Gregorian Chant and Clarinets, why not

Gregorian Chant and Clarinets, why not

On Apr 30, 7:14 am, "West" <w...@verizon . net > wrote:

> Talk about sound, Boss. Just what kind of Gregorian Chant juxtaposition
> (best word I can think of at this ungodly hour) with the clarinet do you
> listen to? I simply adore Gregorian Chant and I also am fond of the
> clarinet. Combining the two seems a bit off-beat and confusing, but I know=

> better than to question your tastes.

Especially since I have just discovered with some shock that I'm
alleged to have this bizarre taste. My family already think me strange
for loving Marmite and banana sandwiches....

>Will you share label(s) with me so I
> can also taste and perhaps in a way, delve into your inner sanctum?
>
> Cordially,
> west

I'm flattered to be asked. There was a time when I had thousands of
record reviews on the net, causing my ISP intermittent overloads as
2.5m people visited the site every year.

In Gregorian Chant you must absolutely have something by the monks of
Santo Domingo de Silos; they're the best, and the most famous, and the
gold standard:
Gregorian Chant, Canto Gregoriano, Santo Domingo de Silos/Fernandez de
la Cuesta/Lara, EMI
Gregorian Chant, Canto Noel, Santa Domingo de Silos, EMI

I'm also a big fan of the inexpensive Naxos discs:
Gregorian Chant, Adorate Deum (Proper of the Mass), Nova Schola
Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Et Passione in Morte Domini (Good Friday), Nova
Schola Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Salve Festa Dies (Seasons of the Year), In Dulci
Jubilo/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, .. . fr om the Proper of the Mass, Nova Schola
Gregoriana /Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Ego sum Ressurectio, Aurora Surgit/Randon, Naxos

And here's a more sumptuous production that also gets played often:
Gregorian Chants, Various, Ruhland/Capella Antiqua Munchen, Teldec

Don't forget to check out the obscure labels distributed by Harmonia
Mundi; here is just a entirely random grab from my catalogue:
Russian Orthodox, Fests of ortho liturgical year vol 2, Ural ch/Novik,
HM
Russian Religious singing through the Ages vols 1-4, various, various,
HM
Russian, Russian Religious Singing Through the Ages 2, Russian Season,
HM
Shvedov, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Slavyanka/Shipovalnikov, HM
Tchesnokov, v6 in Russian Religious Singing, Various, HM
Various, Canto Mediterraneo, Stravagante/Semp=E9, Astr=E9e (a separate
label in the HM stable)
Various, Russian Easter Liturgy, Patriarchate Choir, Opus 111
Various, Russian Music, Vesna, Opus 3
Various, Russian Sacred Con, Choral Acad Moscow/Sedov, HM

=2E.. and on and on, not necessarily all Russian -- I just happened to
open a Russian sacred music corner of my catalogue and look for HM and
HM distributed discs; you must have the HM catalogue, absolutely.

Of course, that sort of thing is also catalogued by other labels:
Kastalsky, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Bolshoi Th Children=92s Cho/
Zaboronok, Collins

But don't just stop at the choirs. Some solo chants can be equally
hypnotic. I have Sister Marie in my box of test disks for new amps...
Keyrouz, Cantiques de l'Orient, Keyrouz, HM
Keyrouz, Chants sacres Melchites, Sister Marie Keyrouz, HM
Various, Chant Byzantin, Keyrouz, HM

And don't overlook the masses of the medieval period, and the masses
of the "standard" composers of the Renaissance through to the late
classical period, and even today the music of John Tavener (though
make sure you listen to a good chunk before you buy the disc -- it is
not all of the same quality). And requiems too:
Mozart, Requiem KV626, Amsterdam Baroque Orc/Koopman, Erato

I don't know where the clarinet came into this discussion, but here
are a few clarinetists I like doing their thing:

Arnold, Clarinet Works Complete, Johnson, ASV
Brahms, Sonata for clarinette & piano op120 nos. 1 & 2, Guyot/Guy, HM
(players I knew when they were still students)
Mozart, Clarinet Con in A K.622, Ac of ST.Martin's/Marriner, Philips
Mozart, Clarinet Quintet, Wiener Oktett, Decca
Weber, Clarinet Quintet op 34/Gr Duo Concertant op 48. Berkes/Jando/
Auer. Naxos
Weber/Spohr/Crusell, The Romantic Clarinet, ECO/Johnson, ASV
Mozart, Quartets K370 oboe/K317d clarinet/K575 strings, Artaria
Quartet, HM

That should be enough to go on with.

But I never let the opportunity pass when we discuss a wind instrument
to put in a plug for my favourite brass disc:
Debussy & Ravel, Orchestral Works, Ulster Orc/McCrystal/Tortelier,
Chandos
Now that's how the saxophone should be played!

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Amps at * members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/
"wonderfully well written and reasoned information
for the tube audio constructor"
John Broskie TubeCAD & GlassWare
"an unbelievably comprehensive web site
containing vital gems of wisdom"
Stuart Perry Hi-Fi News & Record Review

Re: Gregorian Chant and Clarinets, why not


"Andre Jute" <fiultra1@yahoo . com > wrote in message
news:73b3eeac-9550-45c7-bc77-a08653f2a2ce@b9g2000prh.googlegroups . com ...
On Apr 30, 7:14 am, "West" <w...@verizon . net > wrote:

> Talk about sound, Boss. Just what kind of Gregorian Chant juxtaposition
> (best word I can think of at this ungodly hour) with the clarinet do you
> listen to? I simply adore Gregorian Chant and I also am fond of the
> clarinet. Combining the two seems a bit off-beat and confusing, but I know
> better than to question your tastes.

Especially since I have just discovered with some shock that I'm
alleged to have this bizarre taste. My family already think me strange
for loving Marmite and banana sandwiches....

>Will you share label(s) with me so I
> can also taste and perhaps in a way, delve into your inner sanctum?
>
> Cordially,
> west

I'm flattered to be asked. There was a time when I had thousands of
record reviews on the net, causing my ISP intermittent overloads as
2.5m people visited the site every year.

In Gregorian Chant you must absolutely have something by the monks of
Santo Domingo de Silos; they're the best, and the most famous, and the
gold standard:
Gregorian Chant, Canto Gregoriano, Santo Domingo de Silos/Fernandez de
la Cuesta/Lara, EMI
Gregorian Chant, Canto Noel, Santa Domingo de Silos, EMI

I'm also a big fan of the inexpensive Naxos discs:
Gregorian Chant, Adorate Deum (Proper of the Mass), Nova Schola
Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Et Passione in Morte Domini (Good Friday), Nova
Schola Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Salve Festa Dies (Seasons of the Year), In Dulci
Jubilo/Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, .. . fr om the Proper of the Mass, Nova Schola
Gregoriana /Turco, Naxos
Gregorian Chant, Ego sum Ressurectio, Aurora Surgit/Randon, Naxos

And here's a more sumptuous production that also gets played often:
Gregorian Chants, Various, Ruhland/Capella Antiqua Munchen, Teldec

Don't forget to check out the obscure labels distributed by Harmonia
Mundi; here is just a entirely random grab from my catalogue:
Russian Orthodox, Fests of ortho liturgical year vol 2, Ural ch/Novik,
HM
Russian Religious singing through the Ages vols 1-4, various, various,
HM
Russian, Russian Religious Singing Through the Ages 2, Russian Season,
HM
Shvedov, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Slavyanka/Shipovalnikov, HM
Tchesnokov, v6 in Russian Religious Singing, Various, HM
Various, Canto Mediterraneo, Stravagante/Sempé, Astrée (a separate
label in the HM stable)
Various, Russian Easter Liturgy, Patriarchate Choir, Opus 111
Various, Russian Music, Vesna, Opus 3
Various, Russian Sacred Con, Choral Acad Moscow/Sedov, HM

... and on and on, not necessarily all Russian -- I just happened to
open a Russian sacred music corner of my catalogue and look for HM and
HM distributed discs; you must have the HM catalogue, absolutely.

Of course, that sort of thing is also catalogued by other labels:
Kastalsky, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Bolshoi Th Children’s Cho/
Zaboronok, Collins

But don't just stop at the choirs. Some solo chants can be equally
hypnotic. I have Sister Marie in my box of test disks for new amps...
Keyrouz, Cantiques de l'Orient, Keyrouz, HM
Keyrouz, Chants sacres Melchites, Sister Marie Keyrouz, HM
Various, Chant Byzantin, Keyrouz, HM

And don't overlook the masses of the medieval period, and the masses
of the "standard" composers of the Renaissance through to the late
classical period, and even today the music of John Tavener (though
make sure you listen to a good chunk before you buy the disc -- it is
not all of the same quality). And requiems too:
Mozart, Requiem KV626, Amsterdam Baroque Orc/Koopman, Erato

I don't know where the clarinet came into this discussion, but here
are a few clarinetists I like doing their thing:

Arnold, Clarinet Works Complete, Johnson, ASV
Brahms, Sonata for clarinette & piano op120 nos. 1 & 2, Guyot/Guy, HM
(players I knew when they were still students)
Mozart, Clarinet Con in A K.622, Ac of ST.Martin's/Marriner, Philips
Mozart, Clarinet Quintet, Wiener Oktett, Decca
Weber, Clarinet Quintet op 34/Gr Duo Concertant op 48. Berkes/Jando/
Auer. Naxos
Weber/Spohr/Crusell, The Romantic Clarinet, ECO/Johnson, ASV
Mozart, Quartets K370 oboe/K317d clarinet/K575 strings, Artaria
Quartet, HM

That should be enough to go on with.

But I never let the opportunity pass when we discuss a wind instrument
to put in a plug for my favourite brass disc:
Debussy & Ravel, Orchestral Works, Ulster Orc/McCrystal/Tortelier,
Chandos
Now that's how the saxophone should be played!

Boss, I'm truly impressed. Our taste in sonorous types of ethereal sound are
similar in many respects, except of course, in the quantity of our
indulgences. I assume that just about every one of your recommendations is
vinyl. Are any of the aforementioned CDs? Thanks bunches for your kind and
thoughtful response. BTW: one day you will have to share on how you
categorize and manage such a voluminous music collection.

west

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Amps at * members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/
"wonderfully well written and reasoned information
for the tube audio constructor"
John Broskie TubeCAD & GlassWare
"an unbelievably comprehensive web site
containing vital gems of wisdom"
Stuart Perry Hi-Fi News & Record Review

On "natural" horns, deep bass, managing an excessive CD collection,

On May 3, 6:06 am, "West" <w...@verizon . net > wrote:

> Boss, I'm truly impressed. Our taste in sonorous types of ethereal sound a=
re
> similar in many respects, except of course, in the quantity of our
> indulgences.

Ha! My taste is very common: Early music, vocal music through to the
classics, the baroque and the rococo.

If you're into ethereal music, you must have something by Michael
Vetter and his Overtone Choir. This one was well-recorded in
underground caves with stalagtites and stalagmites thoughtfully
disposed by nature to focus the sound (I used to be paid to write such
bullshit!):
Vetter, Ancient Voices, Overtone Choir/Vetter, Amiata
My studio is on the fourth floor of my house. I play this music
through a horn (or through multi-stacked stats) standing in the door
at the top of the stairwell, which forms a horn expansion, opening and
closing doors of variously sized rooms down the other floors
(Helmsholz tuning chambers), and at the bottom I open the front doors
and keep walking until I'm all the way across the road where I can sit
on the wall beside the Bridewell River and listen to really deep
cavernous (!) bass. You want to see the faces of the drivers in their
cars when this eerie music (it has no words, only a capello vocalized
sounds) reaches them. I tried an experiment with organ music once but
stopped it almost immediately for fear of causing an accident because
within five minutes half a dozen drivers stopped when the lowest note
from the organ at Odense reached them as a rumble through their
cars...

>I assume that just about every one of your recommendations is
> vinyl.

I don't have any vinyl at all. It is true my vinyl collection was much
larger than my collection of c6000 CDs. But the vinyl was totally
unmanageable, and therefore most of it was in storage most of the
time. In the end I sold some of the historic sub-collections of vinyl
or gave them to institutions and gave the rest of my discs to
audiophiles who care about vinyl. CDs quality is good enough for me,
and most people don't have reproduction chains good enough to be able
to hear the difference. There's a lot of posturing about how good
people's ears are which is not justified at all, and in my opinion the
pretense that there is more music in the groove than a laser can write
and read on the CDs aliminium oxide doesn't have a whole lot of
engineering justification.

>Are any of the aforementioned CDs?

All of them, see above.

>Thanks bunches for your kind and
> thoughtful response. BTW: one day you will have to share on how you
> categorize and manage such a voluminous music collection.

Those are extracts from my catalogue that I gave, one line per disc.
That's the full extent of my catalogue; I paid schoolkids to compile
it and it took them a week to sort the thousands of discs, standing in
stacks on the floor, into alphabetical order and make those one-line
catalogue entries. I don't sort discs by category -- it is just too
difficult to be consistent -- but alphabetically by composer or, if
there are several composers on the disc, by the first mentioned on the
cover. My CDs were once kept in triple-depth architectural plan
cabinets with sliding trays but the cabinets turned out to weigh more
than the CDs so, to preserve a 200 year old house, I let the cabinets
go and added more CDs instead... Currently and for the last ten years
or so, my CDs have been standing edge on in the stacking boxes in
which fruit is shipped, obtained free of charge at the supermarket.
These boxes (US =3D cartons) are a standard size, exactly the height of
CD case standing on its shortest edge with the spine readable, and
have tabs and cutouts so that they slot back on top of the stack
easily. But they are atrociously heavy, with around 250 CDS per box,
so now I'm disposing of the jewel cases and fitting the CDs, booklets
and track lists into books of pockets I've bought. Each sheet of
pockets is four by four, front and back, so theoretically eight discs
per leaf. In practice some booklets are too thick to be backed by
another booklet or even a disc, so on average we're managing probably
four to six discs per leaf of pockets. When the transfer is finished,
my discs will fit onto a sturdy, large bookcase rather than taking up
most of a room. I had thought at first that each book would be too
heavy, and they are heavy, but I've been playing my way through one of
the books of Bach discs (my earlier report that I would fit all the
Bach discs into one book was precipitate...) and I've found it *very*
convenient, especially compared to the old style where a substantial
table had to be dedicated to the big box of Bach CDs, and often I just
couldn't face, when I wanted to play something particular, shifting
eight or ten atrociously heavy boxes to get at it; it was a pain just
to get up and walk to the table to get a different disc from the box.
My hi-fi gear stands on computer tables on castors anyway (so that I
can slot gear in and out if the chain conveniently), and these have a
slide-out keyboard shelf, on which it is convenient to lay an open
book of CDs where it is immediately to hand, and you can see the front
of the booklet rather than trying to read the fine print on the spine
through shiny, reflective jewel case plastic. It's just like some
little headbangers book of Beyonce discs that you see them carrying to
each other's parties on Saturday nights, except I don't have just one
book but a huge bookcase full, or will when the transfer is finished.
The actual transfer is very labour intensive and slow.

Andre Jute
Impedance is futile, you will be simulated into the triode of the
Borg. -- Robert Casey

On May 3, 6:06 am, "West" <w...@verizon . net > wrote:
> "Andre Jute" <fiult...@yahoo . com > wrote in message
>
> news:73b3eeac-9550-45c7-bc77-a08653f2a2ce@b9g2000prh.googlegroups . com ...
> On Apr 30, 7:14 am, "West" <w...@verizon . net > wrote:
>
> > Talk about sound, Boss. Just what kind of Gregorian Chant juxtaposition
> > (best word I can think of at this ungodly hour) with the clarinet do you=

> > listen to? I simply adore Gregorian Chant and I also am fond of the
> > clarinet. Combining the two seems a bit off-beat and confusing, but I kn=
ow
> > better than to question your tastes.
>
> Especially since I have just discovered with some shock that I'm
> alleged to have this bizarre taste. My family already think me strange
> for loving Marmite and banana sandwiches....
>
> >Will you share label(s) with me so I
> > can also taste and perhaps in a way, delve into your inner sanctum?
>
> > Cordially,
> > west
>
> I'm flattered to be asked. There was a time when I had thousands of
> record reviews on the net, causing my ISP intermittent overloads as
> 2.5m people visited the site every year.
>
> In Gregorian Chant you must absolutely have something by the monks of
> Santo Domingo de Silos; they're the best, and the most famous, and the
> gold standard:
> Gregorian Chant, Canto Gregoriano, Santo Domingo de Silos/Fernandez de
> la Cuesta/Lara, EMI
> Gregorian Chant, Canto Noel, Santa Domingo de Silos, EMI
>
> I'm also a big fan of the inexpensive Naxos discs:
> Gregorian Chant, Adorate Deum (Proper of the Mass), Nova Schola
> Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
> Gregorian Chant, Et Passione in Morte Domini (Good Friday), Nova
> Schola Gregoriana/Turco, Naxos
> Gregorian Chant, Salve Festa Dies (Seasons of the Year), In Dulci
> Jubilo/Turco, Naxos
> Gregorian Chant, .. . fr om the Proper of the Mass, Nova Schola
> Gregoriana /Turco, Naxos
> Gregorian Chant, Ego sum Ressurectio, Aurora Surgit/Randon, Naxos
>
> And here's a more sumptuous production that also gets played often:
> Gregorian Chants, Various, Ruhland/Capella Antiqua Munchen, Teldec
>
> Don't forget to check out the obscure labels distributed by Harmonia
> Mundi; here is just a entirely random grab from my catalogue:
> Russian Orthodox, Fests of ortho liturgical year vol 2, Ural ch/Novik,
> HM
> Russian Religious singing through the Ages vols 1-4, various, various,
> HM
> Russian, Russian Religious Singing Through the Ages 2, Russian Season,
> HM
> Shvedov, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Slavyanka/Shipovalnikov, HM
> Tchesnokov, v6 in Russian Religious Singing, Various, HM
> Various, Canto Mediterraneo, Stravagante/Semp=E9, Astr=E9e (a separate
> label in the HM stable)
> Various, Russian Easter Liturgy, Patriarchate Choir, Opus 111
> Various, Russian Music, Vesna, Opus 3
> Various, Russian Sacred Con, Choral Acad Moscow/Sedov, HM
>
> ... and on and on, not necessarily all Russian -- I just happened to
> open a Russian sacred music corner of my catalogue and look for HM and
> HM distributed discs; you must have the HM catalogue, absolutely.
>
> Of course, that sort of thing is also catalogued by other labels:
> Kastalsky, Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Bolshoi Th Children=92s Cho/
> Zaboronok, Collins
>
> But don't just stop at the choirs. Some solo chants can be equally
> hypnotic. I have Sister Marie in my box of test disks for new amps...
> Keyrouz, Cantiques de l'Orient, Keyrouz, HM
> Keyrouz, Chants sacres Melchites, Sister Marie Keyrouz, HM
> Various, Chant Byzantin, Keyrouz, HM
>
> And don't overlook the masses of the medieval period, and the masses
> of the "standard" composers of the Renaissance through to the late
> classical period, and even today the music of John Tavener (though
> make sure you listen to a good chunk before you buy the disc -- it is
> not all of the same quality). And requiems too:
> Mozart, Requiem KV626, Amsterdam Baroque Orc/Koopman, Erato
>
> I don't know where the clarinet came into this discussion, but here
> are a few clarinetists I like doing their thing:
>
> Arnold, Clarinet Works Complete, Johnson, ASV
> Brahms, Sonata for clarinette & piano op120 nos. 1 & 2, Guyot/Guy, HM
> (players I knew when they were still students)
> Mozart, Clarinet Con in A K.622, Ac of ST.Martin's/Marriner, Philips
> Mozart, Clarinet Quintet, Wiener Oktett, Decca
> Weber, Clarinet Quintet op 34/Gr Duo Concertant op 48. Berkes/Jando/
> Auer. Naxos
> Weber/Spohr/Crusell, The Romantic Clarinet, ECO/Johnson, ASV
> Mozart, Quartets K370 oboe/K317d clarinet/K575 strings, Artaria
> Quartet, HM
>
> That should be enough to go on with.
>
> But I never let the opportunity pass when we discuss a wind instrument
> to put in a plug for my favourite brass disc:
> Debussy & Ravel, Orchestral Works, Ulster Orc/McCrystal/Tortelier,
> Chandos
> Now that's how the saxophone should be played!
>
> Boss, I'm truly impressed. Our taste in sonorous types of ethereal sound a=
re
> similar in many respects, except of course, in the quantity of our
> indulgences. I assume that just about every one of your recommendations is=

> vinyl. Are any of the aforementioned CDs? Thanks bunches for your kind and=

> thoughtful response. BTW: one day you will have to share on how you
> categorize and manage such a voluminous music collection.
>
> west
>
> Andre Jute
> Visit Jute on Amps at * members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/
> "wonderfully well written and reasoned information
> for the tube audio constructor"
> John Broskie TubeCAD & GlassWare
> "an unbelievably comprehensive web site
> containing vital gems of wisdom"
> Stuart Perry Hi-Fi News & Record Review

Re: On "natural" horns, deep bass, managing an excessive CD collection,



Andre Jute wrote:

> My taste is very common:

No surprise there. It's hardly something you're supposed to boast about.

Is Aretha Franklin a fave of yours ?

Graham