What's playing today ?

Although this instrument has clarity, richness and responsive precision the two recitals I heard here struck me as often drowning in the vast acoustic. I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who’s heard it in situ.

 

Another performance muffled by either the wrong acoustic, too distant microphone placement or both. Maybe even made worse by Youtube’s compression?

 

Mr Laube will explain - - - -

 

A friend who had no love of classical music when exposed by me to a few minutes of this declared it ‘Music to commit suicide by’ . On second thoughts he may have been onto something but not in the way he meant.

 

My preference for recordings of all the late Beethoven string quartets has remained with the Fine Arts Quartet but I’m too lazy to record them off my LP’s and can’t find them on line so hear’s a more accessible performance of Opus 131.

 

Better than Gould without the idiotic out of tune mumbling along?

 

Erlkönig
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind:
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.
„Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?“
„Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron’ und Schweif?“
„Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.“
„Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel’ ich mit dir;
Manch’ bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.“
„Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?“
„Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind:
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.“
„Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Rein
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.“
„Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?“
„Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.“
„Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.“
„Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt fasst er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!“
Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not:
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.
The Erlking
English Translation © Richard Wigmore

Who rides so late through the night and wind?
It is the father with his child.
He has the boy in his arms;
he holds him safely, he keeps him warm.
‘My son, why do you hide your face in fear?’
‘Father, can you not see the Erlking?
The Erlking with his crown and tail?’
‘My son, it is a streak of mist.’
‘Sweet child, come with me.
I’ll play wonderful games with you.
Many a pretty flower grows on the shore;
my mother has many a golden robe.’
‘Father, father, do you not hear
what the Erlking softly promises me?’
‘Calm, be calm, my child:
the wind is rustling in the withered leaves.’
‘Won’t you come with me, my fine lad?
My daughters shall wait upon you;
my daughters lead the nightly dance,
and will rock you, and dance, and sing you to sleep.’
‘Father, father, can you not see
Erlking’s daughters there in the darkness?’
‘My son, my son, I can see clearly:
it is the old grey willows gleaming.’
‘I love you, your fair form allures me,
and if you don’t come willingly, I’ll use force.’
‘Father, father, now he’s seizing me!
The Erlking has hurt me!’
The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
he holds the moaning child in his arms;
with one last effort he reaches home;
the child lay dead in his arms.
Translations by Richard Wigmore first published by Gollancz and reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition

 

This one’s for Grothendiek - - - - -

 

Just noticed posts I thought I was responding to can be ten years old. What’s happend to the traffic here?
I can’t believe social media provides an effective substitute for forums such as this.
Maybe I’m talking to an empty room?

 

Thanks Dissily. Pretty intense piece. It provides a nice showcase for this organ. Beautiful looking organ, too.

 

I’m not sure if the piece is intense so much as the organist showing off how fast he can play. It’s fun but I don’t much like the short slow passages which to my ears don’t appear to relate to the rest.



Thanks for the reply - - - I was starting to suspect this was a ghost forum. Since social media hit the web a lot of forums have died.