Vox Humana Posted May 31, 2008 Author Share Posted May 31, 2008 Even further! A similar complaint about the lack of standards in singing was made towards the end of the eighteenth century! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handsoff Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I hope that no-one will will mind this thread being resurrected. I wasn't, I really wasn't going to buy the Westminster Cathedral recording of the Vierne and Widor Messes but it was such a bargain (£6.99) on Ebay.....The singing is, as already agreed here, much better than the French recordings I have and the organ is as beautiful as always. However.....and this is just a personal thing.....an indefinable something is missing. Maybe it's just too good? I can't criticise anything about the performance or recording but it just doesn't have the atmosphere of the Cochereau - which maybe was, as pcnd suggested, fed on a small scotch. I've not yet had time to listen to the rest of disc but am really looking forward to tracks 6 onward. I've just played the Widor Messe - now that is stunning - quite the best recording (or live performance) I have ever heard; and as for Tu es Petrus and Surrexit a Mortuis...well! Perhaps we should have a "Fantasy Messe Solennelle" thread. Select your choir, venue and organists. Mine; St John's Cambridge from the time of George Guest, Sacré-Coeur, Pierre Cochereau (after a tot) on the Grande-Orgues and Daniel Roth on the Orgue de Choeur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolsey Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 I hope that no-one will will mind this thread being resurrected. I wasn't, I really wasn't going to buy the Westminster Cathedral recording of the Vierne and Widor Messes but it was such a bargain (£6.99) on Ebay.....The singing is, as already agreed here, much better than the French recordings I have and the organ is as beautiful as always. [snip] Perhaps we should have a "Fantasy Messe Solennelle" thread. Select your choir, venue and organists. Mine; St John's Cambridge from the time of George Guest [...] To the best of my knowledge, George Guest didn't record Vierne's Messe Solennelle. He did though record Langlais' Messe Solennelle in 1969, with Stephen Cleobury at the organ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handsoff Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Apologies if I didn't make myself clear. My idea was a bit of fun based on a fantasy Messe Solennelle using the performers and venue we should most like to hear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolsey Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 My idea was a bit of fun based on a fantasy Messe Solennelle using the performers and venue we should most like to hear... In which case, yes. John's/George Guest should certainly be there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWV651 Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I found a few comments on this forum praising the Vierne and some friendstook part in it or the Langlais the other year, so it's been on my explore list and I picked up the Gloucester recording in the librabry this morning. Only 1 listen so far, but some stunning moments. Thanks to all for mentioning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
french amateur Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Well, about the Vierne mass recordings...From the discs I have, I can say that although the Westminster recording is musically perfect, it's perhaps not enough "powerfull" or "violent" ? (sorry, i can't find the proper adjective to describe my opinion right now...). And I think, as ACC said, that the Bouvard/Les éléments version at St Sernin is one of the best. Even if I have huge critics about the organ at that time (just after restoration... It really wasn't great, but time, dust and voicing corrections improved this). It was released by Tempéraments in 1996, and can be found on Toulouse les Orgues festival website, I think with lots of other good recordings (Duruflé, Boëly, Mirepoix organ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcnd5584 Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Perhaps we should have a "Fantasy Messe Solennelle" thread. Select your choir, venue and organists. Mine; St John's Cambridge from the time of George Guest, Sacré-Coeur, Pierre Cochereau (after a tot) on the Grande-Orgues and Daniel Roth on the Orgue de Choeur. Now this is an interesting idea. Mine would be the choir of Saint John's College, Cambridge - under Christopher Robinson (less obvious treble vibrato, for a start), at Nôtre-Dame de Paris (prior to 1980)*, with Pierre Cochereau (after the entire bottle, I believe) at the Grandes Orgues and Yves Castagnet on the Orgue-du-Choeur. (Without wishing to offend M. Castagnet, who actually holds the position of Titulaire at this instrument), it seems a bit of a waste of M. Roth's talent.) This said, M. Castagnet is also a formidably gifted player (c.f. his recording of some of the organ works of Marcel Dupré, from S. Ouen, Rouen). * For me, Sacré-Coeur lacks the éclat and sheer full-blooded sound of the awesome tutti of the Cavaillé-Coll/ Hermann/Boisseau, of this vintage, at Nôtre-Dame de Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeChap Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Get your page-turner to play the long high triads at the beginning of the Sanctus - it makes all the difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Bit late now. But in any case I couldn't rely on my page turner to pull stops, let alone play chords - she's not a norgnist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acc Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Carr Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 ...a more recent Dupré recording at Notre-Dame is still available... Truely stunningly musical playing, the 2nd Symphony really 'makes sense' in his hands (and feet!) It's one of the finest Dupré recordings available IMHO The ND organ has been captured well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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