner mag ihn hören,
Keiner sieht ihn an,
Und die Hunde
Um den alten Mann.

Und er läßt es gehen
Alles, wie es will,
Dreht und seine Leier
Steht ihm nimmer still.

Wunderlicher Alter,
Soll ich mit dir geh'n?
Willst zu meinen Liedern
Deine Leier dreh'n?


24. The Hurdy-Gurdy-Man [English tanslation, Arthur Rishi]

There, behind the village,
stands a hurdy-gurdy-man,
And with numb fingers
he plays the best he can.

Barefoot on the ice,
he staggers back and forth,
And his little plate
remains ever empty.

No one wants to hear him,
no one looks at him,
And the hounds snarl
at the old man.

And he lets it all go by,
everything as it will,
He plays, and his hurdy-gurdy
is never still.

Strange old man,
shall I go with you?
Will you play your hurdy-gurdy
to my songs?

Thanks for posting.

ATB from George