Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players, National Forum of Music Choir - Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, 1801 (2017)
Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players, National Forum of Music Choir - Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, 1801 (2017)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 520 Mb | Total time: 133:08 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Signum Classics | # SIGCD480 | Recorded: 2017
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 520 Mb | Total time: 133:08 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Signum Classics | # SIGCD480 | Recorded: 2017
Partisans of the one-voice-per-part approach don't like to talk about it, but many early performances of Haydn's oratorios, and of the Handel performances in England that inspired him, included hundreds of musicians. They could be performed by smaller groups, but clearly when Haydn wanted all cylinders firing, this is what he had in mind. Historical performances that observe this precedent for The Creation exist, but this seems to be the first such performance of Haydn's second oratorio, The Seasons. Conductor Paul McCreesh, leading a massed group encompassing the Poland's National Forum of Music Choir, the Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra, and the Gabrieli Consort & Players, makes other tweaks as well. He has re-edited the text: billed as a new translation, it's actually a smoothing-out of Baron Gottfried van Swieten's English rendering of his own German translation of James Thomson's English original. This is justified: Haydn wanted the work to be heard in both languages, and van Swieten's English version is awkward (his English was poor). Further, McCreesh cuts the accompaniment for the solo numbers down to a small group, with a fortepiano continuo in the recitatives. There's no sign of this in the score, but in a work that's already fluid in size, it's a defensible choice, and the musical results are convincing. The biggest kick of this performance lies not in the details, but in the way the historical instruments combine with the large forces to produce a truly mighty sound. Sample the hunt chorus with its blazing historical trombones and a choir (singing pretty clear English) that's being made to stand up to them. Throughout, the performance strips away a layer of what we think of as classical restraint and gives the work tremendous impact. This goes too for the soloists, who, soprano Carolyn Sampson above all, are ideal for the work. The engineering work, in the new Wroclaw National Forum of Music hall, is first-rate. Highly recommended, even revelatory Haydn.–James Manheim
Performer:
Carolyn Sampson, soprano
Jeremy Ovenden, tenor
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass
National Forum of Music Choir
Wrocław Baroque Orchestra
Gabrieli Consort & Players
Paul McCreesh, conductor
Tracklist:
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
The Seasons, 1801
CD1:
Spring
01. Introduction & Accompagnato: See Winter, Stern and Gloomy, Flees
02. Chorus: Come, gentle Spring!
03. Recitative: From Aries Shines the Bright’ning Sun
04. Song: With Eagerness the Countryman Sets Forth
05. Recitative: The Countryman has Paid his Dues
06. Chorus with Solos: Heav’n be gracious, Heav’n be Bounteous
07. Introduction & Accompagnato: Our fervent pray’rs are heard
08. Duet: O what charming sights delight us
Summer
09. Introduction & Accompagnato: In darkness shrouded
10. Song: The wakeful herdsman
11. Chorus with Solos: Behold the Sun!
12. Recitative: The village lads and lasses
13. Cavatina: Exhausted Nature, fainting, sinks
14. Accompagnato: How welcome now, ye shady groves!
15. Song: How refreshing to the senses
16. Recitative & Accompagnato: Behold, arising through the sultry air
17. Chorus with Solos: Ah! The storm approaches near!
CD2:
Autumn
01. Introduction, Accompagnato & Recitative: That which Spring has promis'd
02. Trio & Chorus with Solos: Thus Nature rewards our toil!
03. Recitative: See how a bunch of eager lads
04. Duet: Fine ladies of the town
05. Recitative: On ravag'd hills
06. Song: See lo on yonder open field
07. Recitative & Accompagnato: A tight'ning circle of hunters
08. Chorus: Hark, hear the sounds of the chase
09. Recitative: On vines, the grapes are glistening
10. Chorus: Drink up, drink up, the wine is here!
Winter
11. Introduction & Accompagnato: The jaded year now fades away
12. Cavatina: Light and life are enfeebl'd
13. Recitative & Accompagnato: The lake lies lock'd in frosty grip
14. Song: The sand'rer stands perplex'd
15. Recitative & Accompagnato: And drawing near the welcome sight
16. Song with Chorus: Whirring, whirring, whirring!
17. Recitative: Now the flax has all been spun
18. Song with Chorus: A noble squire, of great renown
19. Recitative: And from the east there blows an icy blast
20. Song & Accompagnato: Consider then, misguided man
21. Double Chorus with Solos: Then dawns that morn so glorious
Exact Audio Copy V1.3 from 2. September 2016
EAC extraction logfile from 7. August 2017, 22:38
National Forum of Music Choir, Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra, Paul McCreesh / Haydn - The Seasons 1801 - CD1
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Exact Audio Copy V1.3 from 2. September 2016
EAC extraction logfile from 8. August 2017, 0:36
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Used drive : PLDS DVD-RW DU8A6SH Adapter: 1 ID: 0
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Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
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Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
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Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players, National Forum of Music Choir - Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, 1801 (2017)
Thanks to the original releaser