Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia

Silvio Varviso - Orchestra e coro Rossini di Napoli

Teresa Berganza: Rosina
Ugo Benelli: Count Almaviva
Fernando Corena: Dr. Bartolo
Manuel Ausensi: Figaro
Nicolai Ghiaurov: Don Basilio

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 717 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 206 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 24 mb

Total playing time: 66:49 + 68:04 = 144:53
Recorded 1964 | Released 1999

Recording: Conservatorio, Naples, July & August 1964

Decca 455 591-2


Track listing:
1. Sinfonia
2. Atto 1 - Piano, pianissimo
3. Atto 1 - Ecco, ridente in cielo
4. Atto 1 - Gente indiscreta
5. Atto 1 - Largo al factotum
6. Atto 1 - E' desso, o pur m'inganno?
7. Atto 1 - All'idea di quel metallo
8. Atto 1 - Una voce poco fa
9. Atto 1 - Qua, Don Basilio; giungete a tempo!
10. Atto 1 - La calunnia è un venticello
11. Atto 1 - Ah! Che ne dite?
12. Atto 1 - Dunque io son... tu non m'inganni?
13. Atto 1 - Ora mi sento meglio
14. Atto 1 - A un dottor della mia sorte
15. Ato 1, cena 2- Ehi, di casa! ... buona gente!
16. Ato 1, cena 2- Che cosa accadde
17. Ato 1, cena 2- Questa bestia di soldato
18. Ato 1, cena 2- Fredda ed immobile
19. Ato 1, cena 2- Mi par d'essere con la testa
20. Ato 2- Ma vedi il mio destino!
21. Ato 2- Insomma, mio signore, chi lei
22. Ato 2- Contro un cor che accende amore
23. Ato 2- Bella voce! Bravissima!
24. Ato 2- Don Basilio! Cosa veggo!
25. Ato 2- Che vecchio sospettoso!
26. Ato 2- Dunque voi Don Alonso
27. Ato 2- Alfine, eccoci qua
28. Ato 2- Ah! qual colpo inaspettato!
29. Ato 2- Ah! dizgraziati noi!
30. Di sì felice innesto

Reviews:
Gramophone:
Ultimately what makes the set a pleasure is the sheer 'go' of these climaxes. My experience at length makes me feel that here is a Barber which you will go on playing for the accumulating high spirits which conclude scene 2 of Act I and both big finales of Act 2.

Full review (click to enlarge):


Amazon.com (customer review):
I love lower voices. This one has heroic voices in the roles of Figaro (Ausensi), Bartolo (Corena), and Basilio (Ghiaurov). Ausensi lacks the humor I love to hear in Barbiere, though he has a beautiful, full voice. I'd have liked it far better used with imagination and a greater variety of dynamics. The problem seems to be with imagination- Stracciari, Milnes, and Merrill all had more heroic voices than Ausensi, but the sheer fun they had with Figaro bubbles out of their recordings. Still, Ausensi sings fine and certainly does not spoil the recording for me.

Fernando Corena is Bartolo and I doubt if a finer voice ever tried this curmudgeonly role out- and I am thinking of Kipnis as well when I say this. Corena gets across how funny this character is, but never lets us lose sight of one fact- Bartolo takes himself VERY seriously, and he never lets us forget Bartolo's pride. Bartolo is a man, very human, with many foibles and frailties. I do not see him as a villain, just grouchy and irrascible- with a fine seasoning of greed laced in with all the rest.

Nicolai Ghiaurov romps through the role of Don Basilio with elan and an incredible voice. He is one of the reasons I never even mentioned Varviso as a possible cause for Ausensi's over serious approach to Figaro. The big Bulgarian bass was in fine voice during these recording sessions and the sheer fun he had with Basilio (His pomposity, his `clever' villainies, and his friendship for Doctor Bartolo.) is infectious. As much of a fool as Basilio is, one can't help but feel affection for him. I don't think even he feels he is anything but an unscrupulous man, in love with his own cleverness. He's willing to lie, cheat, steal, and so on, but he's kind of honest about it...

...unlike Almaviva, who sees himself as a gift to the world. He's just as willing to use lying to get his way as Basilio, and physical threats (He points a gun at Basilio...), but he sees himself as a morally pristine hero. Almaviva's music is fun to listen to, and his duets with Figaro are priceless Rossini gems, but Almaviva is a man I'm glad never to have met. Benelli does a fine job with a funny part and I doubt if he'll disappoint very many opera buffs. The voice is small and agile, with a sweet tone often missing in leggiero tenors.

Teresa Berganza- a beautiful lady with a fine, mellow mezzo voice. What can I say? She sings Rosina in the original range Rossini wrote it for. Berganza handles the coloratura with confidence, bringing depths to the character many other fine ladies miss. This set is worth it for her alone, if you like mezzo Rosinas. She pulls out a shining, bell-clear pianissimo high note worth dying to hear, in her duet with Ausensi.

The conducting sparkles, making this a must-have Barbiere for those who love a grand approach to this music. The sound is excellent.


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Mozart - Così fan tutte

Karl Böhm - Wiener Philharmoniker

Lisa della Casa: Fiordiligi
Christa Ludwig: Dorabella
Anton Dermota: Ferrando
Erich Kunz: Guglielmo
Paul Schoeffler: Don Alfonso
Emmy Loose: Despina

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 717 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 210 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 24 mb

Total playing time: 74:37 + 71:45 = 146:22
Recorded 1955 | Released 1999

Recording: Redoutensaal, Vienna, 1955

Decca 455 476-2


Track listing:
1. Ouvertura
2. Atto I - La mia Dorabella capace non è
3. E' la fede delle femmine
4. Una bella serenata
5. Ah guarda, sorella
6. Vorrei dir, e cor non ho
7. Sento, o Dio, che questo piede
8. Bella vita militar!
9. Di scrivermi... ogni giorno
10. Soave sia il vento
11. Che vita maledetta
12. Ah! scostati! ... Smanie implacabili
13. In uomini, in soldati sperare fedeltà?
14. Che silenzio! ... Poverette!
15. Alla bella Despinetta
16. Temerari! Sortite ... Come scoglio
17. Non siate ritrosi
18. E voi ridete?
19. Un'aura amorosa del nostro tesoro
20. Ah, che tutta in un momento si cangiò la sorte mia!
21. Si mora, sì, si mora
22. Eccovi il medico, signore belle!
23. Dove son? Che loco è questo?
24. Dammi un bacio, o mio tesoro
25. Atto II - Madame, trattar l'amore en bagatelle
26. Una donna a quindici anni
27. Prenderò quel brunettino
28. Secondate, aurette amiche
29. La mano a me date
30. Il core vi dono
31. Barbara! Perché fuggi?
32. Ei parte ... Per pietà, ben mio, perdona
33. Amico, abbiamo vinto!
34. Donne mie, la fate a tanti, a tanti
35. Ora vedo che siete una donna di garbo
36. Fra gli amplessi in pochi istanti
37. Tutti accusan le donne
38. Fate presto, o cari amici
39. Benedetti i doppi coniugi
40. Miei signori, tutto è fatto
41. Richiamati da regio contrordine

Review:
Amazon.com customer review:
Sound: This was a state-of-the-art recording at the very beginning of the stereo era. As stereo players were still few and far between in 1955, it was originally issued on Lp in two versions, mono and stereo. The old Lp mono version--in what was then called "high fidelity"--easily held its own against stereo versions of the 1960s and 70s. The digital remastering of this stereo version appears to have taken place in 1999 and, so far as I am concerned, was highly successful.

Cast: Fiordiligi - Lisa della Casa; Dorabella - Christa Ludwig; Ferrando - Anton Dermota; Guglielmo - Erich Kunz; Don Alfonso - Paul Schoeffler; Despina - Emmy Loose. Conductor: Karl Boehm with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Wiener Staatsopernchor.

Text: This performance reflects the standard performing edition in use at the time it was recorded. Subsequent recordings have restored most cuts and frankly, in my opinion, have not been substantially enhanced by the restorations. Those of you who take a completist stance, feel free to disagree vehemently.

Documentation: Barebones. No libretto. Summary of the plot keyed to the track listings. A "fact file" presents odds and ends about the history of the opera. Track list with timings.

Format: Disk 1 - Act I, tracks 1-22; 74:30. Disk 2 - Act I (continued), tracks 1-2; Act II, tracks 3-19; 68:24.

A casual look at the catalogue suggests that Karl Boehm devoted every alternate weekend to recording yet another Mozart opera. This is the first of his recorded versions of "Cosi fan tutte." For all intents and purposes it is his forgotten Mozart opera. That is a shame because in many ways it is the best of the bunch. It so happens that a mono Lp version of this performance was the first "Cosi" that I ever heard. To this day I have never discovered a performance to match it.

The festival-quality cast is a perfect microcosm of the post-WWII golden age of the Vienna State Opera. The wonderful pairing of Lisa della Casa and Christa Ludwig is simply not to be matched elsewhere. Their big opening duet, "Ah, guarda sorella" is perfect--just perfect. Anton Dermota's voice is a bit heavier than those of the subsequent generation of Mozart tenors. It is not especially beautiful. He is not long of breath, so he doesn't astound us with long passages on a single gulp of air. He certainly does not add elaborate and picturesque decoration to Mozart's written vocal runs. All he does is sing the music exactly right. He is simply the best Mozart tenor ever to be recorded, that's all. Paul Schoeffler was a great master. Here he sounds just fine as someone a generation older than the rest of the cast, smarter, too, and more than a little vicious. Emmy Loose, now largely forgotten, was always a treat in character roles. I can't think of a better Despinetta. Ordinarily, I have no use whatsoever for Erich Kunz but here, for once, he turns in a respectable performance as Guglielmo.

Boehm was a great master of the old school. He keeps the show moving briskly and on point. The Vienna Philharmonic sounds terrific, as it certainly should in music that is at the very core of its repertory.

The date of the recording makes it clear that it long precedes any scholarly re-evaluations or piffling desires to return to period instruments and performing practices. Everybody concerned was simply attempting to serve up the very best "Cosi fan tutte" of which they were capable. And succeeding.

Grab this one while you still can!

Five stars.


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Bach - Cantatas 39, 73, 93, 105, 107, 131

dir. Philippe Herreweghe
Chorus and Orchestra of Collegium Vocale, Ghent

Barbara Schlick - soprano (cd1)
Agnès Mellon - soprano (cd2)
Gérard Lesne - alto (cd1)
Charles Brett - alto (cd2)
Howard Crook - tenor
Peter Kooy - bass

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 469 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 168 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 17 mb

Total playing time: 57:54 + 61:08

Aliomodo rating: *****

Recorded:
December 1990 (cd1) / October 1991 (cd2)
Minderbroederskerk, Ghent, Belgium

Virgin Veritas 5 62025 2

Info (liner notes):
The cantatas recorded here span some twenty years of Bach's career, and almost all were written before he reached the age of forty, belying the image of the stern, aged contra-puntalist of popular myth.
The earliest, Aus der Tiefen, dates from Bach's time as organist at the Blasiuskirche in Miihlhausen (1707-8). Tile church's pastor, Johann Adolph Frohne, was a musical conservative who discouraged the young Bach's more adventurous leanings. However, Bach soon struck up a relationship with the pastor of the nearby Marienkirche, Georg Christian Eilmar (1661-1715), and it was Eilmar who compiled the text for this musical elaboration of Psalm 130 (well known in Latin as De pro-fundis). The work's penitenial nature suggests that it may have been written for a memorial service following a fire that destroyed part of the town in May 1707. The tendency towards symmetrical form, incorporation of chorales and skilful word-painting are all prophetic of Bach's mature style.
The remaining five works were all written during Bach's first years as cantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig. Cantatas 73 and 105 were part of Bach's first annual cycle (1723-4). Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht concerns the conflict between God and mammon, a subject that influenced the choice of text for the imposing chorus (Psalm 143). Bach vividly portrays the wavering of the soul in the tenor aria and in the string writing of the closing chorale. Herr, wie du willt is based on Christ's healing of the leper. The opening words ('Lord, if thou wilt') assume motivic importance throughout the work, and the first chorus is pervaded by a four-note figure derived from the opening of the chorale melody, Cantatas 93 and 107 are from the great cycle of chorale cantatas (1724-5), each based around the verses of a Lutheran hymn.
The opening movement of Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten is an extended chorale fantasia on the subject of surrender to God's will. Bach later included the soprano and alto duet as a transcription for organ in his 'Schübler' chorales. Was willst du dich betrüben concerns doubt and the restoration of faith. It sets all seven verses of Johann Heermann's 1630 hymn text unaltered, and makes expressive use of the key of B minor, with the closing chorale fashioned as a sialiano with orchestral interludes.
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot was first heard on 23 June 1726, and is one of a number of cantatas influenced by the works of Bach's Meiningen-based cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1731). It falls into two parts, beginning with Old and New Testament texts respectively. Focusing on the central theme of helping the poor, it opens with a magnificent three-part Chorus incorporating an impressive fugue.

Track listing:
Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (bwv 131)
Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir (bwv 73)
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht (bwv 105)
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot (bwv 39)
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten (bwv 93)
Was willst du dich betrüben (bwv 107)

cd1.01. BWV 131 - Aus der Tiefen rufe ich
cd1.02. BWV 131 - So du willst, Herr, Sünde zurenchnen
cd1.03. BWV 131 - Ich harre des Herrn
cd1.04. BWV 131 - Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn
cd1.05. BWV 131 - Israel, hoffe auf den Herrn
cd1.06. BWV 73 - Herr, view du willt, so schick's mit mir
cd1.07. BWV 73 - Ach, senke doch den Geist der Freuden
cd1.08. BWV 73 - Ach, unser Wille bleibt verkehrt
cd1.09. BWV 73 - Herr, so du willt
cd1.10. BWV 73 - Das ist des Vaters Wille
cd1.11. BWV 105 - Herr gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Kn
cd1.12. BWV 105 - Mein Gott, verwirf michj nicht
cd1.13. BWV 105 - Wie zittern und wanken
cd1.14. BWV 105 - Wohl aber dem, der sienen Bürgen weiß
cd1.15. BWV 105 - Kann ich nur Jesum mir zum Freunde machen
cd1.16. BWV 105 - Nun, ich weiß, du wirst mir stillen
cd2.01. BWV 39 - Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot
cd2.02. BWV 39 - Der reiche Gott wirft seinen Überfluß
cd2.03. BWV 39 - Seinem Schöpfer noch auf Erden
cd2.04. BWV 39 - Wohlzutum und mitzuteilen
cd2.05. BWV 39 - Höchster, was ich habe
cd2.06. BWV 39 - Wie soll ich dir, o Herr
cd2.07. BWV 39 - Selig sind, die aus Erbarmen
cd2.08. BWV 93 - Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
cd2.09. BWV 93 - Was helfen uns die schweren Sorgen
cd2.10. BWV 93 - Man halte nur ein wenig stille
cd2.11. BWV 93 - Er kennt die rechten Freudestunden
cd2.12. BWV 93 - Denk nicht in deiner Drangsalhitze
cd2.13. BWV 93 - Ich will auf den Herren schaun
cd2.14. BWV 93 - Sing, bet und geh auf Gottes Wegen
cd2.15. BWV 107 - Was willst du dich betrüben
cd2.16. BWV 107 - Denn Gott verlässet keinen
cd2.17. BWV 107 - Auf ihn magst du es wagen
cd2.18. BWV 107 - Wenn auch gleich aus der Höllen
cd2.19. BWV 107 - Er richt's zu seinen Ehren
cd2.20. BWV 107 - Darum ich mich ihm ergebe
cd2.21. BWV 107 - Herr, gib, daß ich dein Ehre

Review:
Gramophone - Disc 1:
The three works on this new disc from Virgin are profoundly expressive examples of Bach's craft in sacred cantata writing. Philippe Herreweghe's choir consists of some 16 voices to which he has added four excellent soloists all of whom are experienced artists in this repertory. Aus der Tiefen rufe ich is one of Bach's earliest cantatas dating back to 1707 or 1708 when he was at Muhlhausen. The text is a setting of Psalm 130, De profundis with additional verses from a Lenten hymn. Herreweghe conveys the sombre intensity of the piece and is especially well served by his soloists, choir and solo oboist. Some of the ensemble playing is scrappy but this is, none the less, a deeply felt performance with a lyrical contribution from Howard Crook.
The remaining two cantatas are Leipzig works from Bach's first annual cycle. Harmonically, Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir is a work of considerable strength. The text, Gospel-based, underlines the contrasting states of human frailty on the one hand and God's omnipotence on the other. The opening chorale fantasia is a highly imaginative blend of hymn, declamation and episodes for the instruments. Bach offers an alternative here between obbligato horn or organ and in this performance the latter is preferred. Counterpoint and subtle instrumentation play a part in the work's dark climax, a bass recitative and aria in which Bach's extraordinary gifts at evoking musicaltextual imagery are on display. Peter Kooy is resonant, declamatory and affecting and is well supported on the whole by the strings, though the violins are at times apt to sound thin and scrawny. Perhaps the elegiac element in this section is underplayed but it is skilfully done all the same.
The beautiful Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht is masterly from start to finish. The text focuses on two themes, the parable of the unjust steward and St Paul's warning to the Corinthians against idolatry and pride. The opening movement, with agonized, supplicatory cries from the choir paints a picture of the soul in deep distress. It is a picture which is further intensified in a canonic aria for soprano and oboe without continuo, the absence of which is indicative of man's fundamental instability. Barbara Schlick is affectingly partnered by Marc Ponseele whose delicately shaded oboe playing is all that one could wish for. Schlick herself is on top form, making this perhaps the interpretative high point of the entire recording; Bach's musical concept, furthermore, is breathtakingly original. Kooy declaims his expressive accompanied bass recitative with firm control and a feeling for the poetry, and Crook is effective in his aria dispelling the emotional intensity of the earlier sections. In this piece Bach calls for a 'corno' whose part is closely derived from the first violin line.
No such instrument or related instrument is used here however, Herre-weghe seeming happy to settle for an oboe. The closing chorale is yet another striking piece in which the upper string parts accompany the harmonically varied four-part vocal texture in progressively elongated note values ending with a sorrowful chromatic progression towards a tierce de Picardie. Herreweghe manages all this with tenderness and emotional restraint achieving a sustained often deeply affecting performance. No serious reservations here; three wonderful works, affectionately realized with solo contributions of distinction.'

Gramophone - Disc 2:
This is the second of Philippe Herreweghe's Bach cantata recordings for Virgin Classics. I reviewed the earlier disc very enthusiastically (5/93) and so approached this one eagerly and with a degree of confidence that has proved well founded. The three pieces included here are mature examples of Bach's cantata writing; two of them, Nos. 93 and 107, were written in 1724 for the Fifth and Seventh Sundays after Trinity respectively, and thus belong to Bach's great second cycle in which he concentrated on a chorale-based scheme. No. 93 is founded on a mid-seventeenth-century hymn by Georg Neumark and No. 107 on another of the same period by Johann Heermann. The remaining cantata, No. 39, slightly later and of a different compositional type, is constructed along the lines of several by Bach's cousin at Meiningen, Johann Ludwig Bach, whose pieces Bach sometimes performed at Leipzig at this time. It is a masterly work, above all in the concerto-like construction of the opening chorus, scored for voices with treble recorders, oboes and strings.
For this recording Herreweghe has used a solo line-up slightly changed from the previous one. Here, Barbara Schlick has been replaced by Agnes Mellon, and Gerard Lesne by Charles Brett. Howard Crook and Peter Kooy are common to both discs. On balance there is little to choose between them and preferences one way or the other will depend more upon personal taste than any technical disparity. Agnes Mellon is beguiling both in her three arias—one per cantata—and in her duo with Charles Brett, though she lacks the linguistic assurance of Schlick who is the more experienced Bach singer. Brett is sensitive in his single aria (No. 39) and effectively balances Mellon in the above-mentioned duet (No. 93). Both Crook and Kooy are on characteristically fine form, dealing confidently and expressively with Bach's often virtuoso writing. Crook's account of ''Drum ich mich ihm ergebe'' (No. 107) is delightful, furthermore revealing Bach in distinctly rococo clothes.
Enjoyable, too, are the contributions from the Chorus and Orchestra of the Ghent Collegium Vocale. The string continuo playing has greater assurance than in some of Herreweghe's earlier cantata recordings and, as usual, the oboe playing of Marcel Ponseele is a constant pleasure, above all for his poetic phrasing and communicative articulation. An excellent recorded sound sets the seal on a fine issue. Strongly recommended.'

Musicweb:
This set of cantatas covers a large part of Bach’s compositional career, from his time as organist at Mühlhausen, in his early twenties, to his first years as cantor in Leipzig. Other than an observation in the notes that these works “belie the image of the stern, aged contrapuntalist of popular myth”, there seems to be no connection – of season, theme or soloist – between them. In the light of such themed collections – some of Herreweghe’s own recordings for Harmonia Mundi, for example – and completed or ongoing cycles of the cantatas, it would be easy for the present set to be ignored.

Please do not ignore it. For a minimal outlay (around £9 or even less in the UK) here be treasure indeed – two hours of it. These are excellent performances, excellently recorded, utterly absorbing. My only criticism, as usual with this series, is that the notes are minimal – about one page each in English, French and German. The French notes are not a translation of the English, as the German notes are: they are actually more informative, listing, for example, the Sundays on which the cantatas were performed.
There is a note to say that sung texts are available online at www.virginclassics.com, but I’ve been down that road before and never managed to find the promised goodies. The same goes for promises of finding librettos at the emiclassics parent site. In any case, there are several sites where information about, texts and scores of the Bach cantatas, in German and in translation, may be found. A good place to start is bachcantatas.com.
To begin with Cantata 131 on this site. Here you will discover that the text is taken from Psalm 130 (‘Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord’) with the central stanzas from Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, that the cantata was composed at Mühlhausen in 1707, and you will be able to download the German text, several English translations and versions in other languages, the vocal score, in German and English, with piano accompaniment, commentaries by various eminent commentators, etc. (Be warned that the music is contained in quite a large file – 49 pages – and that the English in the score is a paraphrase, designed to be sung, not an exact translation.) There are also links to all current CDs containing this cantata – including the current Herreweghe set. If you follow this hyperlink, you will also be able to find similar information relating to the other cantatas on these CDs.

If, as is generally believed, this is the earliest of Bach’s cantatas to have survived, what a wonderfully developed work it is. Just as Sibelius in his first two symphonies is clearly influenced by Tchaikovsky but is already recognisably ‘Sibelian’, so, too, in this early work Bach is wholly himself. Though the occasion was probably penitential – marking a disastrous fire – it certainly does not sound morbid.
Despite being in a minor key, even the opening words, ‘Out of the depths …”, marked adagio, are set reflectively rather than mournfully and in the sinfonia which precedes them, the oboe sounds placid rather than plaintive. Significantly, though the words are cries from the depths, it is the highest voices, sopranos and altos, who enter first. At letter C the tempo changes to vivace – a confident, not a despairing call to the Lord to hear. At letter F, the bass and the choral sopranos duet on the words ‘If thou, Lord, shalt count our sins ..” the tempo changes to andante but the mood remains positive. The soprano melody, based on Ringwaldt’s chorale ‘Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut’, necessarily sounds slower – and calmer? – because the minims and semibreves of the chorale contrast with the bass’s quavers and semiquavers – a prayer for mercy set against the expectation of forgiveness. Even the words ‘am Holz mit Todes-schmerzen’, referring to the atoning suffering of Jesus on the cross, are not dwelled upon: this was music for a Lutheran congregation, not a Calvinist one.
The section beginning as adagio (letter K) soon changes to largo (letter L) and is reflective rather than morbid. The marking lento at the beginning of the tenor/choral altos duet (10 bars before letter O) appears to be editorial but appears to be appropriate for this section in which the male soloist again expresses confidence while the alto melody is again based on ‘Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut’. The Fugue which concludes the work (from letter V) with the promise of release from sin matches the vivace fugue at the end of the opening chorus and is dance-like in character. This final section progresses from adagio (letter T) via un poc’allegro a mere three bars later, adagio again (U), allegro (9 bars later) to the fugue itself (V).
I have analysed this cantata in some detail because my view of it is at odds in some respects with the commentaries on the website to which I have referred. These commentaries use such terms as ‘plaintive’, ‘profoundly penitential’, ‘predominantly sober’, ‘sombre’, ‘anxious’ and ‘trembling’. These qualities do exist in the music, but in a subordinate role: the overall tone is hopeful and Herreweghe’s performance rightly subordinates the negative qualities to the positive. It would hardly be possible to imagine a performance which more exactly chimed with my interpretation of the mood of this cantata – or, indeed, of Bach’s religious music as a whole. Even in the closing sections of the great Passions the mood conjured by the music is reflective rather than mournful – the ‘sure and certain hope’ of the moderate reform tradition against the anxiety of the puritan, forever uncertain whether he is one of the elect.
In his early years at Leipzig, Bach continued to employ some of the techniques he had used at Mühlhausen – the interwoven chorale, employed in Cantata 131, is found again in Cantatas 93 and 107 on this set – but, miraculously, he even managed to improve on what was already near-perfection. Invidious as it is to single out one work, 105 would probably have the greatest appeal, especially in such an excellent performance.
The final cantata, ‘Why art thou so troubled?’, was composed in Leipzig in 1724 for the 7th Sunday after Trinity: the Epistle for that day (Rom.6 19-23) speaks of the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life, while the Gospel (Mark 8 1-9) deals with the feeding of the four thousand. The text is not from either of these readings but relates to them – a hymn by the Lutheran pastor Johann Heermann (1585-1647) on the theme of trust in God. The score for this cantata is less unwieldy (24 pages) with the text in German only: English and other translations are also available on the main page for this cantata. Once again Herreweghe’s performance captures the mood of this cantata excellently, as it does of the other five cantatas on these discs.
The solo vocal contributions are all first-class: neither here nor in the choral singing did I find any cause for criticism. The minimal notes do not indicate the size of the chorus but it clearly represents a compromise between the one-voice-to-a-part position and the over-large choir. The orchestra, too, is an ideal size; both it and the chorus perform excellently. The recording is also excellent. With works spanning a wide range of Bach’s output, from the conservatism of the one Mühlhausen work to his second Leipizg cycle – though there is nothing here for the major festivals – this set would serve as an ideal introduction to the cantatas.

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Rossini - Stabat Mater

dir. Marcus Creed
RIAS-Kammerchor
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Krassimira Stoyanova - soprano
Petra Lang - mezzo-soprano
Bruce Fowler - tenor
Daniel Borowski - bass

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 212 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 77 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 19 mb

Total playing time: 57:09
Recorded March 1999, Konzerthaus, Berlin | Released 2001

Harmonia Mundi HMX 2981693

Info (allmusic.com):
Rossini's Stabat Mater was performed publicly in its final form in Paris on January 7, 1842. The first six sections of this ten-movement work had been composed earlier, on commission from Don Francesco de Varela, for an 1833 Good Friday performance in Madrid (with the last four movements written by Giuseppe Tadolini). The work was received enthusiastically in both of its incarnations and has remained a core piece of the choral repertory ever since.

Critics were initially less inclined to give their unqualified endorsement, however, citing its overtly operatic character. Nonetheless, one finds similar theatricality in other sacred music written by Italian composers (Verdi's Requiem is one of the most obvious) and whatever reservations one might cite are diminished by the sheer sweep and intensity of Rossini's music.

Scored for four soloists (two sopranos, tenor, and bass), chorus, and orchestra, the Stabat Mater features two movements for chorus and solo voices without accompaniment. Despite the near-decade separating the Eia Mater fons amoris (section five) and Quando corpus morietur (section nine), there is absolute consistency in style and inspiration.

The opening movement, Stabat Mater dolorosa, emerges out of the silence, first with orchestra, then orchestra joined by chorus, finally adding the soloists. Both solemnity and ardor are present. The second section, Cujus animam gementem, is a tenor aria of considerable difficulty, imposing on the singer a high D in its final moments. The springing naïveté of the vocal line and the metric simplicity of the accompaniment require that soloist and conductor approach the music with utmost dignity to avoid any sense of banality.

Section three is a duet for the two sopranos, Quis est homo, qui non fleret, often recalling duets the composer had written for his female protagonists in opera (Semiramide and Tancredi, for example). Pro peccatis suae gentis, an aria for bass, alternates between a bold, striding motive and a more reflective, flowing one. Wide-ranging, this section, too, demands a seriousness of approach by the soloist if a descent into simple bravura is to be avoided. Section five, Eia Mater, finds the bass soloist alternating with the unaccompanied chorus in a moment of sublime reflection. The quartet, Sancta Mater istud agas (section six), presents the four soloists, each of whom restate and recast the primary musical theme with remarkable invention.

Section seven, Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, is a cavatina for the second soprano, technically demanding with its broad intervals in the vocal line. Inflammatus et accensus (section eight) burns with the flaming intensity of its text. The writing here is bold and forward-looking, as unyielding as was Verdi's in the Libera me section of his Manzoni Requiem. The first soprano makes two incendiary ascents to high C over the full-throated chorus.

The unaccompanied Quando corpus morietur and the Amen comprise sections nine and ten, the latter a magnificent example of polyphony and imperative finality.

Track listing:
1. Stabat Mater dolorosa
2. Cujus animam gementem
3. Quis est homo, qui non fleret
4. Pro peccatis suae gentis
5. Eja Mater, fons amoris
6. Sancta Mater, istud agas
7. Fac, ut portem Christi mortem
8. Inflammatus est accensus
9. Quando corpus morietur
10. In sempiterna saecula. Amen

Review:
Gramophone:
A return to Berlin for another impressive recording of Rossini’s popular Stabat mater, the first with period instruments.

One of the first, and best, recordings of this splendid but interpretatively elusive work was made in Berlin in 1954 under the direction of Ferenc Fricsay. Like the present recording, it featured the RIAS (Berlin Radio) Chamber Choir, though in those days the fledgling choir was supplemented in the full choruses by the famous St Hedwig’s Cathedral Choir. Now it is on its own, acquitting itself superbly in all movements and dimensions; what’s more, the conductor of the entire enterprise is its own conductor, the English-born Marcus Creed.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first recording of the work to use period instruments. In so obviously ‘vocal’ a piece, this would seem to be of no particular moment. In practice, the work’s prevailingly dark orchestral colours are memorably envisioned and realized by the instrumentalists of Berlin’s Academy for Ancient Music. The recording is also imaginatively, if not in all respects flawlessly, realized: dark, deep and full. In the grand opening movement, I found the four soloists uncomfortably far forward; but if you can establish an agreeable level for this movement, the rest of the performance will sound very well indeed. Choir and orchestra are themselves unfailingly well balanced.

Creed’s reading is full of character: immensely strong but always sensitively paced. I can imagine Rossini raising an eyebrow at his fondness for romantically protracted codas; equally, he would have applauded his sensitive moulding of the accompaniments, matched shrewdly but never indulgently to the singers’ (and the music’s) needs. The soloists themselves, young and highly talented, are excellent, more than a match for most rival teams. Oddly, the line-up, in terms of nationality and style, is not unlike Fricsay’s (Stader, Radev, Haefliger and Borg) on that older Berlin set. It is a long time since I enjoyed a performance of the Stabat mater as much as this.'

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Rameau - Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts

Blandine Rannou - clavecin
Valerie Balssa - flute
Cathérine Girard - violon
Emmanuel Balssa - viole de gambe

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 379 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 89 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 13 mb

Total playing time: 62:55
Recorded: 28/07 - 10/08/2000, Ancienne Chapelle du Lycée Carnot, Dijon

Zig Zag Territoires ZZT 204 03 01

Track listing:
1. PREMIER CONCERT - La Coulicam
2. PREMIER CONCERT - La Livri
3. PREMIER CONCERT - Le Vézinet
4. DEUXIEME CONCERT - La Laborde
5. DEUXIEME CONCERT - La Boucon
6. DEUXIEME CONCERT - L'Agaçante
7. DEUXIEME CONCERT - 1er menuet - 2è menuet
8. TROISIEME CONCERT - La Lapoplinière
9. TROISIEME CONCERT - La Timide
10. TROISIEME CONCERT - Les Tambourins
11. QUATRIEME CONCERT - La Pantomime
12. QUATRIEME CONCERT - L'Indiscrète
13. QUATRIEME CONCERT - La Rameau
14. CINQUIEME CONCERT - Fugue La Forqueray
15. CINQUIEME CONCERT - La Cupis
16. CINQUIEME CONCERT - La Marais

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Chopin - Études

John Browning - piano

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Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 72 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 6 mb

Total playing time: 56:29
Recorded 1968 | Released 1989

Info (allmusic.com):
The twenty-four Études of Frédéric Chopin (divided into two separate opus numbers, 10 and 25, but actually composed almost simultaneously) remain the most significant entries in that particular musical genre. In a letter written in the fall of 1829, Chopin remarked that he had composed an etude "in [his] own manner." Indeed, a great chasm stands between his achievements and the far drier etudes of such predecessors as Moscheles, Czerny, and Hummel. Unlike many nineteenth-century pianist-composers, Chopin did not wish to create studies of only technique and raw dexterity. Here, instead, are works which provide the pianist with an inexhaustible array of textures, moods, and colors to explore. Concert pieces as well as technical studies, the twelve Etudes published as Chopin's Opus 10 are an indispensable tool of the modern pianist's craft; furthermore, they are a rite of passage that no serious pianist can ignore. The blistering arpeggiations of the Etude Op.10, No.1 in C major lay down the foundation of nineteenth-century virtuoso pianism. The work consists, quite simply, of a series of daunting right-hand maneuvers, supported by the plain melody, in octaves, of the left hand. While the technical demands and harmonic syntax may go a good deal further than most musicians of the day would have found comfortable, the texture is essentially classical in nature (if not execution).

Track listing:
1. Étude No. 1 in C major, Op. 10
2. Étude No. 2 in A minor, Op. 10
3. Étude No. 3 in E major, Op. 10
4. Étude No. 4 in C-sharp minor, Op. 10
5. Étude No. 5 in G-flat major, Op. 10
6. Étude No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 10
7. Étude No. 7 in C major, Op. 10
8. Étude No. 8 in F major, Op. 10
9. Étude No. 9 in F minor, Op. 10
10. Étude No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 10
11. Étude No. 11 in E-flat major, Op. 10
12. Étude No. 12 in C minor, Op. 10
13. Étude No. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 25
14. Étude No. 2 in F minor, Op. 25
15. Étude No. 3 in F major, Op. 25
16. Étude No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25
17. Étude No. 5 in E minor, Op. 25
18. Étude No. 6 in G-sharp minor, Op. 25
19. Étude No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 25
20. Étude No. 8 in D-flat major, Op. 25
21. Étude No. 9 in G-flat major, Op. 25
22. Étude No. 10 in B minor, Op. 25
23. Étude No. 11 in A minor, Op. 25
24. Étude No. 12 in C minor, Op. 25

Review:
Amazon.com customer review:
John Browning died in 2003 at the age of 69; with his passing, we lost one of the true American greats. He belongs to the same generation as Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher and Van Cliburn, but this CD in particular makes a compelling case for Browning as the finest of them all.

His ability to play the seemingly millions of notes in the twenty-four Chopin Etudes is only the beginning of the story, although it is quite an accomplishment itself; this was by far the most difficult music in existence at the time it was written in the 1830s, and it remains a monumental challenge. But these Etudes are more than merely splashy virtuoso showpieces of the Prokofiev or Khachaturian variety. They take elegance, grace, and above all the operatic touch. A pianist who cannot also sing in a variety of ways will be lost, and this is where Browning shines.

Listen to the "Revolutionary" Etude, Op. 10, No. 12; isn't the report of the right-hand chords interesting? It's crystal-clear, but the balance of the chords is shifted just a little bit so that it sounds slightly breathless, constrained, and desperate. It's a subtle touch that heightens the drama enormously, much in the way an actor will hone his delivery in subtle ways to express himself more poignantly. Or listen to the variety of touches and articulations in the F major etude, Op. 25, No. 3, which keep the repetitive rhythmical figure from getting stale. All of these are specifically requested by Chopin, by the way - most pianists make their own approaches based on feel, but Browning demonstrates that Chopin's directions, despite being rather dense and confusing at times, have their own logic.

Each etude is treated with a similar kind of love and dedication; there is not a weak track on this disc. As such, it represents a tremendous value and a more than worthy purchase.

Gramophone:


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Mozart - Piano Quartets

THE MOZARTEAN PLAYERS

Steven Lubin - fortepiano
Stanley Ritchie - classical violin
Myron Lutzke - classical violoncello
David Miller - classical viola

Harmonia Mundi HCX 3957018

Eac / Ape (img+cue+log) / Mp3 (lame vbr --alt preset)
Total playing time: 64:11
Covers & booklet included (scan @ 300dpi)

Recording:
December 1989, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York

CD release:
1990, 2004

Info:
Mozart's two piano quartets were written in his middle Vienna years, during the enormously fertile period of the genesis of Figaro. He wrote them within nine months of each other: the G-minor Quartet (K.478) was completed on 16 October 1785, according to the autograph, and the E-flat-major Quartet (K.493) on 3 June 1786, according to Mozart's catalogue of his own works (no autograph for the second quartet survives).
The two piano quartets exhibit remarkable formal and stylistic similarities, which attests yet again to Mozart's tendency to tailor works in each genre according to patterns he deemed appropriate to each. The piano quartets are three-movement works like the sonatas and trios, and so make a more intimate impression than the larger chamber works with minuets, like the string quartets and quintets. Yet, many details give the piano quartets a high specific gravity that sets them apart from the smaller chamber works: the elaborate first movements, with complex contrapuntal developments and codas, implying mandatory second repeats; the deeply serious slow movements; and the highly evolved alla breve rondos characteristic of the mature Mozart. The E-flat-major Rondo in particular — with its gavotte-like half-bar upbeat, full-fledged development, and exhilarating coda — ranks with Mozart's greatest examples of the form.

Track listing:
1. Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493 - 1. Allegro
2. Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493 - 2. Larghetto
3. Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493 - 3. Allegretto
4. Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478 - 1. Allegro
5. Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478 - 2. Andante
6. Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478 - 3. Rondo

Reviews:
Gramophone:
These are affectionate and musically very aware accounts of two beautiful works. Steven Lubin's piano, built by R. J. Regier after a Walter instrument (the make Mozart used) of about 1785, is—at least as captured on this recording—softer in tone and milder in attack than most fortepianos of the period that I have heard, and this helps impart an unusual warmth to the performances, which is further enhanced by the quite exceptional smoothness and sweetness, not to say the graceful phrasing, of Stanley Ritchie's playing on his period violin and the gentle resonance of Myron Lutzke's cello.

The players' readiness of response to the music is unmistakeable, and it gives rise to many felicities—in, for example, the long lines of the first movement of K493 or the alert detail in the K478 Andante. Sometimes, however, it seems to lead to performances that do not quite come fully to grips with the music, through the softening of climaxes or, perhaps particularly, the loss of momentum. Steven Lubin makes a good deal of rubato, which sometimes sounds slightly mannered and is not always done in the Mozartian way (that is, as Mozart himself specified, within a strict pulse). In the finale of K493, for example, the music doesn't often really seem to get going, and when it does it soon relaxes again; this applies especially in the dialogue passages, where Lubin's anxiety to illuminate each phrase is apt to be self-defeating. He also has a tendency to spread or roll chords to make an expressive point, more often than to some listeners might seem tasteful. There are a lot of tiny hesitations to make musical points, again perhaps more than desirable in the interest of sustaining the momentum of a movement. One senses a certain impetuosity in his playing and some want of discipline and control in his handling of rhythm from time to time.

These performances are, however, alternatives well worth considering to the Archiv Produktion disc by Malcolm Bilson and his English Baroque Soloists colleagues, the richer and better recorded of the existing versions. Bilson's tempos tend to be on the deliberate side, and these are serious, large-scale readings; the Mozartean Players' performances are more relaxed—though, I should add, not without strong and powerful things (listen for example to the development of the first movement of the G minor work). My preference remains with the Bilson version, but anyone looking for rather gentler performances, which perhaps make more of the individual, passing beauties of these works as opposed to their breadth and grandeur, will find much to enjoy in this new issue.'


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