Sunday 4 December 2011

October 2011 - Classical Music

Bach, J.S.
  • Brandenburg Concerto No.6
  • Orchestral Suites (complete)
  • Harpsichord Concertos 1 to 4
Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 13, 17 and 31
Schumann
  • Kreisleriana
  • Fantasy in C
  • Arabeske in C
  • Humoresque in B flat
  • Piano Sonata No.2
  • Nachtstucke (Night Pieces)
  • Liederkreis (song cycle), Op.24
  • 3 Romances
  • Novelette No.9, Op.99/9
Telemann
  • Tafelmusik Volume 1: Conclusion
  • Tafelmusik Volume 2 (complete)
  • Taflemusik Volume 3: Overture, Quartet
Vivaldi
  • Concertos for Strings in E minor and in B flat ('Conca'), RV 133 and 163
  • Violin Concertos in E minor, in F ('for the feast of S. Lorenzo'), and in C minor ('Amato Bene'), RV 281, 286 and 761
  • Cello Concerto in D minor, RV 407
  • Flautino (recorder/piccolo) Concerto in C, RV 443 - 2nd movement
  • Concerto for 2 violins in D, RV 511
  • Concerto for 2 cellos in G minor, RV 531
  • Concerto for violin and organ in D minor, RV 541
  • Domine ad adiuvandum (O Lord, make haste to help)
  • Dixit Dominus, RV 595
  • Confitebor tibi, Domine ( I will praise you, Lord)
  • Beatus vir in C (1720s version), RV 597
  • Beatus vir in C (1739 version), RV 795
  • Beatus vir in B flat, RV 598
  • Deus tuorum militum (God, your soldiers)
  • Stabat Mater
  • Canta in prato, ride in monte (Sing in the meadow, smile on the mountain), RV 623
  • Clarae stellae, scintillate (Bright stars, shine)
  • In turbato mare irato (In an angry, rough sea)
  • Nulla in mudo pax sincera (There is no unblemished peace in the world)
  • O qui coeli terraeque serenitas (You are the tranquility of heaven and earth)
  • Filiae maestae Jerusalem (Mournful daughters of Jerusalem)
  • Non in pratis aut in hortis (Neither in meadows nor in gardens)
  • Juditha Triumphans
Anonymous, adapted by Vivaldi - Credidi propter quod (I believed, therefore have...)


See? I told you there was a lot of Vivaldi!

Almost too much, actually. There's a certain sense of churning through the list just in order to say that I've checked them all out. I'm sure there will be benefit to going back and listening to these pieces in smaller thematic groups of a few pieces at a time.

Ironically, the majority of these new Vivaldi CDs look like they've been designed to provide an interesting and varied listening experience if you just press play and go through the group of pieces as presented.  But I still think I need to 'say hello' to them as individual pieces first.  They weren't originally written and presented in anything like the order that they occur on the CDs.  In the case of the sacred vocal music, the notes provided will enable me to go back and put some more accurate groups together - things that are scattered right across the series that were written/presented together originally, back in the 1720s or 1730s.

It's not as if I'm not enjoying what I'm hearing. I generally am. The quality's not totally even (purely in my personal opinion), but the thing is, I never really know before listening which piece is going to be the one that grabs me.  I suppose one of the problems with the sheer volume is that I have trouble remembering for very long afterwards either...

I remember the Concerto for 2 Cellos is a good one. There you go.

In the Schumann, the Fantasy in C was quite marvellous and I know I'll be going back to that one a lot. But it's much the same thing - so much new music means that it doesn't really register as deeply as I'd like.  But that's hopefully part of what the next few decades are for.