Title: Giulio Cesare Performer: Magdalena Kozena, Marijana Mijanovic, Anne Sofie Von Otter Director: Marc Minkowski Year: 2003 Length: 3 hours 30 minutes
Review
We haven't had an opera in quite a while, but the wait was definitely worth it. Giulio Cesare is a pretty great opera seria by Handel. This music is just stupendous, and even if it lacks spectacular choruses, having only three very short ones throughout the thing the arias are so beautiful that they make up for it.
There are problems in this opera, but they are dictated by the medium of opera seria, more than by Handel's ability. For example, when watching this opera the practice of making arias da capo can at times be slightly boring. The fact that each area, even if it lasts for 9 minutes consists of about 4 lines of text endlessly repeated can become tiring. This problem is less obvious when listening to a recording, however. Still, when listening to the recording the recitatives are quite superfluous unless you understand Italian. While they do move the story along when you watch the opera, they do little in musical terms.
If you want to see this you can do no better than get the William Christie version recorded from the Glyndebourne Festival. The recorded version recommended is equally good, however.
Handel's areas are fiery and the instrumental music is just as important as the singer's part, truly beautiful and affecting music. The emotional aspect of this Opera is also much more developed and engaging than any opera we have had here before, this is essential, and it is hard to think that Handel's operas were forgotten for 200 years.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The roles of Cesare and Cleopatra, sung by the castrato Senesino and famous soprano Francesca Cuzzoni respectively, and which encompass eight arias and two recitatives accompagnati each, totally dispose of the vocal capabilities of the singers. Cornelia and Sesto are more static because they are completely taken by their primary emotions, she with pain because of her husband's death and constantly constrained to defend herself from Achilla and Tolomeo, and he consumed by vengeance for his father's death.
Cleopatra is a multifaceted character: she uses at first her womanly wiles to seduce Cesare and gain the throne of Egypt, and then becomes totally engaged in the love affair with Cesare. She has great arias of immense dramatic intensity Se pietà di me non senti (II, 8) and Piangerò la sorte mia (III, 3). Sensual character is described magnificently in the aria V'adoro, pupille, in which Cleopatra, in the guise of Lidia, appears to Cesare circondated by the Muses of Parnassus (II, 2). This number calls for two orchestras: one is an ensemble scene with strings with sordino, oboe, tiorba, harp, bassoons and viola da gamba concerante.
Va tacito, from the William Christie production, amazing:
Title: Christmas Oratorio- St. Matthew Passion - St. John Passion - Mass in B Minor Performer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Andreas Schmidt, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir Director: John Eliot Gardiner Year: 1986 Length: 2 hours
Review
You put this on, and for the opening 10 minutes alone you know you are going to have to give it a 9 or a 10 depending on what comes after. And so it is, this is probably the most spectacular opening of any work on the list until now. It is simply amazing instrumental work with a chorus that really gives you a sense that God is speaking to you right now, and he is slightly miffed.
Then you go on through the album, and each time a chorus appears that frisson of excitement comes back, not as strongly, but strongly enough. Unfortunately this will not be a 10, because recitatives do drag on and there is only so much I can hear of people talking in German without getting a bit bored.
Fortunately, just as you are about to get bored of the whole thing, a beautiful Aria comes on, or another bombastic choir and you rethink the whole thing. Bach makes some of the most original and beautiful uses of choirs here, to the point where he has an aria with a choir singing quietly at the back, much behind the soloist, and I had not heard anything similar on this list before. Amazing work, pity about the recitatives... but he needed to have them. Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The text for the body of the work is taken from the Gospel of John chapters 18 and 19. Bach used Martin Luther's translation of the Bible with only slight modifications. The text for the opening prayer Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm as well as the arias, chorales and the penultimate chorus Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine each come from various other sources. It is interesting to note also that two recitative passages, dealing with Peter crying after his betrayal and the temple veil ripped during the crucification are not contained within the Gosple of John, but of Matthew. These interpolated passasges were later eliminated.
Title: Weinen, Klagen... Performer: Collegium Vocale Gent Director: Philippe Herreweghe Year: 2003 Length: 1 hour
Review
Again Bach shows his flair for deeply emotional music, in a way that would be further developed in his two great Passions. The stand-out here is clearly to Weinen, Klagen... a beautiful cantata with a very long and affecting chorus.
That said, this isn't as striking a collection of Bach's works as some of the recent ones we have had here, it is much more loosely connected than the Magnificat, because it is actually composed of three works and with the two Passions coming up we know that he did it in much more spectacular scale.
In a sense these are important works as little miniatures of the Passions, and are very beautiful in themselves. A recommended recording for Bach lovers.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The term "cantata" was not used widely by Bach; it seems to have chiefly been applied to his secular cantatas. Bach's manuscript scores typically have only the liturgical date as a heading; if the piece does have a designation, "concerto" seems to be the most common. The term "cantata" to refer to these pieces came into wider use after the publication of the Bach Gesselschaft edition of his works.
The Symphony and Chorus or Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen:
Title: Leipziger Weihnachskantaten Performers: Collegium Vocale Gent Director: Philippe Herreweghe Year: 2002 Length: 30 minutes
Review
This isn't the most common version of the Magnificat in D, but the one in E flat. and if the D version is considered the most spectacular, this version doesn't lag much behind, actually it wins something in terms of intimacy, with all the fire and fury when it is needed.
Actually this is at times a pretty violent piece. The text of the magnificat does indeed require some anger, and some revolutionary anger at that. When the Virgin Mary relates how God takes up the dispossessed and makes the rich dispossessed there is a very almost communistic anger to the whole thing. In such as way that in Guatemala during the 80's it was a forbidden text because of it's revolutionary contents.
Bach again shows what a genius he is here, there are few choruses inter-spread with soloist pieces, the soloist pieces are beautiful and the choruses are like an army of avenging angels, with the occasional tender moments. Bach captures more emotional nuances in the Magnificat than just about anyone did before him. A truly impressive choral piece that would wake up anyone at church. Essential.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Bach composed an initial version in E flat major in 1723 for the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig which contained several Christmas texts. During the years he removed the Christmas-specific texts to make it suitable for year-round performance, as well as transposing it to D major, providing better sonority for the trumpets in particular. The new version, which is the one usually performed, had its premiere at the Thomaskirche on July 2, 1733, the fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday, which was the Feast of the Visitation at the time. The Feast was later moved to the end of May.
Title: The Brandenburg Concertos Performer: Hanover Band Director: Anthony Halstead Year: 1991-92 Length: 2 hours
Review
The Brandenburg concertos are some of the most famous pieces of Baroque concertos, probably only second place to Vivaldi's Four Seasons in popularity. Unlike many cases of very popular pieces, there are very good reasons why these concertos deserve that popularity.
These are endlessly inventive pieces, which actually include what is the first ever Keyboard concerto in No.4 with its impressive harpsichord solo in the first movement. The collection also includes truly impressive parts for all kinds of solo instruments.
But even with all this virtuosity required from the players, Bach never sacrifices beauty on the alter of technical skill, these are supremely beautiful, lively and actually "catchy" songs, and that is the reason which explain their popular appeal, and it is fully deserved. Concerto No.2 was sent to space on Voyager and if there are little green men out there will be the first thing they hear, what a rosy picture of humanity they'll get.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Because King Frederick William I of Prussia was not a significant patron of the arts, Christian Ludwig seems to have lacked the musicians in his Berlin ensemble to perform the concertos. The full score was left unused in the Margrave's library until his death in 1734, when it was sold for 24 groschen (as of 2008, about US$22.00 of silver). The concertos were discovered in the archives of Brandenburg in the 19th century.
In the modern era these works have been performed by orchestras with the string parts each played by a number of players, under the batons of, for example, Karl Richter and Herbert von Karajan. They have also been performed as chamber music, with one instrument per part, especially by (but not limited to) groups using baroque instruments and historically-informed techniques and practice.
The short but cheerful Allegro Assai from the 2nd Concerto:
Title: Harpsichord Works (Volumes 1,2 and 3) Performer: Sophie Yates Year: 1998 Length: 3 hours 30 minutes
Review
This is a really good three CD collection of Handel's Harpsichord works. These aren't particularly famous pieces, but they are still some really good stuff, you can clearly see the influence from the great French composers for the instrument, particularly the livelier Rameau.
In fact the similarities to Rameau's harpsichord works are striking and that brings the value of these works down a notch, because even though they mimic some of Rameau's work they are not as good.
Still, this is a superbly played collection of what is a pretty exciting work for the harpsichord, Handel doesn't let the virtuosity down at any time through these recordings, and even if at times they might sound like "show off" pieces they are quite uniformly good.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Handel displayed considerable musical talent at an early age; by the age of seven he was a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ, and at nine he began to compose music. However, his father, an eminent barber-surgeon who served as valet and barber to the Courts of Saxony and Brandenburg, and a distinguished citizen of Halle, was opposed to his son's wish to pursue a musical career, preferring him to study law; by contrast, Handel's mother, Dorothea, encouraged his musical aspirations.
Title: Complete Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo Performer: Rachel Podger Year: 1998-99 Length: 2 hours
Review
The book tell you to get the two separate CDs, but that is now unnecessary because there is a boxed set with the two CDs, that you can see the picture of up there. And it costs the same as each of the other ones. So yay!
And this is something you will want to buy actually, much like the Cello Suites are essential solo cello works, this is essential solo violin stuff. I still prefer the cello suites, but that is because the sound of the Cello appeals more to me, but these are equally brilliant. Just listen to the Ciacconna of the second partita and you will know what I mean, some of the most impressive 13 minutes on a violin you will ever hear.
There is however, the slight feel that these pieces are more oriented to being show off pieces, rather than for the seer enjoyment of the sound. Still Bach manages to ally what really demands virtuosity in the playing with the fact that it ends up being pretty impressive sonically. Highly Recommended.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Bach composed the works in 1720, while employed at Köthen. The manuscript was nearly destroyed but someone saved it from being used as butcher paper. There, Bach composed more chamber music than sacred or choral music; the Brandenburg Concertos, concerto for two violins, and cello suites were all composed about this time.
The original performer of Bach's six sonatas and partitas is unknown. J.G. Pisendel and J.B. Volumier have been suggested, both being talented violinists at the Dresden court, as has Joseph Spiess, leader of the orchestra at Cöthen, where Bach composed the works. However, some contend that it may have been Bach himself who gave the first performance, pointing to his skills as a violinist. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a violinist, and according to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, "in his youth, and until the approach of old age, he played the violin cleanly and powerfully".
