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Rossini - Messa di Gloria - Jo, Murray, Gimenez, Araiza, Ramey, Academy and Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner

Posted in Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Ann Murray, Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields, Francisco Araiza, Philips, Raúl Gimenez, Rossini, Sacred Music, Samuel Ramey, Sir Neville Marriner, Sumi Jo

[...] The Messa di gloria was composed and premiered, as far as we know, in 1820, thus being the only major religious work by Rossini to date from his years as an opera composer. Philip Gossett’s notes (reproduced from the 1992 original release) are a model of what program notes should be. They explain the provenance of the work, talk intelligently about its style and its musical qualities, and make us want to hear the music at the same time as they make us more knowledgeable about it. Gossett says that Rossini had some assistance in completing this work by Pietro Raimondi. It would have been nice if Philips had caught the typo resulting in the misspelling of “Raimondo” the first time the name appears, a typo unrepaired for 15 years!

With or without the help of Raimondi, Rossini produced a magical work—melodically inspired, forceful and powerful, dramatic without being overtly theatrical. All lovers of Rossini’s operatic music or of the bel canto style in general should have this work in their collection.

Without question, this is the recording to get. The singing and the conducting are notably superior to the recorded competition. Herbert Handt on Hänssler plods along without giving any shape to the phrases or any lift to the rhythms. Salvatore Accardo’s recording on Warner Fonit is better led than Handt’s, but the singing is poorer, particularly the ladies. There is some very questionable intonation at times, and only the two tenors (Francisco Araiza, who sings for Marriner too, and Robert Gambill) bring important voices to the task.

Marriner’s soloists, by contrast, are a terrific group—they sing well individually and together. Marriner, a conductor whom I often find rather lackluster, seems truly inspired here, leading a buoyant, colorful performance with just the right sense of pacing. The recorded sound is very warm and well balanced. Highly recommended.

Extracted from ArkivMusic.com

Rossini

Messa di Gloria,
per soli, coro e orchestra

Sumi Jo, sopran
Ann Murray, contralto
Francisco Araiza, tenor
Raúl Gimenez, tenor
Samuel Ramey, bass

Academy and Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields
(chorus master: Laszlo Heltay)

Sir Neville Marriner

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John Williams plays Bach - Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Kenneth Sillito

Posted in Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Bach, Chamber Music, Concerto, Guitar, John Williams, Kenneth Sillito, Sony

When making these transcriptions for guitar, one is therefore presented with an abundance of authentic examples and alternatives, for the guitar itself has both a melodic and harmonic nature and therefore the ability to move freely between all the existing original versions.

Not surprisingly the most difficult choices were in Bach's E major Violin Concerto, and in the Solo Andante. Whenever Bach arranged his solo violin music for keyboard he changed it very deliberately to a "keyboard" conception with far more ornamentation, changed arpeggio figures and generally more complex writing. Inevitably in doing so, some of the melodic simplicity and charm of the original gets lost - I have in mind particularly the Fugue from G minor solo Violin Sonata and Bach's own arrangements for lute and organ. For these reasons I prefer the original E major Violin Concerto to its keyboard companion and have used this original as the model, with borrowings from the harpsichord version where arpeggio patterns are more idiomatic on the guitar, mainly in the first movement. In the wonderful second movement the only problem was the opening sustained G# in the solo instrument - nothing can equal the beauty of that note on the violin, and as the guitar cannot sustain for that long and I don't like the trill Bach gives the harpsichord, it seemed obvious to give it to the organ continuo. The third movement was happily straightforward, having a dance-like character very suited to the guitar.

The solo Violin Sonata in A minor was transcribed by Bach for harpsichord in D minor. I have selected the Andante from this Sonata and adapted it rather freely in the style of an ornamented aria.

The Chaconne was originally a slow Spanish dance in triple time which emphasised and usually began on the second beat of the bar: its eight bars, usually four bars repeated, were the perfect basis for instrumental variation and from the sixteenth century onward composers have been attracted by it simple form and endless possibilities. Bach's great Chaconne in D minor has thirty-one variations which are developed in several continuous sections to create a work of expressive "grandeur", with its central climax in the major key. 2 developments in the variations are particularly interesting; excepting the arpeggio section, most minor key variations from No. 5 onwards are based on the descending "Spanish" harmony D (mi) C, B-flat, A and they begin on the first beat of the bar instead of the second. These changes enhance forward movement and continuity - but did Bach also have in mind the Spanish origin of the Chaconne?

John Williams

Bach

Violin Concerto nr. 2, BWV 1042 *
Aria (Andante from Solo Violin Sonata, BWV 1003) *
Chaconne (from Violin Partita nr. 2, BWV 1004) *
Lute Suite in A minor (orig: G minor), BWV 995
Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996

* Arrangement for guitar by John Williams

John Williams, guitar

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Kenneth Sillito, conductor

Quality: mp3, varied kbps
Size: 131 MB