by Tony Magee
WITH no concerts to attend and everyone largely confined to home, I’ve compiled some wonderful recordings of music to help you pass the day. My selections are based on works that relax, sooth the soul, are uplifting, happy and inspiring and ultimately, some of the greatest music ever written.
Dig around in your LP record collection, your CD collection, use your favourite streaming network or find them on YouTube.
Songs of the Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube is a set of beautiful arrangements of French folk songs. Canteloube scoured the Auvergne region of France over a long period from 1924 to 1955, listening to the peasant dwellers sing their music, noted down the tunes and finally set about arranging them for orchestra and soprano. They are absolutely delightful.
I recommend the version performed by soprano Netania Davrath with orchestra conducted by Pierre de la Roche on the Vanguard label.
Also, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s recording from 1984 on Decca is superb. Another that may appeal is that by Frederica von Stade for Sony CBS.
BEETHOVEN'S Symphony No. 6 is very pastoral and the themes truly reflect the beauty of nature and the joy of experiencing the great outdoors. Composed in 1808, it was first performed in Vienna that same year with the composer conducting.
Beethoven was a lover of nature who spent a great deal of time on walks in the countryside, frequently leaving Vienna to work in rural locations. He incorporates musical imagery of a shepherd's pipe, birds singing, streams flowing, and a thunderstorm, amongst other natural wonders.
One of the greatest recordings of this work is that by Karl Böhm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, for Deutsche Grammophon. I also recommend the version by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, under David Porcelijn on the Discovery label. Another one to savour is that by Paavo Järvi with the Bremen Chamber Philharmonic, on RCA.
MA VLAST, also known as “My Fatherland”, is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Each musical poem depicts an aspect of Bohemia’s countryside, history and legends. The work has opened the Prague Spring International Music Festival every year since 1952.
I highly recommend the Leipzig Gewandhaus recording, conducted by Václav Neumann, re-issued by Berlin Classics in 2018. Neumann also recorded it with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1975 for Supraphon. That Neumann clearly knows and deeply loves this music is evident in every bar. In addition, a recent recording on Decca from 2018 by the Czech Philharmonic under Jiří Bělohlávek is superb.
The Lark Ascending by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of the most sublime pieces in the music repertoire. It was voted the top British classical composition of all time in a 2002 poll. The violin solo emulates the swooping bird of the title. Must-have versions of this piece include those by Iona Brown with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Neville Marriner on Argo, Tasmin Little, Jennifer Pike and Nigel Kennedy.
MOZART composed 27 piano concertos during his short lifetime. Those from No. 9 onwards are considered masterpieces and display the thought processes of a musical genius.
Choosing “one” to recommend over others is impossible really, but some of my favourites include No’s. 17, 20, 21, and 24.
In particular, No. 17 is probably the brightest and most uplifting of them all. Its themes are happy and joyful. One could summarise it simply as, “It’s great to be alive”!
My recommended recordings of No. 17 and indeed any of the Mozart piano concertos include those by pianists Murray Perahia on Sony CBS, Vladimir Ashkenazy on Decca and Maria João Pires on Deutsche Grammophon.
JOHANN Sebastian Bach composed the six Unaccompanied Cello Suites between 1717 and 1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. As the title suggests, the works are for solo cello. Magnificent in their own right for listening and savouring, they are also sometimes a useful accompaniment to meditation and mindfulness.
I highly recommend the recording by the great Pablo Casals for EMI. In addition, Yo-Yo Ma’s version on Sony CBS is superb. Jacqueline Du Pre recorded No’s. 1 and 2 in 1970 and these are included with her version of the Elgar Cello Concerto Op. 85, with John Barbirolli conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, reissued on the Testament label.
VIVALDI'S Four Seasons is an old classical war-horse, sometimes unfairly denigrated simply because of its immense popularity. It is part of a larger set of 12 concerti entitled “The Contest between Harmony and Invention”.
Vivaldi captures the essence of each season of nature. Summer and Spring are of course joyful, albeit including a massive thunderstorm. Autumn is reflective and beautiful. Winter can be somewhat dark and foreboding, however, it is a reality and upon us right now, so a fascination to hear and see how Vivaldi constructs this amazing work.
The Italian chamber orchestra “I Musici’ are most famous for their many recordings of this work, usually on the Philips label. If you like “period instrument” performances, then the Drottningholm Ensemble on the Swedish BIS label is essential listening. Also, the Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players under the direction of violinist Barbara Jane Gilby, with Geoffrey Lancaster on harpsichord is a superb performance, released on ABC Classics.
And news just in: a brand new recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by 13 year old violin virtuoso Christian Li, playing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, will be released by Decca on August 20.
IF you’re in the mood for something grandiose and incredibly uplifting, Handel’s Messiah is the ticket. An oratorio for four vocal soloists, choir and orchestra, it was completed in 1742 and premiered in Dublin that same year.
An excerpt from “Faulkner’s Dublin Journal”, reporting on the premier with Handel himself conducting, reads thus (period spelling and capitals preserved):
“On Tuesday last, Mr Handel’s Sacred Grand Oratorio, The Messiah, was performed in the New Musick Hall in Fishamble Street ; the best judges allowed it to be the most finished piece of Musick. Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded to the admiring crowded Audience. The Sublime, the Grand and the Tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestik and moving Words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.”
There are hundreds of recordings of Messiah available. Sifting through these is no easy feat. However, in my passion for comparing and contrasting different versions of a work, I keep coming back to these four as the best of the best:
Sir Adrian Boult conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Joan Sutherland soprano, Grace Bumbry contralto, Kenneth McKellar tenor and David Ward bass. All the soloists are at their peak and Boult’s tempos and dynamics are as near perfect as one could want.
Sir Thomas Beecham had a liking for rearranging and messing about with other people’s music. With Messiah, he had the orchestra part bolstered with the addition of trombones, French horns, clarinets and flutes. Beecham once famously quipped, “I hate the harpsichord. It sounds like two skeletons copulating on a tin roof.” And sure enough, the harpsichord is gone, replaced by the harp. It’s great fun to compare this excellent RCA recording with other more traditional readings.
An excellent “period instrument” recording in my selection is the one by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music, released by L’OISEAU-LYRE in 1980 as a three LP set.
The recording quality sparkles, the tempos are fast and vibrant and the period instrument orchestra plays at a pitch more akin with the Baroque era - in this case, A415. Soloists, particularly soprano Emma Kirkby, who at the time was queen of the “period” Baroque singing style, are light and airy.
Bringing things more up to date, I recommend the recording by “Les Arts Florissants” conducted by William Christie on the Harmonia Mundi label in 2005, also using period instruments and featuring Andreas Scholl singing the contralto part.
For those particularly interested in Handel’s Messiah, you can read my article from January 2019 comparing ten different recorded versions here.
FAURE'S Requiem is amongst the most cherished of choral compositions. Written for choir, soloists and orchestra between 1887 and 1890, the work focusses on eternal rest and consolation. A final revision took place in 1900.
Andre Cluytens conducting the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Victoria de los Angeles and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is among the best recordings available. The two soloists are at their peak, the choir is glorious in its delivery and the orchestra play with heavenly lushness and sometimes beautiful delicacy.
Other recordings to savour are those by the New Philharmonia Orchestra under David Wilcox from 1967 and from 1986, the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra under Carlo Maria Giulini, with soloists Kathleen Battle and Andreas Schmidt.
AND finally, the Miserere by Allegri. Composed during the 1630’s for the exclusive use of the Sistine Chapel, it is scored for two choirs, singing alternately, joining together for the finale, singing in 9 part harmony.
Most famous of all, is the recording for Decca by the choir of Kings College Cambridge, with boy treble soloist Roy Goodman. It is an absolutely sublime performance which will transport listeners into another world of peace and tranquility.
Others to hear are those by The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars and most recently and astonishingly, the first ever recording by the Sistine Chapel Choir, made in 2015, recorded in the chapel itself.
Deutsche Grammophon president, Mark Wilkinson, presented the first CD copy, which is entitled “Cantate Domino”, to His Holiness Pope Francis, on September 25 of that year.
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| The "Miserere" by Allegri is included on this 2015 release by the Sistene Chapel Choir |
Author’s note: “Cantate Domino” is also the name of another CD (and originally an LP record) by the Oscars Motettkör of Sweden conducted by Torsten Nilsson, recorded in 1976 and released on the Swedish Proprius label, Cat. No. PRCD 7762. It too features glorious choral music (however, not The Miserere by Allegri) and is a treasure to have in your collection.
1976 recording by the Oscars Motettkör of Sweden
Article first published in Canberra City News Digital Edition in a slightly altered format, August 16, 2021
