help please! :)

A question for my learned friends if I may.

I have a few pieces of classical music that set my goose bumps to rising. I would like to purchase them (on vinyl).

Id like to get them on vinyl because my TT currently outstrips my CDP. If there isnt a good version on vinyl, then CD it will be!...


Anyway, can you help? here's the gen..

1) This first release is From Linn. They only sell it on CD. Id like it on LP. I'd also like to pay less than 15 quid if I can. Is it a famous release thats been done better before? Or is this the only version of it? If theres been a few, which is the definitive one?

Scottish Ensemble
Tears Of The Angels

GENRE: Classical RELEASE YEAR: 1998
CAT No: CKD 085 PRICE: £15
FORMAT: HDCD

Tracklisting

01 ...Depart In Peace
25:06 John Tavener

02 My Gaze Is Ever Upon You
18:59 John Tavener

03 Tears Of The Angels
13:31 John Tavener


2) This is where I show up my ignorant taste!
I like the music from the B.A. adverts. I think one is an opera, something about a flower garden if memory serves. Not sure about the other one but I like it just as much.

Is there a CD/LP out there... perhaps a compilation with both on?

Thanks 1 and all.

Chris

 

Hi Chris,
I believe the BA music is the Flower Duet from the opera Lakme by Delibes.If you don't want the whole opera it should be availible on one of those Greatest Aria sets.

I'm not familier with the Tavener pieces but from the titles they may be from his Funeral Ikos in which case I believe the Tallis Scholars come well reccomended.
I'm sure other people will know better
Andrew

 

Careful! Distinguish between John Tavener (modern English composer, much influenced by Greek Orthodoxy) and John Taverner (16th. century English composer). The latter is the one recorded by the Tallis Scholars (e.g., "The Western Wynde" mass). The pieces mentioned are Tavener pieces. Tavener is still active, so much of his stuff will may exist on CD only. GrahamN may know more - I'm sure he'll be along shortly (probably about midnight, when he comes in from the concert halls in which he virtually lives).

 

Hi Tones,
Yes I know the difference! The Tallis Scholars have recorded both , at least according to my Penguin guide!

 

Chris,

Sorry for the late appearance - my broadband connection had some gremlin for the last few days.

Googling for those Tavener titles (and yes, it's the alive one not the 400 years dead one we're talking about) brings up the web site of his publisher, Chester/Novello. Their discography for these pieces shows that's the only recording - so you could be out of luck. I would suggest your only possible avenue is to get on to Linn records and see whether they've done a vinyl pressing (or licensed one). The "Funeral Ikos" is something completely different (as also is Ikon of Light).

I've not heard the CD or the pieces myself, but it's possibly not surprising they've been done by anyone else since they were commissioned by the BT Scottish Ensemble. Clio is not a top rank soloist, but she's not at all bad. In addition to the Scottish Ensemble (BT have stopped their sponsorship now BTW), she leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (one of the London big 4 - possibly the weakest of them atm, but still v. good on the right night). That band is also pretty good - at least the couple of times I've seen them, and have some good players (e.g. the lead viola and 'cello are both front desk in the LSO too). Patricia Rozario is a bit of a Tavener specialist - and has a fantastic range, which Tavener usually exploits to the full - so you're not going to get anyone more authentic for her part. So it should be a good rendition.

I have a few Tavener disks. As Tones said he became a devout Orthodox in 1977, and most of his pieces since the have been religiously inspired, and unsurprisingly for choir. (His earlier style was quite a lot more agressive, so I'm led to believe). The most famous thing he ever did was "Song for Athene", the piece played at the end of Princess Di's funeral. This was released on a CD called "Innocence" CD by Westimister Abbey Choir (Sony SK66613). It has some very soulful stuff, but also some fairly muscular stuff (e.g. alternations of ethereal soprano solo, gruff male voices and the organist seemingly leaning on all his keyboards in the 24 minute "Innocence" itself) - which I doubt you'd like. The conteplative stuff is lovely though: I'd certainly recommend "The Lamb", "Annunciation", the "Hymns to the Mother of God" and "Song for Athene" to anyone interested in a little modernish church music. Most of them have been recorded manytimes - they're mostly on a Naxos CD from St Johns College (8.555256) which I seem to remember getting good reveiws, and you can listen to all the tracks on www.naxos.com. The other famous pieces by him are "The Protecting Veil", a 40 minute piece of cello and orchestra, the 80 minute "Akathist of Thanksgiving" for choir, organ, strings and bells, and the Ikon/s pieces above. Having heard a few of his 45-60 minutes pieces - I personally prefer him in shorter vein.

Guessing at what the pieces sound like, you may also wish to try a disk of Arvo Part's most popular pieces - Festina Lente, Fratres, Summa, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten and possibly (the most famous of the lot) Tabula Rasa too. I have these on a dirt cheap (and very good) disc on HMV's own label (aka EMI : HMV 5723152). [Edit]Actually listeing to it again, maybe "Fratres" may not be quite what you're after, but I certainly should have mentioned "Spiegel im Spiegel")[/Edit]

Yes, the BA advert is the Flower duet from Delibes' "Lakme", and no I've not heard any of the rest of the opera either. It should appear on just about every "Operatic Duets" disc made in the last 20 years (and probably many earlier too). A quick search on Amazon for 'Delibes' gave 238 hits! No real recommendations, I'm afraid, but this one is packed with top class pieces and names (except for that utter pillock Andrea Bocelli - whoever let him in there ) and should be good. Not sure whether there's a vinyl version though. There's also a fun "Music from the Adverts" CD here. Performers are a bit of a mixture - some good, many I've never heard of.

 

Wow thanks folks, great info.

Time for an email to LINN I think... asking them about the disc on vinyl, and if they dont do it - what is the point in making LP12s if they arent going to support them with software from their own record label?

I shall be cheeeky!





NB Graham thanks for all the reccomendations! great stuff. I shall come back to this and dip in for music.

Ive always wanted to go to see classical music, and especially an opera in the flesh. I wouldnt know where to start! and I dont have a tuxedo...

 

It's a bit of an image problem classical music has, scaring off those who worry about not knowing enough or whatever... kind of like hifi shops really

The Protecting Veil is probably my favourite of the major Tavener works I've heard, although that's possibly because it was one of the first ones I got to know and all the rest basically sound the same - Tears Of The Angels is nearly exactly the same as TPV but for violin instead of cello and a third the length. If you can, try to get The Lamb too like the man said, and I'd also second the Part recommendations if you like that sort of thing, although finding choirs that don't sing flat all the way through a recording is remarkably difficult.

 

Maybe get one of those operatic aria compilations, work out which arias you like and which turn you off, then we'll find one for you.

No tuxedoes required: I'm actually going to "Sweeny Todd" by Stephen Sondheim at Covent Garden on Wednesday (they're trying to get 'hip' y'see - very mixed reviews) - and may actually put a tie on for there, but you're probably in the minority if you wear one at English National - but maybe the provinces are a bit stuffier . Looks like WNO are trying to lower the barrier - but they haven't got anything beyond the front page yet at http://www.fresh2opera.co.uk/

Not sure what your nearest touring company is. Ah - bingo on first bullet. Looking at www.wno.org.uk they're at Milton Keynes 23-27 March. Tchaik Eugene Onegin, Puccini Mme Butterfly and Engelbert Humperdinck (the original one - NOT the medallioned crooner) Hansel and Gretel. I'd guess that Mme Butterfly would be your best bet - but I could be wrong. The two leads are pretty good (O'Mara recently sang Parsifal - big stamina test - although I've normally found him a bit small voiced for a big hall like the RFH)

 

A bit different but as you are heading for the chillout end of the market, whynot try The Hilliard Ensembles recordings with Jan Garbarek, Gorecki's 3rd symphony, Carl Jenkins' The Armed Man and Adiemus, I guarantee goosebumps from any of those!

 

Hi again Chris,

After reading the descriptions of those pieces, they sounded worth a punt, so I've just got the CD - and pretty good it is too. "...Depart in Peace" is very much in his recent style of repeated blocks with unison refrains. He goes through one too many repetitions here for me (and I would be much happier with it at 18 minutes rather than 25), but I guess that's rather goverened by the text. The other two pieces are great. Anyway...if you like that you should try the following:

1) Ad m'lud said...Gorecki's 3rd symphony, soprano over moody strings background. Gets quite a bit more impassioned than the Tavener, but is very moving

2) The Part stuff (particularly "Summa" and the Cantus) I mentioned above is very much in the vein of the opening to "...Depart in Peace". "Spiegel im Spiegel" is very much in the same vein as "My Gaze is ever on You"

3) There's not a lot I can think of with the middle-Eastern feel of the central sections of "...Depart in Peace" (with all those augmented seconds). A wonderful piece for full orchestra and 'cello though is "Schelomo" by Ernst Bloch (again quite impassioned in places). This often coupled with Max Bruch's "Kol Nidrei", his setting of the jewish prayer for the dead for cello and orch. Both pieces are well worth getting.

4) Bits of "Tears of the Angels" kept on reminding me of Vaughan Williams' "Tallis Fantasia" - although that is quite animated in comparison.

5) For the more contemplative (which in turn can make the Tavener seem rather animated ), try some Morton Feldman - e.g. "Piano and Orchestra" or "Cello and Orchestra" (excellent recording on Argo 448513-2). Absolute must for a paid up roundie - oceans of inky blackness and the composer stipulates "without the feeling of a beat"! The other piece that comes to mind (although not really "classical") is Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" - a far better piece than the title would suggest.

6) Finally for the raptness of the "Tears of the Angels" - Beethoven's last piano sonata Op 111. I know I also just recommended it to Leonard for "groove-led free classical" - but the magic of this is that the latter builds out of the former, and then subsides back again. Best piece of music for piano (I would say keyboard, but this way I avoid the wrath of the eisenach faction) I know of!