Looking for the lesser known works here

 

Looking for the lesser known works here

It's lovely to hear the Bassoon not being treated as a clown. I like the piece.

 

And a choral work, enough from me for one day; I'd be very interested in comments on this one, does it tend to be a bit repetitive? another one I found originally on the Baroque music.org pages.

 

I suppose it is rather repetitive, but what most strikes me is that I find the piece quite pleasing. It held my interest throughout and had enough variety to satisfy.

 

Rameau's beautiful Laboravi Clamans

Rameau's beautiful Laboravi Clamans:

 

 

Rameau's beautiful Laboravi Clamans:

I'll have to look at Rameau choral works, so far I'm only familiar with his keyboard works and Les Indes Gallantes.

 

Another concerto for oboe & strings

 

Andre Campra (1660-1744) Messe de Requiem.
I am not an expert but I am spinning this one t this moment and it's wonderful.

 

Bertali's Ciaccona, from a live performance by Catham Baroque. I'd really love to post the John Holloway version which is even groovier, but I can no longer access it from the UK.

Still - I think I agree with one of the comments below this video, that 'it sounds so modern' - though I am not sure, quite, that (as s/he goes on to say,) 'It brings to mind some snatches of current rock and roll.'

To me, it is more reminiscent of 1970s progressive folk-rock.

Reader, what do you think?

 

"From a rehearsal in NYC, this is an excerpt from a rare performance of Chedeville's 1739 French retooling, for hurdy gurdy and musette (bagpipes) of the top 40 hit from Venice, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". Paul Woodiel, hurdy gurdy, Chris Layer, musette, Gotham City Orchestra, George Steel, conductor."

Must add the requested further information...

"The hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a hand crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin.

Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents-small wedges, typically made of wood-against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board and hollow cavity to make the vibration of the strings audible.

Most hurdy-gurdies have multiple drone strings, which give a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy-gurdy is often used interchangeably or along with bagpipes, particularly in Occitan, Catalan, Cajun French and contemporary Asturian, Cantabric, Galician, and Hungarian folk music.

By the end of the 17th century changing musical tastes demanded greater polyphonic capabilities than the hurdy-gurdy could offer and pushed the instrument to the lowest social classes; as a result it acquired names like the German Bauernleier 'peasant's lyre' and Bettlerleier 'beggar's lyre.'

During the 18th century, however, French Rococo tastes for rustic diversions brought the hurdy-gurdy back to the attention of the upper classes, where it acquired tremendous popularity among the nobility, with famous composers writing works for the hurdy-gurdy. The most famous of these is Nicolas Chédeville's Il pastor Fido, attributed to Vivaldi."

Although not playing a baroque tune this is a really first-rate up-close example of the hurdy-gurdy as instrument - notice at the 2:10 mark that there are numerous ways and techniques to produce the multiplicity of sounds that it is capable of -

This is a link which leads to Nicolas Chédeville's "Les Deffis" - Works for Hurdy-Gurdy and Bass -

If after listening you find that you are now obsessed with becoming a hurdy gurdy player you might want to watch this video entitled "Q+A: Where do I get a hurdy gurdy and how much are they?" first.

If you order yours today it will be finished in about two years. Two years from now come back to this thread and watch this video entitled "Explaining the features of the Hurdy Gurdy" -

Unless I'm greatly mistaken I may have just made myself the forum's "go-to-guy" on all things hurdy gurdy...

 

Just found this, a bit long at 1H14M but some nice works both instrumental and some vocals with Jaroussky, quite a few encores, so the audience must have loved it.

 

I haven't even explored the main composers yet and did not venture too far off the beaten path, except some Czech composers mentioned in Czech history textbook like Černohorský, Vejvanovský, Tůma. Here is Tůma's Stabat Mater
František Ignác Tůma (1704-1774) Stabat Mater

 

Let's see how this goes, try and stay within the 1600-1760 period. Might I suggest discussion of works is encouraged. So for starters, I like the Theorbo booth as solo instrument and ensemble.

You might be interested in these two videos on the theorbo - the first is a demo of the instrument itself -

and the second is the French composer Robert de Visée (1655 - 1732/1733) and his composition - "Prelude" in in 4 versions which features the theorbo from the beginning to the 2:24 mark, the Baroque lute version until the 4:09 mark, the Baroque guitar version until the 6:16 mark which then ends the work with the harpsichord version.

 

5 concerti by Francesco Bonporti;

 

Buxtehude, Chaconne in E minor BuxWV160

and for comparison the same work played by Lionel Rogg on pedal harpsichord, (from Baroque music library, not you tube)

http://www.baroquemusic.org/DLower/BMC25T5BuxtehudeChaconnePedHpsd.mp3

Any preference between them?

Comment from BMC sleeve notes

We have made several recordings of the pedal-harpsichord, and different performers have all told us the same story: that practice on the pedal-harpsichord demands much more precision than the organ. If this is the case then baroque organists must have been pretty good; since organists always found great difficulty in arranging "pumpers" for organ practice - especially winter practice in unheated churches - the use of pedals added to domestic harpsichords and clavichords would have been invaluable.

 

Buxtehude, Chaconne in E minor BuxWV160

and for comparison the same work played by Lionel Rogg on pedal harpsichord, (from Baroque music library, not you tube)

http://www.baroquemusic.org/DLower/BMC25T5BuxtehudeChaconnePedHpsd.mp3

Any preference between them?

Well, there's quite a difference - organ version has more soul and mystery as expected; the other version offers greater detail as expected. Personally, I prefer the organ version. After all, the organ is the king of instruments.

 

 

 

 

 

An organ voluntary by Henry Heron

 

Harpsichord concerto, John Stanley opus 10 No2.

 

Just found this one whilst browsing the tube, exquisite would be my word for it; I'm almost out of breath myself just watching it, and I love the expressions on the chap extreme right as he plucks his strings!

 

Teodorico Pedrini Baroque Concert at the Forbidden City

this is interesting, because Pedrini was a missionary for 36 years at the Imperial Court of China and this baroque composition shows clear chinese music influences.

 

I'm also intrigued by La Folia, amazing how many variations there can be from such a comparativley simple melody

 

 

Bach on a Silberman organ