[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Omnibus
G'day Miners,
In line with the recent trend of doing a catch-all answer, here's my
offering:
(1) Alternatives to GG -- Alun suggested Weill sung by Lemper. Good idea,
and I suppose it really has to be someone with an authentic German
accent, or someone whose surname begins with 'L', as in Lenya. But if you
want a fabulous non-German rendition try Australia's own Robyn Archer on
a CD called 'Robyn Archer Sings Brecht' (EMI CDC 7 47576 2). Accompanied
by The London Sinfonietta, Archer sings not only 10 Weill songs from
various Brecht writings but also songs by Eisler, Brecht himself,
Umlauft, Dessau and Muldowney -- a total of 26 songs.
(2) Bach while analysing/creating -- I'm with Tim Solomon on this one.
Bach is the worst, he's worse even than listening to speech. Potboilers
work best for me. We have two classical radio stations here in Melbourne,
one of them professional (ABC Classic FM), the other an amateur
non-profit organisation (3MBS). Both run 24 hours a day and broadcast
mainly music, much of it sounding like 'Your 100 Best Classical Tunes',
or 'The Beginner's Primer of Classical Music'. That's exactly right for
serious work. You know a lot of the pieces they play, perhaps have some
in your collection, maybe don't think a great deal of them but enjoy
hearing them now and then, and they certainly drown out other
distractions. And when the music stops for an announcement or whatever,
you can switch to the other station.
(3) The best Bradenburgs -- this was a thread recently on the BACH list
(send an email with SUBSCRIBE BACH-LIST Your Name in the body to
<LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>; I _think_ that's right -- if it's not perhaps
some kind Bach lister who's also on f-minor can supply the correction).
My contribution read as follows:
QUOTATION STARTS----------------------------------------------------
The first Brandenburgs I bought (in 1966 on a 2-tape set) were those
recorded by Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Orchestra (England) in
1959 on, I think, an EMI label. Over the years and my travels the tapes
deteriorated and I couldn't find a CD version anywhere. Late in 1996 I
found a Seraphim double-CD of that recording; the number 7243 5 68516 2 7
is on the spine of the case, if that helps, but it seems a bit too long.
The liner notes are abyssmal -- hardly any info of value.
It's an ADD recording and EMI seem to have done little to clean it up.
However, it has George Malcolm on harpsichord, YM plays and conducts, and
Concerto #2 has the best piccolo trumpet I've ever heard. I don't know
who the trumpeter is, but he's the only one I've ever heard hit the
incredibly high last note; everyone else fudges it. IMHO, it's worth it
for that alone, although Concerto #1 is excellent too, and the others are
all good, not to say unusual: for example, Concerto #3 has an adagio
middle movement that (I believe -- I'm not a musician or musicologist) is
usually played as a small number of chords on a small number of
instruments because that's what JSB wrote. On this version that movement
is expanded as the 2nd movement of the trio sonata for organ, BWV 530,
arranged by Benjamin Britten for violin, viola and continuo. Purists may
shudder, but it sounds good to me.
BTW, legend has it that it was this version of Concerto #2 that inspired
Paul McCartney to ask George Martin 'What the hell was that?', to which
GM replied 'a piccolo trumpet', to which PM said 'gotta have one in my
next song, man', or words to that effect. Anyone remember which McCartney
songs have a piccolo trumpet in them?
QUOTATION ENDS----------------------------------------------------
The Bach list can sometimes be quiet but my message provoked a number of
swift responses (it seems most people on the list are musicologists and
professional players, fascinating to listen to but a bit awe-inspiring
for a simple listener like me).
One responder said it's a baroque trumpet, not a piccolo trumpet.
Another, a US military trumpeter, said piccolo was right in this case
because it is typically pitched in Bb (as in Penny Lane) and the piccolo
is half the length of a modern trumpet. BC#2, he added, is a 'MOST
formidable piece' (which probably accounts for few players hitting the
final top note). A baroque trumpet is a valveless trumpet from the
Baroque period, nothing like a piccolo at all. So there. [That shut
everybody up.] Another responder suggested that one could always
programme-out the 'weird' 2nd movement of BC#3.
Nobody suggested any L&M songs using the piccolo trumpet other than
'Penny Lane'; however, I think there were others but haven't the time to
go through the entire Beatles canon. I also think McCartney used the
instrument in the music he wrote for a film called 'The Family Way',
starring Hywl Bennett and Hayley Mills, mid-60s as I remember. Anyone got
any facts about this, and about L&M songs with the piccolo trumpet in, as
opposed to vague memories?
Perhaps it is the BachFest/YM version of the Brandenburgs that Bob
Williams thinks stinks. I hope not, Bob. Although later recordings are
clearer and more authentic, the BachFest/YM version remains my favourite.
A number of recent interpretations also seem to muck about with the both
the tempi and the times of various movements -- or was YM the only one
out of step?
That's enough for now. Apologies for wittering on about a whole heap of
non-GG stuff...oh, yes, and for not trying to offend anybody -- or has
that brief fashion now died the death it deserves?
Tim
_________________________________________________________________
Tim Conway mail: Conway Consulting Pty Ltd
301 Glenfern Road (P O Box 1042)
Upwey, VIC 3158, Australia
tel: +61.3.9754.8544
fax: +61.3.9752.5309
email: <tpconway@ozemail.com.au>
_________________________________________________________________