We got to hear Bailey perform here with our Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, maybe 10 years ago or thereabouts. I think it might have been the Elgar Cello Concerto, but I’m not sure. What I do remember is that it was a great concert, and he was a wonderful cellist.
Gérard Grisey
VORTEX TEMPORUM
(1994-1996)
for piano and five instruments
Ukho Ensemble Kyiv
:::
Dina Pysarenko, piano
Inna Vorobets, flutes
Dmytro Pashynskyi, clarinets
Rachel Koblyakov, violin
Andriy Savych, viola
Raphaël Ginzburg, cello
Conducted by Luigi Gaggero
Recorded at Musik der Jahrhunderte/ECLAT,
Stuttgart, Germany, Dec 2-3, 2022
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Torsten Ottersberg
One of a very small handful of old Arkiv box sets in my library, this is 1973’s Werke für Laute (Works for Lute) by JS Bach and performed by Narciso Yepes. Record no. is 2708 030, a 2-LP set. It contains all seven pieces Bach wrote for the instrument. I don’t recall playing this a lot over the 40-some years I’ve owned it, though its surfaces seem to suggest otherwise. The music is of course lovely, and the playing excellent. But to my ears, a little bit of baroque lute goes a long way. Still, fun to dip my toes back in for a bit this morning.
A work I’m told is a landmark of Western civilization (like the late Beethoven quartets), this is Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, in a critically acclaimed performance and recording from 1970, on 4 LPs from Philips. I admit to not having much patience for longer works in general (hence my avoidance of selected Wagner and Mahler, as well as much of the standard opera repertoire, all of which I’m trying to work on). But I also admit the massed voices on this sound magnificent. The Concertgebouw under Eugen Jochum, with a variety of soloists. Record no. 6770 018.
A magnificent piece. Its only failing is the lack of trumpet parts, but I understand it is a passion overall - not the place for trumpets.
Another box set from Archiv, this 2-LP production of Bach’s “The Art of the Fugue” (“Die Kunst der Fuge”) is one of the real gems in my library. I’ve had it so long I don’t recall the actual purchase, though I’m pretty sure it was the first classical box set I ever bought. Likewise, it’s hard to pin down an accurate issue date for the release. It was recorded in 1956, and releases began in ‘60 or ‘62, and reissues continued on into the late ‘70s.
At any rate, it’s a real joy if you’re all about counterpoint and canons. It’s played throughout with a stately dignity by Helmut Walcha on the Grand Organ of the Laurenskerk in Alkmaar, Germany, an instrument constructed from 1638-1645.
A bit of trivia regarding the Archiv release of The Art of the Fugue, apparently the first stereo recording made by Deutshce Grammophon Gesellschaft, courtesy Discogs note.
Oh thats a cool bit of history