|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
76.126.5.126
A new review out today (by John Quinn at Music Web International) of the Steinberg "Passion Week" recording (just released a few weeks ago) references Gretchaninoff's settngs of the same texts. As I tried to convey in the thread further down, Steinberg's work is one of the most amazing and moving musical discoveries I've encountered in the last decade or so. Here are some excerpts from the review (plus a link to the full review further below):. . . [i]t's worth mentioning at this point, I think, the Passion Week by Alexander Grechaninov which was written in 1912 and to which Alexander Lingas says Steinberg's work is 'indebted for its form'. The two composers set several of the same texts but the musical response is rather different. I know the Grechaninov work through the magnificent recording conducted by Charles Bruffy. . . and the impression I have is that Grechaninov's music, though deeply expressive and very beautiful, is more conservative harmonically than Steinberg's and that Steinberg's writing is also more polyphonically complex. I'm not for one moment suggesting that one work is "better" than the other - that would be as crass a statement as it would be unfair - but it's interesting to compare two differing responses within the Orthodox tradition. Most of Steinberg's settings are based on traditional Znamenny chants but there is also one piece based on a Kievan chant while another is founded on a Bulgarian chant. The eighth piece, 'The Wise Thief', is an original composition.
Often when a review disc arrives. . . I'm unable to resist playing just a few minutes of it to get an initial impression, especially if the music is new to me. I did this with this disc but found that I was hooked and I listened straight through the Steinberg work. I was struck forcefully by the sheer beauty of the music - and by the excellence of the performance. . .
Passion Week is a remarkable work that contains intensely beautiful music and I was gripped and moved by it. . .
It's Steinberg's Passion Week, though, that has the greatest claim on the attention of collectors. I'd go so far as to say that it's a major discovery. Anyone who responds to a work such as Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil will find this a very rewarding piece. I don't think that Steinberg's piece is as memorable in its melodic material as Rachmaninov's masterpiece but that may well be because I'm much more familiar with the Rachmaninov. I have no hesitation in saying, however, that Passion Week is one of the finest and most moving Orthodox settings that I've encountered and I've been excited by getting to know it. . .
Every aspect of the presentation of this release is first rate.
Follow Ups:
Found it on TIDAL but not QOBUZ.Go figure.
Good news here is that TIDAL plays on the home SONOS system so that's all we've heard it on as yet.
Still, sounds nice even on a single lo-fi Sonos speaker in the kitchen.
So now streaming the Grechaninov above.
Because, streaming is so easy.
Edits: 04/14/15
For sure - and I think streaming may take over sooner than many of us even expected. And if Meridian's Bob Stuart can convince enough companies to adopt his MQA system, some of the streaming may eventually attain an even higher quality level than CD (assuming the source material is of sufficiently high quality - not always a safe assumption!).
Chris, you mentioned Rachmaninoff's "Vespers," which certainly is a step up from Grechaninov's "Passion Week." Personally, I'm not much interested in long choral works. It takes something special to pull me in to choral music.One choral work I can recommend for anyone, even those who hate choral music, is Taneyev's "John of Damascus" (variously titled Joann Damaskin, etc). As much as I admire Rachmaninoff and his cantatas, there is no doubt that Taneyev's "John of Damascus" is the greatest purely choral work (by which I mean, no soloists) ever written in Russian or by a Russian. The lines in the piece are from Tolstoy. "I travel along a path that is unknown to me." The opening movement would bring a resolute atheist to his knees in awe of its sheer beauty. And for those not crazy about choral music, it is blessedly brief (only around 23 minutes).
Taneyev studied with and was a close friend of Tchaikovsky, and became a noted pedagog himself. His students included Glière, Grechaninov, Medtner and Rachmaninoff. "John of Damascus" was officially Tanyev's Op. 1, although being extremely insecure and self-critical, he had written many fine works before he felt satisfied enough to actually publish. So there are excellent works written before this one that have later opus numbers.
There are not many recordings of this piece. Unfortunately, the best commercial recording is Pletnev's. I say "unfortunately" not only because of Pletnev's disgusting personal issues, but also because it is coupled with a truly mediocre recording of Rachmaninoff's beautiful vocal symphony "The Bells" and the audio engineering is really not so great. What sets it apart is the Russian choir, which features the best sopranos and basses of any recording of this work. If you must own a physical object and are willing to ignore the conductor, that recording remains the best of the lot.
However, a very satisfying performance is available on the web. Featuring the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Vasily Petrenko, it is gorgeous in all regards, lacking just the "atmospherics" that the opening chorus really deserves. Beyond that, it is an excellent reading. The audio is IMO superior to the Pletnev, and as a live recording it has visceral power. Even though it is not HD, the captured recording is good enough.
Petrenko's John of Damascus, Part I
Petrenko's John of Damascus, Part II
(There is a live performance out there by Pletnev as well, fo those who are interested.)
I'm still waiting for a definitive commercial recording that aces all aspects of this great cantata -- audio and performance.
We'll leave Rachmaninoff's "The Bells" for another thread.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Edits: 04/14/15
hris, you mentioned Rachmaninoff's "Vespers," which certainly is a step up from Grechaninov's "Passion Week." Personally, I'm not much interested in long choral works. It takes something special to pull me in to choral music.One choral work I can recommend for anyone, even those who hate choral music, is Taneyev's "John of Damascus" (variously titled Joann Damaskin, etc). As much as I admire Rachmaninoff and his cantatas, there is no doubt that Taneyev's "John of Damascus" is the greatest purely choral work (by which I mean, no soloists) ever written in Russian or by a Russian. The lines in the piece are from Tolstoy. "I travel along a path that is unknown to me." The opening movement would bring a resolute atheist to his knees in awe of its sheer beauty. And for those not crazy about choral music, it is blessedly brief (only around 23 minutes).
Taneyev studied with and was a close friend of Tchaikovsky, and became a noted pedagog himself. His students included Gliere, Grechaninov, Scriabin, Medtner and Rachmaninoff. His "John of Damascus" was his Op. 1, but he wrote many fine pieces before that. He was so insecure and self-critical that this was the first piece he published. Some of his earlier works had later opus numbers.
There are not many recordings of "John of Damascus." The best of the commercial recordings has been Pletnev's. The audio is a bit muddy, but the Russian choir is very good. Unfortunately, it is coupled with a truly mediocre reading of Rachmaninoff's vocal symphony "The Bells." There are many good readings of "The Bells," so it's hard to recommend Pletnev just for the Taneyev piece, but if you have to have a physical object, that recording still tops the list.
There is a better performance available on the Web featuring the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Vasily Petrenko. The audio is better than the Pletnev, lacking only the solemn atmospherics when the choir first comes in. It is a live performance, so has a visceral impact no studio recording can match. The Web audio is not HD, but still good enough to enjoy.
I'm still waiting for the definitive recording of this splendid music, coupling exceptional audio with top tier performance. Let us hope some label gets around to it someday.
BTW - there is a live performance by Pletnev out there on the Web as well, for those who are interested.
We'll leave Rachmaninoff's "The Bells" for another thread.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Edits: 04/14/15
Too bad he hasn't recorded it as yet.
Or recorded it live.
It might be that the reason it's so good is that it was recorded for the streaming service below:
http://www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/petrenko_conducts_tchaikovsky_taneyev_and_prokofiev_in_utrecht/8782/#nogo
One version I would like to hear is above but is appears to be out of print, ridiculously priced and not on any streaming services that I can find.
Another performance streamed on World Concerthall was even better than the Petrenko, IMO. It was a performance by the Odense Symphony Orchestra and Mariinsky Theater Choir conducted by Vedermikov in 2012. What a powerful and beautiful performance, which was pretty close to perfect. Unfortunately, I cannot find this "in the wild" on the Web, so cannot link to it.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
at $249.94 new, over $50 used on Amazon, I'll pass.
Link below:
Or £6.30 if you don't want another Tchaikovsky Fourth. Link below.
Taneyev looks to be just 3 Pounds Sterling now.
Complete CD is now 9.99 Pounds Sterling.
503 Service Unavailable
No server is available to handle this request.
In any case, you can search for The Classical Shop and then search for the Polyansky recording once you're on the site.
I HAVE heard Taneyev's "At the Reading of a Psalm" - yet another very moving (not to mention impressive - geez, that triple fugue!!) work. I no longer have a recording of it however, since the recording I USED to have was the Pentatone SACD, conducted by Pletnev. And since YOU made me get rid of all my Pletnev recordings. . . ;-)
(BTW, it looks as if your post got cut off?)
Setright came from a family of mechanical engineers, studied law and hated it, and was a prodigy on jazz clarinet.
His interest in engineering led him to an unparalleled career as an automotive journalist, but along the way as a singer, he co-founded the Philharmonia Chorus in 1957.
In 1980, tragedy struck. His opera-singer wife killed herself. In reaction, Setright embraced Lubavitcher orthodoxy, and it is from that standpoint that he endorsed Elgar's grandest work.
JM
with Dame Janet Baker and Sir Peter Pears.
OK, not the best audio or video, recorded onto VHS tape off of the original BBC broadcast. BBC no longer has the tapes on this one, likely erased.
Shame on them!
I love to think of myself as an Elgarian. However 90 minutes of "Dream of Gerontius" confirms my agnosticism. It's not the music but the libretto by Cardinal Newman that is my problem.
Did you know that LKJ Setright was also a motoring correspondent for the auto magazine "Car" during the 70's?
jm
In particular, Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God Is Within You."
Look up Tolstoy on Wiki and then search the page for Gandhi.
JM
I am told that back in the day (I hope I am getting this right) people said that the University of Chicago was the Baptist college that proper upwardly-mobile Presbyterians sent their children to, to be converted to Roman Catholicism, by Jews.
I hope I got that right.
And if I failed to offend anyone, I promise to catch you next time....
So, I gather that this recording is the greatest Chant pastiche of the Soviet period that was composed by a Lithuanian Jew.
OK! Gottit!
Who knows from Chant like a Litwacker, I ask you?
ATB,
John
-Not that this made any difference to Rimsky himself, who was, at most, a Pantheist, and more likely, an Atheist.
BTW, I always knew there was something I liked about folks from the University of Chicago! ;-)
Pre-Vatican II at least, there was a saying, "The Study of History is the death of Protestantism."
So, having Jewish intellectuals of blue-collar origins force you to read The Great Books turned out to be more effective in gaining converts (among a certain self-selected pool) than Fulton Sheen's TV show... .
BTW, until I just read a book on the subject of "blue-collar intellectuals" I never knew that Ariel Durant was Jewish and she met literally excommunicated former seminarian Will when he was her teacher and she was: 14. The married when she was 15... .
They were together for what, 67 years?
JM
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: