[Desertpilot]

Honegger: Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

Judith Chemla, Jean-Claude Drouot, Christian Gonon, Adrien Gamba-Gontard, Claire de Sévigné, Christine Goerke, Judit Kutasi, Jean-Noël Briend, Steven Humes
Netherlands Children’s Choir
Rotterdam Symphony Chorus
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Stéphane Denève (conductor)

Evaluate your system for soloists, choir and speech.

I know there won't be a large market for this work.  It is an Oratorio, and one I have loved for many years.  This recording is recent and sonically wonderful.  The singing is excellent by both soloists and choir.  Honegger writes sublime melodies throughout.  This is truly inspired music making.  The liner notes:  "Stéphane Denève ..., who is a leading authority on French music and a regular guest with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; together with two choirs and a variety of soloists and actors, ... realized a compelling and moving Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher."

To understand the gripping emotion of this piece you should look at Joan of Arc's biography.  Here's one I think is excellent:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVPD5eFihKw.

Gramophone Magazine, October 2019
Denève’s spacious pacing is to the work’s advantage in many places…The tension of the final scene at the stake builds steadily, with superb French enunciation from both Dutch choruses and polished contributions from the solo singers…For an audio-only Jeanne d’Arc, look no further.

Opera Now, October 2019
It requires large forces, all balanced superbly by conductor Stéphane Denève. Jeanne is a spoken role, taken here by French actress Judith Chemla, heartbreaking in her youth and certitude. She is ably partnered by Jean-Claude Drouot as Frère Dominique, another non-singing role. The large cast is excellent, as are orchestra and chorus.

Erik Voermans, Parool “Unforgettable Jeanne d’Arc.”

Martin Toet, Place de l’Opera “Rare inspiration in Honeggers Jeanne.”

Tech Specs:
Available as CD, SACD and download.
Original Recording Format:  24/96
Download (Stereo Only) https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8624805--honegger-jeanne-darc-au-bucher
Qobuz:  Search for Honegger: Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, 24/96 Stereo
Producer & recording engineer Everett Porter, assistant engineer Lauran Jurrius
Venue:  Recorded live at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Recording Date: 27 and 28 September 2018
Release Date: 30 May, 2019
Catalogue No: 1433701851

I own this superb album on SACD and play the multichannel version.  The power of the story is intense, Joan about to be burned at the stake. A savior of France and now a heretic. While it is in French, the booklet provides an English translation. All the elements are there for a superb recording, excellent orchestra, chorus and soloists. The horns provide that haunting effect throughout as the girl is condemned. There is sadness for sure as this is a true story. But, Honegger injects light hearted moments.  The soloists and chorus all come through clearly and are not drowned out by the orchestra. In fact, conductor Stéphane Denève does a great job making sure the orchestra and singers compliment one another to keep the emotional impact high. Soundstage is excellent and everyone is located easily as you hear the piece. Side surrounds are used frequently for voices of angels.  I greatly prefer the multichannel version over stereo. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has put all the tracks on YouTube if you care to sample/listen.

The best compliment I can give is that I play this recording frequently.  Intense emotion throughout.

Marcus

[FullRangeMan]

Thanks for the heads-up, I like Oratórios with drama and if there is a narrator even better, also like as much Operas and Operettas, the important is that the music be good and the recording doesnt leave anything to be desired.

Its not fresh news that Ça Ira(There is Hope) the Roger Waters oratório was now been transformed into opera and staged with a new libretto in english and vocal narration by Roger, the plot also are French (Revolution).

[Desertpilot]

Whitlock: Organ Sonata
Farnam: Toccata on 'O filii et filiae'
Sowande: Kyrie
Grainger: Blithe Bells (after Bach)

Darius Battiwalla (JJ Binns organ of Rochdale Town Hall)

Evaluate your system for Organ (with some very deep bass notes).

Time for some organ music.  This disc will surely give your subwoofers a real workout.  Careful with your volume control until you are confident your subs can handle every note.  Recording company Base 2 Music, is dedicated to quality recordings of pipe organ music.  Here is how they describe themselves, "Base2 Music is a label dedicated to bringing you the best quality in Pipe organ music...  No compression and no gating of frequency response."  They have a variety of albums available on their own website or at Native DSD.  I purchased the download in DSD 256 because I wasn't sure my DAC can handle WAV 384 kHz (which is the original recording format).  I enjoy the album.  There are several recordings available and you should look through the selections to find music you would enjoy.

HR Audio Review by Adrian Quanjer - June 18, 2021:  "The remaining question: What about the music? Long-time forgotten and mostly appreciated for his shorter pieces, Percy Whitlock’s Sonata, the main work on this disc, ‘surfaced’ in the 19-seventies, to become a core element of English organ repertoire. Several recordings exist, but none having such an authoritative level of expression and sound: Around a mighty forty-five minutes of organ splendour filling the full space of the Great Hall.  ...in Bastiaan Kuijt’s (BK Audio, Amsterdam) surround mastering, no detail gets lost and all of it is conveyed with energy galore!"

Tech Specs:
Available as SACD, download https://www.nativedsd.com/catalogue/albums/base209-percy-whitlock-organ-sonata/
Original Recording Format: PCM 384 kHz, stereo or multichannel.
I do not see it available on Qobuz
Venue:  Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Recording Date:  3-4 September 2020
Release Date:  May 13, 2021
Producer and Sound Engineers:  Jake Purches, Bastiaan Kuijt and Etienne Purches
Instrument: The Organ of Rochdale Town Hall, J. J. Binns, 1913. Rebuilt by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. in 1979.
Catalog # BASE209

Marcus

[bakufu]

https://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Symphony-No-6-Teodor-Currentzis/dp/B01MS9VBKH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tchaikovsky+currentzis&qid=1629574010&s=music&sr=1-1

qobuz has a 24/96 version, which is what i would recommend.

interesting to see how reactions to the engineering are all over the place with this one. 

[newzooreview]

You can buy the 96/24 download from Presto Music.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8270995--tchaikovsky-symphony-no-6-in-b-minor-op-74-pathetique

I double check classical and jazz at Presto before buying a CD because prices are better and they often have high resolution versions.

Same with HD Tracks (although their prices are often higher.)

[Desertpilot]

Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Lieutenant Kijé Suite

Alisa Kolosova (mezzo-soprano)
Utah Symphony Chorus
University of Utah A Cappella Choir
University of Utah Chamber Choir
Barlow Bradford (director)
Utah Symphony
Thierry Fischer (conductor)

Evaluate your system for choir and orchestra.

Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Lieutenant Kijé Suite were originally written as film scores back in 1934.  He later adapted them as symphonic pieces.  These are great fun and my two sons love the album.  I've played the album very frequently.  The choir portions are fantastic.  Exceptional sonics in either stereo or multichannel.

HR Audio Review by Graham Williams - October 10, 2019: "This stunningly recorded disc with 60 minutes of compelling music performed with style and verve will almost certainly make it the go-to choice for a modern version these two works.  ...The multi-channel 5.0 recording, made and post produced in 64fs DSD, offers a degree of aural realism not to be found in any rival medium, but is shown to particular advantage in large-scale orchestral and choral pieces such as these."

Review by Audiophile Audition | Nov 27, 2019: "The Utah forces are superb in every way, with magnificent sound and solid contributions from the choruses. These scores are deserving of such sonic splendor, and one senses the enthusiasm among all involved."

Tech Specs:
Available as CD, SACD and download: https://www.nativedsd.com/catalogue/albums/fr735-prokofiev-alexander-nevsky-lieutenant-kije-suite/
Qobuz:  Search for Thierry Fischer
Original Recording Format: DSD 64
Venue:  Maurice Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah
Recording Date: November 18 and 19, 2016
Release Date: 10/24/2019
Recording/Mastering:  Dirk Sobotka; John Newton; Mark Donahue, Soundmirror of Boston
Catalog Number:  References Recordings, FR735

Marcus

[Craig B]

https://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Symphony-No-6-Teodor-Currentzis/dp/B01MS9VBKH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tchaikovsky+currentzis&qid=1629574010&s=music&sr=1-1

qobuz has a 24/96 version, which is what i would recommend.

interesting to see how reactions to the engineering are all over the place with this one. 

Probably not unlike the range of reactions to the interpretation/performance. Currentzis takes fermata to a whole new level. This is by far the most melodramatic reading of the Pathetique I've ever heard.

[Sandbakk]

Ståle Kleiberg: Concertos

Go to Qobuz and take a listen.  You won't be disappointed.

Marcus

Thank you so much for this tip. Beautiful music, beautifully performed and an equally beautiful recording. And from my own country too, Norway.

[dB Cooper]

[dB Cooper]

[dB Cooper]

Magical. Harp player doubles as a vocalist on a few tracks.

[Desertpilot]

Berlioz: Grande Messe des morts

Javier Camarena (tenor)
Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Evaluate your system for Choir and Orchestra.

Here's my take on this superb recording:

"The original recording format is DXD and I downloaded the 5.0 multichannel version in 24/352.8 DXD from Native DSD. This is my 4th copy of Berlioz: "Grande Messe des morts". I was not disappointed adding this album to my collection. The overall performance is excellent but it is the subtle nuances that are breathtaking. The chorus is a combination of the Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Netherlands Radio Choir. Chorus master, Ciro Visco, did a superb job melding these choirs. The best way I can describe their performance is the haunting, even dark, spiritual quality they add to many of the passages. Tenor Javier Camarena also performed magnificently. His voice beautifully communicated the Requiem's heartfelt condolences.

Jenny Camilleri from Opera Today attended the live performance at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on Friday, the 3rd of May, 2019. Her reaction? "Berlioz’s Requiem at the Concertgebouw – earthshakingly stupendous. ...The choir produced sumptuous, full-bodied harmonies, with defiantly percussive consonants in the ferocious Dies irae and Rex tremendae. The lyrical lines of the unaccompanied Quaerens me flowed like clear honey. Blanched, fearful murmurs receded into an almost tangible abyss, high voices shimmered in heaven-bound invocations."  Read her entire review at NativeDSD: https://www.nativedsd.com/product/rco19006-berlioz-requiem-op-5/

More positive reviews:
“Javier Camarena shines in the higher register. Heavenly.”
Merlijn Kerkhof, Volkskrant

“The Concertgebouworkest do justice to the magnificence of the music”
Peter van der Lint, Trouw

“A splendid performance with, as expected by Antonio Pappano, intense text interpretation”
Lucrèce Maeckelberg, Klassiek Centraal

Tech Specs:
Available in CD, SACD and download PCM,DSD, and DXD, 2 & 5 channel.  (Native DSD: https://www.nativedsd.com/product/rco19006-berlioz-requiem-op-5/
Original Recording Format: DXD
Available in Qobuz.  Search for Berlioz.  Stereo 24/192
Catalog # RCO19006
Recording Engineers:  Everett Porter, Karel Bruggeman (Assistant Engineer), Polyhymnia.
Venue: Recorded Live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
Recording Date: May 3 & 4, 2019
Release Date: 1 October, 2021

Marcus

[Desertpilot]

Mahler: Symphony No. 3

Gerhild Romberger (alto)
Cantemus Children's Choir
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ivan Fischer (conductor)

Evaluate your system for Choir and Orchestra.

This recording is sonically excellent. But I am posting it because of the overwhelming praise of the performance.  No less than 32 positive reviews.  In fact, the entire cycle of Mahler Symphonies is tremendous. 

David Hurwitz, Classics Today:  "Mostly importantly, Fischer conducts with a plasticity of line, a natural rubato, that maximizes expressivity without excess sentimentality. The concluding Adagio is sublime."

Graham Williams, HR Audio:   "Those who have enjoyed Fischer’s earlier Mahler recordings will need no urging to acquire this one. In both musical and sonic terms it provides a further criterion for past and future recordings of this symphony."

Bay Area Reporter: Best of 2017: "...Fischer’s primordial Mahler Third with his Budapest Festival Orchestra (Channel Classics) was just shockingly good"

The New York Times: The 25 Best Classical Music Recordings of 2017

Musicweb International [Recordings of the Year 2017]

Gramophone [Editor’s Choice – June 2017]

Tech Specs:

Available as CD, SACD and download (2 and/or 5 channel) https://www.nativedsd.com/product/38817-mahler-symphony-no-3-in-dminor/
Booklet and sample tracks are available at Native DSD
Original Recording Format: DSD 64
Catalog # 38817
Recording Engineer:  Jared Sacks, Tom Peeters, (Channel Classics)
Recording location:  Palace of Arts, Mupa, Budapest Hungary
Recording date:  September 2016
Release Date:  April 29, 2017
Qobuz:  24/192 Stereo

Marcus

[FullRangeMan]

Thanks for the head-up, I have some Channel SACDs and they all sound great and performances are first class too.

[Craig B]

Thanks, I'll look into it. It will be interesting to see how it compares to my own personal touchstone for the Mahler 3rd - Horenstein with the LSO on Unicorn.

[Desertpilot]

Brahms: Symphony No. 4, MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, Conductor

Evaluate your system for Flute and Orchestra.

The album is available for download at Native DSD (https://www.nativedsd.com/product/fr744-brahms-symphony-no-4-macmillan-larghetto-for-orchestra/)  The SACD will be released on October 22, 2021.  I urge you to download (free) the accompanying pdf file with extensive notes by Maestro Honeck.  I will add reviews as they become available.

Review by Adrian Quanjer - HR Audio, 10/17/2021:   "This performance is so stunning that it deserves and needs to be played at the best possible resolution your (surround) music system can handle! It’s (almost) like sitting in the Hall allowing you to listen to the music instead of being disturbed by sound coming from the speakers.  ...Honeck’s emotional profoundness in the second, and the sweeping excitement in the third movement, combined with the sheer ‘power of sadness’ as Brahms called it, in the first and final movement.  ...This is now by far my first choice."

Classical Voice North America:  "… this beautiful performance is marked by transparent textures of rich tones as well as wonderful nuances in the strings and particularly powerful climaxes."

The New York Times has just published a list of “Five Classical Albums to Hear Right Now” and number one on the list is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Brahms: Symphony No. 4 and MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra!

Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition:  "...it contrasts beautifully with what we hear at the opening of the symphony, a deep-breathed sigh that starts everything off. Honeck lingers over this moment.  ...Perhaps only Bruno Walter can top this Fourth, as Walter is the gold standard in this music. But even here, the crispness and delineated phrasing that are the hallmarks of Walter’s Brahms are also found in this recording, a manicured spectacle of incredible beauty."

David Hurwitz, Classics Today:  "After a first movement outstanding for its exquisitely gentle (but still fluent) opening and an aptly ferocious coda, the remainder of the symphony is noteworthy for its unusual fleetness.  ...the finale has both urgency as well as the necessary weight. The famous flute solo at its center is played magnificently by Principal Flute Lorna McGhee, offering a quiet moment of pathos before Honeck drives the symphony to an excitingly grim conclusion.
Through it all, the Pittsburgh Symphony plays the music as beautifully as it can be done."

I do not know music theory.  But, I do know what I like.  Here are my thoughts:
Review by Marcus DiBenedetto:  "I own several Brahms Symphony #4. After hearing Maestro Honeck and the PSO’s performance, this one rises to the top for me! The Symphony is dynamic and alive. The percussion is not just for emphasis but becomes a beautiful musical instrument engaging with the rest of the orchestra. I own the multichannel DSD 256 version and music flows deep and all around my soundstage. Soundmirror does a magnificent job making sure each part of the orchestra is heard distinctly and yet blends to form the whole of the orchestra. Reading Maestro Honeck’s detailed description in the accompanying pdf file gives you a great insight in to the composition and his approach. Listen to the low res sample tracks to get an idea of this outstanding performance. There are sections of each movement that are absolutely thrilling, especially the last couple minutes of each movement as it ends."

Tech Specs:

Available in all the usual formats and sample rates.
Now available on Qobuz (24/192) stereo.  Search for Honeck Brahms.
Original Recording Format: DSD 256 (Post processing in 32/352.8 DXD).  2 and/or 5 channel.
Catalog: Reference Recordings, FR744.
Recorded Live, April 20-22, 2018
Venue: Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Recording Engineers: Dirk Sobotka, Mark Donahue (Soundmirror)

Marcus

[Tyson]

Pittsburgh has always been a really under-rated orchestra.  I enjoy many of their recordings, I'll be on the lookout for this one.  Thanks!

[rotarius]

Good find, Pittsburgh and Honeck are in good form and sound is superb.  Definitely worth the money for me although it won't dethrone Kleiber as the reigning champion or even the Bohm/Vienna, that I have on LP, on artistic merit.  Of course, RR sound quality is in another league compared to DG. 

[Craig B]

I'll look for this. I've been a big fan of the Pittsburgh since Previn's tenure there.

[Desertpilot]

Audiophile Reference Music

PSAudio (Octave Records)

I know this is my classical music thread.  But, I find this album very useful for testing my system.  It is 2.0 Stereo and available for download (DSD 64 or PCM 24/192).  The last track is a "burn-in" track.  The music isn't bad either.

Get it here:  https://www.psaudio.com/products/reference-music/

Marcus