KVR Audio

ouroboros · Post by **ouroboros** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:07 am

I've been listening to some baroque music lately; a little Scarlatti, Telemann and others if I think Bach on it. I was listening for about a month when someone told me that I wasn't listening to "traditional" or "purist" baroque music: they provided me with some examples which used a great deal of harpsichord and sounded a little mechanical.

So what was I listening to, and more to the point when I go to buy a CD, what should I look for to know if I am actually purchasing different orchestrations and , uh, more expressive interpretations of the originals? I am having a hard time getting a Handel on this.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:11 am

understand it? I'm still waiting for them to fix it...

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:12 am

badda-BOOMP! tsssssh

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:16 am

when I was a kid my parents said I was going to a barochial school...I was pysched...but apperenly they knew what was best for me...that's when I learned the difference between B and P..

sorry Ouroboros...I'll stop now

warp x · Post by **warp x** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:17 am

I'd say go for stuff that uses original instruments; it's surprising to hear the difference in sound, compared to ensembles that use modern instruments.
Also, check out some earlier music, like renaissance, that will maybe help to come to grip with the complex polyphonics etc etc.
Palestrina, Monteverdi, Josquin (not exactly baroque) are great points to start.

Anything by the Orchestra of the 18th century, led by Frans Bruggen is usually of excellent quality, as are the Ton Koopman, and Harnoncourt recordings.

Hope this helps a bit.

cheers,
M.

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:19 am

ouroboros wrote:someone told me that I wasn't listening to "traditional" or "purist" baroque music

Buy what you like.

This stuff is sooo controversial.

Some ensembles use old-type instruments in an attempt to get closer to the composer's intentions, but who's to say what those were? All we have is sheet music.

Frippertronix · Post by **Frippertronix** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:23 am

Hink wrote:understand it? I'm still waiting for them to fix it...

If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it.

Frippertronix · Post by **Frippertronix** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:24 am

Anything by Yanni is essentially pure Baroque.

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:33 am

cptgone: There are still some genuine baroque instruments around, I think (though not in pristine condition) and enough details to reproduce others pretty well.

In the non-electronic world, I prefer period-instrument performances of baroque music. If you've ever heard the sort of indignities heaped upon Bach and his contemporaries in the 1950s, when I was a young kit, you'll know why (lush, giant-orchestral arrangements that IMO completely distorted the composers' intentions -- yuk).

But I'm not an absolute stickler for authenticity. I also like the electronic renditions that first attracted me to baroque music in the late 1960s. W. Carlos forever!

When we compare overblown 1950s renditions of the best-known baroque kapellmeister and some of the electronic and computerized versions I've come to enjoy, it becomes clear that Bach can indeed be worse than the byte.

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:37 am

Meffy wrote:cptgone: There are still some genuine baroque instruments around, I think (though not in pristine condition) and enough details to reproduce others pretty well.

Sure.

Still, there's noway of knowing how it sounded in Bach's day, let alone how Bach wanted it to sound...

herodotus · Post by **herodotus** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:41 am

Perhaps a book would help get some perspective. Which is probably more important than finding the 'right' interpreter (I am not saying it doesn't matter).

Bukofzer is a good starting point. He is actually surprizingly readable.

ouroboros · Post by **ouroboros** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:44 am

HINK!

@cptgone: I agree with you, I just don't know how to tell if I like it or not before I buy it. I suppose I just need to take a risk here and there; "borrow" ccd's from friends on a long-term basis. (I'll trade you 1 Little John and 2 ColdPlays for 1 Water Symphony, and 3 baroque samplers...)

@Meffy: I've never head the big lush orchestral versions, but I heard a some Bach done on the xylophone that was stunning! Sometimes, I think the timing was a bit more sloppy or off tempo compared to the harpsichord recordings I heard, but I really enjoyed it. OT: Look, the harpsichord is nice and all, but it's only recently that I've really appreciated the emergence of the piano!

)

@herodotus: Thanks, nice rec. I'm not really worried about the "right" or most historically accurate interpreter; I just love the complex rhthym/melodies with a little feel on various instruments...

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:45 am

There must be guides around - for jazz, the "Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD" is marvelous..

Barnadine · Post by **Barnadine** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:53 am

(Phew. We only narrowly avoided the inevitable 'Bach is worse than his bite'.)

edit: No we didn't. Yay Meffy!

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:56 am

Barnadine wrote:

(Phew. We only narrowly avoided the inevitable 'Bach is worse than his bite'.)

so if anyones caught making a pun what happens....you gonna send them to the punitariary

Understanding baroque music