Late night music.

[bindeweede]

Delibes - Flower duet from "Lakme". The very old BA advert. With flowers!

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[bindeweede]

An appealing guitar arrangement of "Farewell to Stromness" by Peter Maxwell Davies.

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[Tom_I]

I heard this recording on the radio yesterday. It's Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat known as "St Anne", after the hymn tune used as the subject for the fugue. Originally for organ, this is Arnold Schoenberg's orchestration. Good recording by the BBC Philharmonic and Leonard Slatkin. Ramp up the volume.

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[Tom_I]

In Vienna in 1918, the composers Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern founded an organisation called the "Society for Private Musical Performances" to perform new music for interested listeners, in the absence of critics. As well as this, they made arrangements of other composers' works for small groups. Surprisingly, one of the composers they all seemed to appreciate was Johann Strauss II. This is Schoenberg's arrangement of the waltz "Roses from the South" set for string quartet, piano and harmonium.

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[Tom_I]

The nine pieces by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos called "Bachianas Brasileiras" are a diverse group, but the the best-known is undoubtedly No 5, the first part of which is a wordless aria for soprano voice and eight cellos. It's not easy to pull off, and I have spent decades looking for the ideal recording. I doubt I'll ever find it, but this is not bad.

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[Tom_I]

Heard this on the radio last week. It's from Rameau's opera Les Boréades, transcribed and performed by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. I'm not too sure about the video, but the playing is quite hypnotic.

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[Tom_I]

In these lockdown days I have been revisiting Bach's trio sonatas for organ, which I haven't listened to for decades. To be honest, I can't get very interested in them, but I did like this transcription of the central slow movement of No 4, played by Víkingur Ólafsson.

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[Tom_I]

I'm not sure I have words to describe this. No apologies, but it's Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson again. It's his own transcription for piano of the opening aria from Bach's Cantata No 54. It's slow, it's romantic rather than baroque, but I think it's sublime.

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[bindeweede]

Yes. A fine performance - refined, restrained and reflective. Sympathetic transcriptions of lesser-known and even relatively obscure pieces can be incredibly rewarding to listen to.

[bindeweede]

Variations on an Original Theme 'Enigma', Op. 36: IX. Adagio "Nimrod" · David Rees-Williams

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[Tom_I]

Three takes on my latest obsession, the song "À Chloris" by the French (though Venezuelan-born) composer Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947). Pick the one you like the look of, or listen to all three - they are quite short.

Firstly, Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński.

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Then a version with orchestral accompaniment by South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza.

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And finally the piano version again with the wonderful Véronique Gens.

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[Tom_I]

And another one - sorry!

I'm still obsessing about this song, and coming to the conclusion that it's one of those pieces where I'll never find a performance that I really like. There are dozens to choose from on YouTube, mostly sung by sopranos or countertenors, but I'm looking for a lower male voice. I don't think it sits well for a baritone or lower, so I'm looking for a tenor, and they are few and far between, and rarely merit a second listen.

But then I found this buried in the depths of YouTube, having had just over 200 views in four years. It's American tenor Richard Clement, with no other details given about the recording. The sound is decent, the voice is great, the French pronunciation is convincing, and overall, it's one of the best performances I've heard. Maybe I can move on to something else now...

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[bindeweede]

Going through Youtube recently, searching for more GISELA JOÃO, I came across a live, an intense performance of ""Vieste do Fim do Mundo" .

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Portuguese text and English "translation" here. https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Gisel ... on/english

[bindeweede]

Something brought "Die Tote Stadt" back into my mind, and the beautiful “Marietta’s Lied”. There seem to be far more recordings on Youtube than there were when I posted a few years ago.
Here,a 60-year old Renée Fleming demonstrates she can still deliver, and at a leisurely pace, too. Pity about the poor sound (and woodwind tuning.)

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[bindeweede]

Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder might not be very well-known, which is a pity. The fifth song, "Träume" is a bit of a favourite of mine, but finding a decent Youtube clip has been a significant challenge. Cheryl Studer here is in fine voice. Only a painting to look at, so an opportunity to appreciate both the music and the voice.

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Original text and English translation.

https://www.oxfordlieder.co.uk/song/4582