Need Me Some Cello, Maybe some Pipe Organ, and other sundries!

[meagain]

Since sound quality over here took a ridiculously massive leap recently, I fiind myself wanting more music that'll let me experience more goodness. Right now, I'm thinking something interesting that isn't necessarily traditional music or 'songs'. I'd like to get some seriously high quality Cello CD. Either traditional or edgy/weird/cool/new, but it has to sound amazing. Is there such a beast? A whole CD devoted to this? Also, I have no pipe organ here at all and quite frankly, don't recall the last time I've heard it. Is there any fantastic sounding CD out there that'll bring out the cool lows, etc. of Klipschorns? Or anything else interesting such as this that'll give the speaks a good workout or at least make for a great test CD? Something that makes you say "oh my god" and maybe get a bit verclempt. Know what I mean?

Taking suggestions - Thanks!

[Mike Lindsey]

For Pipe Organ, try Pomp & Pipes by Frederick Fennell and the Dallas Winds Symphony. It's a very good recording and will work over your Khorns. I think it can be had on eBay and Amazon.

Mike

[IndyKlipschFan]

Go look up Yo Yo Ma, on the Cello.. He is a 100% home run! Great classic recordings and a lot of stuff you never would think he would do. Yo Yo Ma is a 1st class player.. Very passionate, and fun to see live too!

[wuzzzer]

+2 for Pomp & Pipes. If you've got a capable sub it will shake your rafters loose!

[ben.]

Bjork Homogenic

Excellent recording - real strings - I think she used a doubled quartet. Combined with very creative electronica. Dig it.

[oldtimer]

Is that the one where she recorded sounds from things like geothermal vents and worked into the music?

[Daddy Dee]

What Indy said.

[ben.]

Is that the one where she recorded sounds from things like geothermal vents and worked into the music?

That's the record. You must have seen the documentary about its making. I don't think any environmental sound actually got onto the finished product, though. She may have used some for demos and it certainly was an inspiration.

[LarryC]

Meagain, now you're talkin'! There was a series of threads a little over 2 years ago, started by Wolfram/Dubai 2000 who is hardly around any more. One that you should read thoroughly is Classical talk - here comes the cello. There you'll find a lot of very fine commentary on the cello, the best performers, and specific recordings you should look at. You won't find uniformly positive views on Ma, for example.

Incidentally, I am a fan of going to Amazon.com, searching out works and performers, and listening to the brief snippets you can find with most recordings, to get an impression of what you're in for. For example, I think that one work you ought to get is the Bach Six Sonatas for Solo Cello. You'll find it hard to believe that one person playing one instrument can generate all that complex sound. There are a couple of recordings I think you should consider: Janos Starker, http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Six-Suites-Sonatas-major/dp/B0000057L9/ref=sr_1_3/102-7447194-1801748?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173400362&sr=1-3.; and Ma's, which oddly I can't find on Amazon.com. Here's at least a pic of the latter album: http://inkpot.com/classical/bachvcma.html. Between the two, Starker's is the stronger, while Ma's is a bit laid-back for some. These are great works, and I can enjoy either recording. I saw Yo-Yo play three of them at the National Cathedral a few years ago (from the second row, which was far better to hear directly than the inferior amplification one got in the back).

I share the consensus that the best cello concerto is the Dvorak. I don't have a specific recommendation, as my recording is an old LP. Another serious contender is the Elgar, a remarkably moody work. The thread appeared not that long after the movie Hilary and Jackie, about the tragic figure Jacqueline du Pre, regarded as one of the great cellists of the 20th century before she contracted MS. That cut short her career of course, and she died a terrible death at the age of 42. Her performance of the Elgar concerto was the perfect mood music backdrop to the movie (I recommend the book of the same title, if you're up for an emotional ride to the end). I recommend her recording as a second or backup choice to the Dvorak.

For pipe organ, I have a smattering of organ performers, and you might find some useful threads by searching on organ. I think it's hard to beat E. Power Biggs playing Bach, so I'd suggest selecting 1 to 3 of his CDs. Among Bach's works, I particularly recommend the D-minor Toccata and Fugue (of course!), the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (to hear a REAL 32-Hz "C") and the Toccata and Fugue in F major. See http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Toccata-Passacaglia-Pastorale-Prelude/dp/B0000027BF/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/102-7447194-1801748?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173401451&sr=1-3 and http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Toccatas-Chorale-Preludes-Fantasy/dp/B0000026HJ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7447194-1801748?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173401451&sr=1-1. You DO need to hear 32 (actually 33 Hz) to realize what it's like and to accurately direct your ears down there.

Larry

[TheEvan]

A big second on Larry's recommendation of the Janos Starker Bach Cello suites. A great recording and my favorite performance. Spiritual.

Some of it can be bombastic, but nothing beats 20th century French composers for house-shaking organ-blow. No specific CD to plug, though.

[TheEvan]

Hey, since we're talking Big and Low, consider Mahler's 3rd Symphony. Tons of big blatty low brass and a seriously Great piece of music...emphasis on the 'serious'. I like the Haitink/Concertgebow on DG, but I don't know the catalog...

Er, check that. Mine is the Chicago Symphony (who better for Big Low Brass?), James Levine conducting. It's a honey.

[meagain]

Wow - Nice response.

Larry - I'll check out your links. I have to somehow set my iMac up to listen to the Amazon snippets cuz for now, I can't. I suppose without a sub, I'll be missing some pipe organ info on the khorns, but it'll be better than nothing.

Ben - I have that Bjork CD. The first track is one of our test tunes. Actually, I'm going to listen to it now cuz I ramped up my bass today with some speaker wire Smilin lent me. (No one can tell me wire doesn't matter!). That bass on the beginning of Hunter? I need more of that, hence this thread.

[LarryC]

You shouldn't need a sub to hear 33 Hz if your K's are well sealed into the corners, and Craig's VRD's will make sure of it! I believe (don't know for sure) that PWK specifically designed the K's to go down to 33 (or, as he said, 32.7 cps, the true low C), for purposes of sounding the entire range of the organ down to 16-ft. rank of pipes. (I gather it does drop about 10 db below the 40 - 45level, so some won't be satisfied w/o a sub.) The Biggs Passacaglia in C Minor is a good test, since the opening is played with only single 16-ft. pipes ending on the one with the low 32.7 C -- very clear isolated tones, easy to hear what you can and can't! FYI, some other notes in that lowest octave from C on up are:

C 32.7

D 36.7

E 41.2 (the lowest note on the string bass unless it has an extended string)

F 43.7

G 49

A 55

B 61.7

C 65.4 (the lowest note on the cello)

Larry

[ben.]

Wow - Nice response.

Larry - I'll check out your links. I have to somehow set my iMac up to listen to the Amazon snippets cuz for now, I can't. I suppose without a sub, I'll be missing some pipe organ info on the khorns, but it'll be better than nothing.

Ben - I have that Bjork CD. The first track is one of our test tunes. Actually, I'm going to listen to it now cuz I ramped up my bass today with some speaker wire Smilin lent me. (No one can tell me wire doesn't matter!). That bass on the beginning of Hunter? I need more of that, hence this thread.

Right on. I'd recommend all of her stuff. Debut is less exceptional sonically, but I love it all. I saw her in support of Vespertine with Matmos, an orchestra, Inuit womens choir, and a throat singer from Tibet at the Hummingbird Center in Toronto. Amazing.

[LarryC]

Oops, forgot a great candidate: Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3, sometimes called the "Organ" symphony. Wonderful, attractive and vigorous work imo.

The recording I've always liked, and recommend here, is the energy-abundant Munch/Boston Symphony: http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Sa%C3%ABns-Symphony-Debussy-Ibert-Escales/dp/B000003FEG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7447194-1801748?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173416426&sr=8-1 . Munch has quite the ability to sweep everyone into a great accelerando at climactic points. The organ appears only in the 2nd and 4th movements; in the second, it descends to low D-flats, which is about 34 Hz. In the last movement, a final dramatic descending C-major scale hits the low 32.7 Hz right at the end. I know it's a very old recording, others have heard newer versions that they like and I haven't heard, but I am confident in that one. See also this review of various recordings: http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/review.asp?reviewnumber=10934927.

If it weren't so bright, I'd suggest the Paray recording on Mercury, which has been refined and reissued; it's energy is unbelievable. Unfortunately, I don't find it very listenable, and anyway, it doesn't seem to be available at Amazon, I wonder if it's been discontinued as a separate disc. It does seem to be available on this expensive CD album along with a number of other fine French works: http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6790063/a/Paul+Paray+conducts+Saint-Sa%EBns,+Chausson,+Bizet,+et+al.htm.

Larry

[maxg]

Another superb response or 2 from Larry covering all the bases. I am not sure the Dvorak Cello is superior to the Elgar although it is longer. The Du Pre is certainly the Elgar to have.

Interesting variants on the Cello concerto theme come from Boccherini and Haydn. Boccherini actually did 4 Cello concertos if memory serves and I can never remember which one I prefer. The Haydn one is all Classical and makes a nice alternative to the romantic period pieces.

For a more modern twist you might want to look at Schostakovich who did a very nice Cello Sonata and Lindgren's Cello concerto (although to be honest it is not really my thing). Avoid Tippet's - that truely is horrid IMHO.

As Larry says - for Organ music Toccata and Fugue is a must have.

Sadly I am hopeless with CD's so I think a browse of amazon is probably in order.

[jheis]

And now, for something completely different - let me recommend just about anything by the Kronos Quartet (except, maybe "Black Angels".)

The Kronos string quartet hits on everything from Classical to Jazz to Tangos. Worth a listen!

The quartet adds Ron Carter on bass for their "Monk Suite" recording. "Five Tango Sensations" features Astor Piazzolla . Then, of course, the "In Formation" CD includes "The Funky Chicken" recorded at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco! Sweet.

James

[meagain]

A bit overwhelmed by the many suggestions. I'm going to be placing an Amazon order today so I'll try to narrow it down. We have just a smattering of classical here. I LOVE classical music and always wanted to get into it more but everytime I do, I find it ridiculously complicated and end up backing off cuz I never know what to get.

I bought Nils Lofgren 'Acoustic Live" ONLY because I heard a piece at Smilin's and wanted to hear how it sounds here. It sounds GREAT, but not our cup of tea. Would prefer just the guitar with no vocal. Need stuff like that. Maybe killer piano also. Going to dig around the "great sounding recordings" threads. I'm looking for something one would play to demonstrate/show off Khorns and a great system to friends who've never experienced it. That type of thing. The handful of stuff one would play for that. Most of our CDs are old and I think we've been missing the boat on sound quality.

[ben.]

I'd suggest just picking a few classical pieces. Live with them and listen for a while. A few listens are not adequate to appreciate the depth of expression found in the best of "classical" repetoire. Reflect on what moves about the music as well as the sonics. Come back and post about it - Larry, Max and a few others are very good at making suggestions from there.

Of course, you realize it would be easier if you had a record player, right? heh...

[Mike Lindsey]

If you are just starting out in classical (like me), I can strongly recommend the Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3. You will really like this alot and it will get you started on your way to being a lover of classical music. This is a good one here with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra:

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Sa%C3%ABns-Symphony-No-Camille-Saint-Saens/dp/B000003CSK/ref=pd_bbs_5/103-1895871-6381446?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173459257&sr=8-5

Another great one to own is Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade by Fritz Reiner, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra:

http://www.amazon.com/Rimsky-Korsakov-Scheherazade-orchestra-Stravinsky-Nightingale/dp/B000003FWQ/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-1895871-6381446?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1173459461&sr=8-4

Start with these 2, and they will have you wanting more.

Mike