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Can anyone recommend a good hi-rez recording of music for percussion ensemble. I've ordered the Kroumata SACD from BIS but wonder what else people have heard and enjoyed. I ask because I heard a superb group called '4-Mality' last night in our local cathedral (yes really)and wondered how my system might handle such amazing percussive attack. 4-Mality have no records as yet.
Dave
Follow Ups:
Some good ideas there - I will be buying some of the recommendations - probably the Kodo Mondohead and the Pentatone East Meets West. These seem to combine the 'simple and fun' with the 'tough and spectacular'.
Multi-channel hybrid SACD....see link
The finest percussion recording in my collection is a conventional CD release by Reference Recordings, the title "DAFOS", it is an analog recording, this CD is no longer available but if you can find it in used bins its worth a try.
I have 3 excellent suggestions, but these are all Japanese releases, so they will be costly.The Kodo release Mondo Head was recommended earlier. It was a U.S. release- good but not really pure Kodo.
I have 3 Japanese Kodo releases. The older ones are the really pure Kodo sound, almost all percussion, with a small amount of flute. I forget the exact names, look on sa-cd.net. These are the best percussion recordings I've ever heard, and I have a lot of percussion.
The other one is a live recording, I don't like that one so much.
And then there is another Japanese release of Balinese gamelan. Again I forget the exact title. This is mostly percussion, interspersed with some vocal pieces. The vocal pieces are not really my thing, but Balinese gamelan on SACD is killer. I have many recordings on CD of Javanese and Balinese gamelan, some very good, but SACD really adds a luster to the ringing harmonics.
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If you consider the piano a percussion instrument, then there is a very nice recording of Bartok's Sonata for Percussion and 2 Pianos on the Praga Digitals label.Then there is the Paul Bley SACD by Sony Japan featuring a percussion/piano improvisational duet.
Interestingly, these two are also pure DSD recordings, just like the first two percussion SACD's I mentioned. So is the Far More Drums SACD Robert discusses above.
I wasn't sure whether I cared much for this Praga Bartok issue - the sound is pretty good, but performancewise it's quite generic and lifeless if you've ever heard the better alternatives (like the Argerich/Kovacevich and the Richter/Lobanov, in reverse order).Whereas the Paul Bley issue you mention is simply stunning, on both accounts, which makes it a lasting treasure.
It's understandably hard to find percussion works that you'd really want to return to once the first sonic fascination effect has worn out. For me, the Bley above is one exception, as is probably the Pentatone "East Meets West," and the very good Harmonia Munde DSD recording of "Les Noces" by Daniel Reuss & Musikfabrik (that should surely qualify: nothing but pianos & percussion in the orchestra). All in great SACD sound, and the Bley a standout in any context - a true showcase for Japanese audio perfectionism.
You might also want to add the Salonen/LAPO "Rite," which blew out my Sunfire sub (this I consider a sonic feat).
Agree, the Praga musicians are not in the league of Argerich/Kovacevich. Their performance of the Bartok Sonata on redbook is stunning CD.For percussion like this sonata, a wide tonal palatte of colours and expanded dynamic range is essential in conveying the subtle varied timbral transient effects produced by the percussion instruments and the two pianos. The drama of the works depend more on these parameters than harmony or melody. So, hearing it well recorded in DSD does convey layers of expression that might not come across in redbook CD recording.
Very true. I've enjoyed this recording. But in the end I'm more drawn to the performance as driven as, say, the Richter/Lobanov (even with the very dry recording) that gives me a jolt with every single note, or simply as virtuosic and admirable as the Argerich/Kovacevich. But it was an enlightening listen. And for sure I'd just LOVE to hear it through your system... Must be something quite extraordinary. TL
In addition, there is a percussion SACD from Sony Japan entitled Prelude to the 21st Century.It is also recorded in DSD and features some remarkably virtuosic Marimba playing by soloist Michiko Takahashi.
What's the program on this one? can't seem to find much info on the content. Thx, TL
It features modernist compositions by Japanese composers. They are really well crafted compositions, in the vein of Boulez, Elliot Carter and Milton Babbit. The performer is a real virtuoso and a top name percussionist in contemporay music circles, especially on the mallet instruments. Japanese composers have a special inclination towards using the Marimba and Vibraphone, and I had the special chance to hear many of these subtlly expressive and finely honed compositions at Suntory Hall Tokyo when I was there for a Japan Federation of Composers recital last March. If you enjoy modern music, the quality of the performances, the compositions and the recording are unlikely to pose an issue.
Thanks a lot. That tells much and indeed sounds like something I'd be keen to hear. TL
You could also try the Nemesis SACD recorded in pure DSD.
"Far More Drums" is an original DSD recording by the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble on the dmp label.
I have not played it in a few years. It was recorded in 2000 and I am surprised (shocked?) to find that it is a very early multi-channel SACD recording. I have not given it a spin since I've had my multi-channel set-up. That I must do. I recall that the content, while good, was not worthy of an entire SACD. It got a bit monotonous after a while. But it has been 6 or 7 years since I've listened.
Robert C. Lang
I can heartily recommend a 24/96 DAD (not DVD-A) recording (you said 'hi-rez', not SACD!) on the ARTS label entitled 'Percussion XX', with music by Henze, Cage, Taira, and others. The realism and dynamics are staggering. You need to have a DVD player capable of playing the hi-rez stereo audio tracks, of course.Another excellent contemporary/avant garde percussion disc (on SACD this time) is 'East Meets West' with Les Percussions de Strasbourg on PentaTone in their RQR series. The recordings are from the early 70's and sound very good.
For percussion of a completely different sort, 'Tiny Island' on an Opus 3 SACD sounds superb, and the music is interesting.
BTW, I had the recent Kroumata 'Encores' SACD, and while the sound was terrific, I couldn't stand the music (most of it in the shmaltzy-pops vein), and sold it.
Hope this helps!
The only one I'm aware of is the Kodo recording. See link.This might not be your cup of tea, but it demonstrates well the need to have full range in ALL of your multichannel loudspeakers. A single subwoofer simply will not do.
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