You can call me Johann. But don't expect me to answer to that.
Now this is music I can dig! Today’s CD — Flute Sonatas, part two — adds a third instrument to the mix, and that (to borrow from Robert Frost) has made all the difference. Flute and harpsichord, alone (which is what yesterday’s CD offered), was like Red Bull with a shot of bourbon in it. […]
Entries from August 11th, 2011
Day Fifteen: Flute Sonatas (CD 1-15)
August 11th, 2011 · No Comments · 1717, 1718, 1735, 1741, Bach at 32, Bach at 33, Bach at 56, BWV 1013, BWV 1033, BWV 1034, BWV 1035, Flute, Flute Sonatas, Harpsichord, Jordi Savall, Stephen Preston, Trevor Pinnock, Viola
Tags:
Day Fourteen: Flute Sonatas (CD 1-14)
August 10th, 2011 · No Comments · 1717, 1730, Autobiography of a Yogi, Bach at 32, Bach at 45, BWV 1030, BWV 1031, BWV 1032, CD 1-14, Flute, Flute Sonatas, Harpsichord, Paramahansa Yogananda, Stephen Preston, Trevor Pinnock
I love being up and out before the sun rises. Sitting here at Panera Bread (my usual spot for these music-every-day listening adventures) affords me an entertaining window on the world. For example, sitting across from me is an elderly gentleman with a Pistons NBA World Champions 1989 ball cap perched askew on his head. […]
Tags:
Day Thirteen: Cello Suites 2-4-6 (CD 1-13)
August 9th, 2011 · No Comments · 1720, Bach at 35, BWV 1008, BWV 1010, BWV 1012, CD 1-13, Cello Suites 2-4-6, David Starkweather, Enrico Caruso, Jenny Lind, Josephine van Lier, Pablo Casals
I love reading reviews on Amazon. Some are to be taken extremely seriously. Some are so incoherent that they’d be laughable if they were meant to be a joke. I also love discovering rare, hard-to-find music. Today’s music certainly qualifies. You’ll see why in a moment. One of the reviews that fall into the former […]
Tags:
Day Twelve: Cello Suites 1-3-5 (CD 1-12)
August 8th, 2011 · No Comments · 1720, Bach at 35, Bass Guitar, BWV 1007, BWV 1009, BWV 1011, CD 1-12, Cello Suites 1-3-5, Classical Guitar, Jaap Ter Linden, Martin Motnik, Segovia
There’s a world of difference between these Cello Suites and the previous two CDs of Violin solos. Although both are stringed instruments, for some weird reason my ears can take — even completely enjoy — listening to the cello play for an hour or two…whereas the solo violin left me cold after the first half […]
Tags:
Day Eleven: Sonate E Partite II (CD 1-11)
August 7th, 2011 · No Comments · 1735, Bach at 35, BWV 1004, BWV 1005, BWV 1006, Gavotte & Rondeau, Mark Lubotsky, Partita No. 3 in E major, Sonate E Partite II, Violins, Yngwie Malmsteen
I really don’t have anything different to say about these compositions, which are sonatas and partitas for solo violin, from what I wrote yesterday. I can say that of the three pieces on this CD, my favorite is Partita No. 3 in E major (BWV 1006). It begins (“Preludio”) with a bouncy, clever movement that […]
Tags:
Day 10: Sonate E Partite (CD 1-10)
August 6th, 2011 · No Comments · 1720, Bach at 35, BWV 1001, BWV 1002, BWV 1003, CD 1-10, Mark Lubotsky, Partita, Sonate E Partite I, Violins, Yngwie Malmsteen
I’ll bet violinists love this stuff. Compositions for solo violin give musicians a chance to shine. And shine. And shine. There’s a Swedish heavy-metal guitarist named Yngwie Malmsteen who plays like the soloist (Mark Lubotsky) does on this CD — fast, bobbing and weaving, flowing in and around a melody, with so many notes that […]
Tags:
Day Nine: Double Concertos (CD 1-9)
August 5th, 2011 · No Comments · Adagio, Allegro, Allegro ma non tanto, Bach at 32, Bach at 50, Bach at 56, Back at 45, BWV 1043, BWV 1044, BWV 1055, BWV 1060, CD 1-9, Chamber Music, Double Concertos, Oboe, Oboe d'amore, Pizzicato, Violins
This CD, which contains Bach’s Double Concertos, features all of my favorite instruments (flute, violin, strings, and even harpsichord — played as a mood-setting accent) performing music that is truly remarkable. Not for its intricate or even frenzied contrapuntal complexities, but for its, well, pleasing-to-the-ear qualities. Bach’s Double Concertos (concertos for two solo instruments) are […]
Tags:
Day Eight: Concertos For 2 & 3 Harpsichords (CD 1-8)
August 4th, 2011 · No Comments · 1735, BWV 1061, BWV 1062, BWV 1063, BWV 1064, Byrds, CD 1-8, Concertos For 2 and 3 Harpsichords, Menno van Delft, Musica Amphion, Pedal Steel Greats, Pieter-Jan Belder
A couple of decades ago, a buddy of mine — who was into Country Rock (stuff like the Byrds, in their alt-Country Sweetheart of the Rodeo era, and various Country artists) — joked with me about an abhorrent instrument called the pedal steel guitar. I told him I really hated that sound. He said, “Then […]
Tags:
Day Seven: Harpsichord Concertos (CD 1-7)
August 3rd, 2011 · No Comments · Armin Thalheim, Bach at 50, Bach at 57, Bach at 58, Bach at 59, Burkhard Glaetzner, BWV 1056, BWV 1057, BWV 1058, BWV 1060, BWV 1065, CD 1-7, Christine Schornsheim, Harpsichord, Harpsichord Concertos, Karel van Steenhoven, Mechtild Stark, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum, Paul Leenhouts, Squire of Gothos, Star Trek, Violetta Liebsch
More “Squire of Gothos” music. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, the harpsichord is an instantly recognizable instrument. As such, it’s likely you either love it or hate it. Very people probably hear the harpsichord and say, “Meh.” Of the five compositions here, I liked Concerto for Harpsichord, 2 flutes, strings, and orchestra in F […]
Tags:
Day Six: Harpsichord Concertos (CD 1-6)
August 2nd, 2011 · No Comments · 1738, 1740, 1741, 1742, Bach at 53, Bach at 55, Bach at 56, BWV 1052, BWV 1053, BWV 1054, BWV 1055, CD 1-6, Harpsichord Concertos, Squire of Gothos, Star Trek
The harpsichord is an instantly recognizable instrument. Nothing on the planet sounds like one. And very few instruments are as quickly identified with their era as a harpsichord. But therein lies both its strength and weakness. Like the fuzz-guitar tone from the 1960s, a harpsichord cannot transcend its own era, which is the Renaissance and […]
Tags: