Home Classical Court

From Perotin to Prokofiev (and beyond), performed by Caruso to Khatia, it's all here.

I was a bad boy a couple of days ago - the story of my latest HIP download!

Yes - I did it! I took advantage of Chandos' 25% off on their "Lieder and Song" albums this month to download a 24/96 MCh incarnation of soprano Ruby Hughes's album, "Handel's Last Prima Donna: Giulia Frasi in London". (It's not clear how this album of recitatives and arias really fits into the "Lieder and Song" category, but mine is not to reason why.) Hughes sounds great on this album - she has a clear, focused sound which is attractive, and perfect for this repertoire. And BTW, the repertoire is not all Handel: I discovered some composers I was completely unfamiliar with, such as John Christopher Smith, whose arias from "Paradise Lost" and "Rebecca" are fully worthy of comparison with Handel's music on this release. This was a really exciting discovery for me! The only negative about the vocal contribution I'd offer is that I couldn't understand a word Ms. Hughes was singing - kind of strange when her tone was otherwise so focused and pure. Fortunately, I was able to bring up an enlarged PDF of the booklet texts on my TV as I listened.



You may have noticed that I've been avoiding the word in the subject line which is always (and will forever be!) an anathema to me: HIP! But in my defense, I have to say that, these days, you just can't get to this repertoire anymore without acceding to the demands of the HIP gods. In this case, it's the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. But if it HAS to be HIP, then the OAE is probably the "least bad" choice of the current HIP orchestras - they seem to have carved out an "easy listening" niche within HIP world, eschewing for the most part the ridiculous hairpin dynamic exaggerations of other HIP groups, and even allowing themselves a bit more vibrato than other HIP ensembles use. (Or is it my imagination? LOL!) All in all, I wasn't too bothered by them, and I liked their decision to go with a theorbo rather than a harpsichord as the main continuo instrument.

So, yeah, I liked it - I really did! ;-)


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  The Cable Cooker  


Topic - I was a bad boy a couple of days ago - the story of my latest HIP download! - Chris from Lafayette 13:29:04 06/11/20 (0)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.