Tape Project Forum
Tape Project Albums => Suggestion Box => Topic started by: ironbut on February 10, 2008, 11:39:58 AM
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Another fantastic Argo release (which is a division of Decca Record Co Ltd). This Requiem just about has it all, the Choir of St Johns College couldn't sound much more angelic as they weave in and out like columns of sunlight through the cellos and contra basses of the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. This is a dark expression of grief with little available relief to the bleak landscape it paints. An organ underlies the score and it's not until the 3rd movement that the violins enter the scene and together with the harp, present one of the only moments that could be called light and optimistic. There is a clarity to this recording that sets it apart. In the vocals, whether the baritone/treble or chorus you can hear the individual voices. And right up to the last movement where the organ lays down a repeating figure likened to the multiple treads of a staircase, each instrument is whole with it's personal timbre intact. This is not an exciting piece of music, rather, it displays the textures and colors that the composer envisioned.
The engineering is of the highest order for a classical recording, without considering that it was done in St John's College Chapel.
Producer: James Walker Enginneers: Kenneth Wilkinson, John Dunkerley
Argo; ARG E 841
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I'll have to go buy this puppy. Don't know the piece, so I can't say whether it's exciting or not, but since joining a college concert choir, I can say that a lot of choral music I didn't used to find exciting now makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I'm bringing my Otari and the Lord Nelson Mass recording I made last fall to VSAC. It won't keep up with Doc's tapes, but it's DIY performance and recording, and a tube mic pre was involved, so I think it's in the right spirit! ;-)
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Sounds great! I'd love to hear your recording. I'll be there the full 3 days too. I might bring a headphone rig and my Technics/Repo amp so I don't think we'll need laminates to recognize each other.
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I have to agree with the choice of Argo. A lot of the Argo catalog is very well recorded works of some obscure pieces. One I highly recommend is Holst's "Savitri, A Chamber Opera in One Act" The English Chamber Orchestra/Purcell Singers, conducted by the composer's daughter, Imogene Holst. It also features the voices of Janet Baker, Robert Tear, and Thomas Hemsley. Argo ZNF 6