Bloglet, the gentleman's mock turtle soup -- Moss made it sweeter than myrrh ash and dhoup
Re-reading one's Sophomore Greek papers is terrifying.
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12:32:36 PM,Friday 16 April 2004
And the Hieratic Head of Ezra Pound says: "Flicks like this make you question the wisdom of forestalling the apocalypse, don't they?" (a particularly juicy Cold Fusion Video review.)
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11:01:53 AM,Friday 16 April 2004
Hm.
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10:05:51 AM,Friday 16 April 2004
Naxos radio. Ten bucks a year. They continue to rock me so hard I blubber.
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09:42:11 AM,Friday 16 April 2004
EeeeEEeeeEEEeeeh! The Met's reviving La Clemenza next season!!!
Notable revivals during the season include Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito" (last performed by the company during the 1997-98 season) conducted by Maestro Levine, and a cast including Heidi Grant Murphy as Servilia, Melanie Diener as Vitellia, Anne Sofie von Otter as Sesto, Frank Lopardo as Tito, and Sarah Connolly and Luca Pisaroni in their debuts as Annio and Publio.
With Anne Sofie von Hottie, too! {squeal} And and and I knew about this one already, but:
Julie Taymor makes her Metropolitan Opera debut directing the new production of "Die Zauberflöte," which opens on October 8. Maestro Levine conducts a cast including Dorothea Röschmann as Pamina, L'ubica Vargicová in her company debut at the Queen of the Night, Matthew Polenzani as Tamino, Matthias Goerne as Papageno, Julien Robbins as the Speaker, and Kwangchul Youn in his Metropolitan Opera debut as Sarastro. Ms. Taymor also makes her debut as the costume designer, with sets designed by George Tsypin, and lighting designed by Donald Holder in his debut.
And... my god, this is nuts:
In the revival of "Der Rosenkavalier" Susan Graham returns to the role of Octavian with Angela Denoke in her company debut as the Marschallin and Donald Runnicles on the podium.
Why not just put PRETTY MUCH ALL MY FAVORITE OPERAS WITH MOST OF MY FAVORITE LIVING SINGERS ON IN A SINGLE SEASON, HUH? Go ahead. I dare you. Oh, you're gonna.
Plus -- just icing, here --
The company premiere of "Rodelinda" is on December 2, with Renée Fleming in the title role, Stephanie Blythe as Eduige, David Daniels as Bertarido, Bejun Mehta as Unulfo, Kobie van Rensburg in his Met debut as Grimoaldo, and John Relyea as Garibaldo.
(Emphasis mine. Countertenor looooove...)
And Don Giovanni and Le Nozze and Un Ballo in Maschera and Othello.
CAN'T. WAIT. Er, I mean... um...
Yeah. For a variety of reasons, I've kind of decided that if the Peace Corps has well and truly forgotten I exist, I'm, um... not in a hurry to remind them. At this point, anyhow. Or, at least, I'm severely conflicted. If they suddenly remember, and invite me where they said they were gonna for the time they intimated, I'll still go, I'm pretty sure. 'Cause though nothing binding's been settled, I feel like I've made a commitment. But if they don't, if they've changed their minds, or lost my records, or I don't know what... I just can't say, man. Whatever happens, I won't be in Montana for much longer. I love it here, but I can't stand the eternal comfortable sameness. And I do want to go off and have adventures, I do want to learn a language and do good and wise up and see my place and all, but... urgh. I don't know. I don't know I don't know I don't know. But fooey. Even if I don't get to see any of those operas, it makes me happy enough to know they'll be going on all the same.
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03:08:41 PM,Thursday 15 April 2004
"Lo! the Bat with leathern wing,
Winking and blinking,
Winking and blinking,
Winking and blinking,
Like Dr. Johnson.
Quid. `O ho!' said Dr. Johnson
To Scipio Africanus,
Suction. `A ha!' to Dr. Johnson
Said Scipio Africanus,
And the Cellar goes down with a step. (Grand Chorus.)"
Um... what?
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09:47:25 AM,Thursday 15 April 2004
Aww. I'm gonna be missing the Missoula Early Music Festival. Jam session and everything. But the alternative... well, I ain't complaining, no sir. (`;
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(2)
12:42:48 AM,Thursday 15 April 2004
Mezzos for Matzos!
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12:28:50 PM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
New sidebar picture. I'm not sure whether I like it or not. On the one hand, I'm digging the shifty look and looming penumbra. On the other... I dunno. Can't quite figure out what it is. Eh.
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12:13:37 PM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
But of course you knew that already.
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(1)
11:42:10 AM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
Moby Dick is over. I am sad.
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11:27:57 AM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
I'm not like I used to was.
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(2)
07:33:13 AM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
For once, the mezzos wind up together! And both of 'em be-trousered, no less! Woo-hoo! (Plus: Beth Clayton. 'Nuff said.)
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(1)
05:45:54 AM,Tuesday 13 April 2004
"Oh doe not wanton with those eyes,
Lest I be sick with seeing;
Nor cast them downe, but let them rise,
Lest shame destroy their being:
O, be not angry with those fires,
For then their threats will kill me;
Nor looke too kind on my desires,
For then my hopes will spill me;
O, doe not steepe them in thy Teares,
For so will sorrow slay me;
Nor spread them as distract with feares;
Mine owne enough betray me."
-- Ben Jonson
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03:54:45 PM,Monday 12 April 2004
God, life is glorious.
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02:16:45 PM,Monday 12 April 2004
Who all is in the Croquet blogswap? That is, how many CDs should I burn? And how many of those should I bring with me to deliver in person as opposed to mailing 'em?
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10:10:14 AM,Monday 12 April 2004
Medieval Music mp3 page created with Webjay. Awesome!!
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(1)
06:13:08 AM,Sunday 11 April 2004
Janitor! Looks to be a virtual-reality simulator of the rest of my life. Better get some practice time in, hm?
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03:12:28 AM,Sunday 11 April 2004
Finally, I'm going to review McCreesh's St. Matthew Passion. I know, it's been ages, but I had to let it percolate. Good Friday seemed like the day to do it, so I got out my score and paid attention. First off, just so I don't kill you with suspense: it's wonderful. I have trouble writing a balanced review, once my opinion of something gets too adulterated with strong feeling for it (I'm wise and fair right up to the point where I'm forced to state my opinion explicitly on one side or another, at which point I become a frothing partisan. This is why I would be a lousy professional critic. But, eh, that's just as well.), but I figure if I just glow about it specifically enough, and at sufficient length, I can throw in my few minor quibbles without upsetting the cart too much. I can promise you a cool head about one thing, though -- I'm not going to dip my toe into any of the eternal One-on-a-Part Historically-Informed flamewar. Authentic or not, what Bach would have wanted or not, I'm judging it by my own standards. Ok? Good.
I will have to compare it to some other recordings, particularly to the Klemperer, because it's the one I know best, because that's really the point of this sort of review, right? There are a million St. Matthew Passions out there, and you have to have at least one of them. I mean, if you wanna buy 'em all, go you, but when it comes down to a choice, well... I'll tell you what I think, and you can make up your mind. McCreesh's version is radical by virtue of what I mentioned before -- he uses the barest minimum of singers and a stripped-down orchestra on authentic instruments. When Mendelssohn resurrected the Passion, and, at the same time, the entire legacy of J.S. Bach, he used great thundering double choruses with booming bombastic romantic instruments. It made such an effect, it was performed that way without exception until the reawakening of "historical performance" practices in the mid-20th century. Klemperer follows Mendelssohn's example. McCreesh's is vastly different. But they're both fantastic.
Now, Gardiner has a very well-esteemed recording on authentic instruments which I've already mentioned I don't care for. To be fair, I've heard it several times but never all at once, uninterrupted, by myself -- only in various music tutorials. And part of my distaste might have been just the shock of his tempos; he's well known for playing breakneck, and I found it at odds with the general feeling of the piece. I realized that it might be a problem of acclimatization, though, when I let my mom listen to McCreesh's version (she's used to the Klemperer too), and she reeled at the tempos in the same way I did when I first heard Gardiner's. So maybe he deserves another listen. But, somehow, knowing Gardiner's other work -- some of which I like very much, particularly when he does Gluck -- I have a feeling that it was more than just the tempos that irked me. As I remember it, he sacrificed delicacy to vigor. He screamed through the quick songs and ratcheted up the slow ones. He had too much indiscriminate bounce.
McCreesh -- whatever my mom might say (sorry, ma) -- avoids all of that. His tempos are as subtle as the complex feelings propelling them. There's only a single case in which I would trumpet Klemperer's sedate pace unilaterally against his (which is pretty amazing; McCreesh and Klemperer hardly, if ever, agree about tempo, but it's rare that they contradict each other musically. I listen to one and nod, and then listen to the other, and, though it's as different as chalk and cheese, neither one wins out. They each come together into their own fascinating wholes.): "Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand" (the famous "chicken" aria), which I found to be uncharitably brusque, as opposed to Klemperer's gentler version. But, on the other hand, McCreesh's "O Mensch, Bewein' dein' Sünde Groß" is actually able to keep some momentum going through its endless convolutions. Klemperer always loses me.
Well, that's my quibble. Pretty puny. Let me tell you what McCreesh does right. His treatment allows him to use singers with extremely pure, sensitive voices. Klemperer (I think I'll just contrast him with Klemperer from now on, actually, for a couple reasons. Like I said, I know him best, though I've listened to several others once or twice. He's also at polar extremes from McCreesh in so many ways, not just tempo, so I feel like I'm covering the spectrum when I compare them. But, most importantly, they're both supreme examples of their style, so it's fruitful to set them against each other.) uses opera singers, nearly all of them greats. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, Peter Pears -- whether you like 'em or hate 'em (and there's plenty of room for either), you can't deny their power or their technique. Peter Pears is one of my favorite tenors of all time, for both musical and sentimental reasons, and he makes a stunning evangelist. I haven't heard of a single one of McCreesh's singers except for Magdalena Kozená. I'm pretty ignorant about the current sacred music scene, but it's also a fact that most of these singers are not big opera stars, and never could be. Or should be.
I keep wanting to abuse words like "delicacy" and "sensitivity" when I talk about this recording, though I'm trying hard not to. Because there's power there, too, plenty of it. Sometimes it blows my mind to realize that they're not an entire double chorus in spots like the "Sind Donner und Blitzen" section. But they don't ever have to work to drown out anyone, and this is the greatest strength of the one-on-a-part style, if it's done right. It's tremendously exposed, and can come off as weak or bloodless with the wrong singers, but here it's just... it's just a freaking miracle. I had to will myself to pay close attention to the orchestra partway through, just because I had been bewitched to the point of gaping at the sheer beauty of the voices. Beauty of tone, beauty of sense, and beauty of feeling. And the orchestra was very good. Technically perfect, very tight, richer than you might think. Still, in "Erbarme dich", for example, when the violin took over the melody, it never sang so sweet that it shattered me. Kozená did.
I can't imagine that this CD could become dated, but I have to consider the possibility, because it's so perfectly to my taste, in my idiom. The singers sing -- and this is especially true in the recitatives, as well as in the meltingly earnest arias -- as if they were speaking their own thoughts, without heroic emphasis or false piety. The evangelist, above all, and at times even exceeding him, Jesus, put music to text with such simple conviction, that the story, the characters, the horror and love ("Aus Liebe" makes me squeeze my eyes tight and almost moan for the truth of it) and bitterness and pettiness and tenderness, exist there in time, more vivid than speech or sight could have made them.
I'm not sure what else to say. If McCreesh was trying to prove a point, it worked. I don't think he was, though. If he had been, it wouldn't have. This recording was too intimate to be a lecture. His singers sang as they felt it, and would have sung the same if they had been in a chorus of hundreds. But the marvelous thing was that we could hear every breath, every inflection of each individual, which can't be done with hundreds, no matter what advantage of cohesion or power you get in exchange. I love Klemperer for his "Lasst in! Haltet! Bindet Nicht!", which deafens you with its desperation (it made me do one of the most difficult and valuable things I've ever done, in fact). But I wouldn't want to give up McCreesh's rendering of the last two lullabyes, "Nun ist der Herr" and "Wir Setzen Uns Mit Tränen Nieder" (which, by the way, Snickers finally yanked from their commercials, substituting some pseudo-classical dreck instead. I guess they got complaints. Well, good.). Because, no matter how much they whisper, Klemperer's chorus can't help being a force to sing over. They're more agonizing, maybe. McCreesh's is more beautiful. I suppose you've got to choose which one is better to hear in any given mood or year or season -- but Bach's got eternity.
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11:07:39 AM,Saturday 10 April 2004
I've got "Hark! 'Tis the Linnet and the Thrush" stuck in my head. And I don't know why. Haven't heard it or heard mention of it in weeks, and it's not like it's one of my favorite traxx or nothing. It's starting to bug me. Shoo!
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09:51:04 PM,Friday 9 April 2004
