I was listening an interview on KCRW with the director of a contemporary choir known as "Seraphic Fire." They produced a new recording of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers with the composer's minimal arrangement. (Incidentally, this performance is selling very well on iTunes.)
To highlight the dramatic between a symphonic orchestra and Seraphic Fire, the host played both versions sequentially. I immediately noticed that the Seraphic Fire version was tuned down a half step. "That's the baroque tuning," I said out loud.
I thought this was a seemingly unimportant note, but my wife was taken aback and stared at me, bewildered, and asked: "How the hell do you do that? What's baroque tuning?"
Perfect pitch aside, I do know that baroque tuning is centered around A=415Hz, but that it's not just tuning everything down a half-step; the frequencies of each note are slightly different than the standard tuning (A=440hz) that is so common. Some Internet folk get quite technical about this.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
First Post - Händel's Ode to St. Cecilia's Day
This blog will be dedicated to the review of music: usually that which spins on my turntable at home.
In case you didn't know already, I like music. I like to sing it, dance to it, and listen to it while doing all of the above. I especially like collecting vinyl records.
One of my favorite places to shop for vinyl is at Thrift Stores. Most of the stuff that ends up here was lost to time years ago. A lot of it is not well cared for. There are occasions where I'll find discs in great condition, a few steals and some rare gems!
This week I found a copy of a recording of Händel's "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day," a musical setting of poems by John Dryden.
This record was produced some time in the mid-to-late 1960s. (Pet peeve: most records fail to indicate their production year ANYWHERE on the packaging or discs, so I have to rely on design trends on the packaging, or pure internet research).
Under the direction of the great Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic and the Rutgers University Choir produce a stirring rendition of this work. Solos by Adele Addison and John McCollum.
The solo and instrumental work is quite good, but what astounded me most was the blend of the choir. It sounds as though they are miked fairly close; there can't be more than 30-40 singers in the room. They are all singing perfectly in tune. Their diction is clear and the tone is bright but not overdone.
For your enjoyment, here is a sample of "Movement III. Chorus: From Harmony":
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1828575/h%C3%A4ndel-cecilia-harmony.m4a
In case you didn't know already, I like music. I like to sing it, dance to it, and listen to it while doing all of the above. I especially like collecting vinyl records.
One of my favorite places to shop for vinyl is at Thrift Stores. Most of the stuff that ends up here was lost to time years ago. A lot of it is not well cared for. There are occasions where I'll find discs in great condition, a few steals and some rare gems!
This week I found a copy of a recording of Händel's "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day," a musical setting of poems by John Dryden.
This record was produced some time in the mid-to-late 1960s. (Pet peeve: most records fail to indicate their production year ANYWHERE on the packaging or discs, so I have to rely on design trends on the packaging, or pure internet research).
Under the direction of the great Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic and the Rutgers University Choir produce a stirring rendition of this work. Solos by Adele Addison and John McCollum.
The solo and instrumental work is quite good, but what astounded me most was the blend of the choir. It sounds as though they are miked fairly close; there can't be more than 30-40 singers in the room. They are all singing perfectly in tune. Their diction is clear and the tone is bright but not overdone.
For your enjoyment, here is a sample of "Movement III. Chorus: From Harmony":
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1828575/h%C3%A4ndel-cecilia-harmony.m4a
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