(Nope, not one oboe to be found … or heard. But I really enjoyed this!)
Stile Antico
How to Transpose an English Horn to an Oboe
Disclaimer: Yes, I received this download for free and yes, it’s a perk of owning this blog.*
I’m not a reviewer. Not even close. I don’t hear the way a good reviewer hears — or at least I don’t believe I do — and I don’t use all those adjectives they like to use either. (I don’t have an “adjective card file” like I think some of them must have!) But if I hear something I like I like to let you know. In case you want to like it too. So I’m starting “(p)Reviews™” here … some will be of things that are already out, but some will be soon to be coming out recordings, thus the (p) … or maybe I just like the way that looks. You choose.
I’m currently listening to Cecilia Bartoli’s CD Sospiri which came out early this month. It’s incredibly lovely. The orchestra sounds fabulous. She sounds fabulous.
And it makes me wish I had a better voice. But oh well!
I’m in love with Handel’s “Lascia la spina cogli la rosa”. You should be too.
It’s an incredible work. (The above isn’t from the recording, but just what I was able to find on YouTube.) But, really, everything on the album appeals to me. Especially in my mood at the moment. If I read correctly, “Sospiri” means “sighs”. And I’m sort of in that kind of mood right now. Go figure.
Now below this is “Lascia ch’io pianga” … and since I know so little about vocal music I puzzle over this; it is the same tune as “Lascia la spina cogli la rosa” … so who out there can explain this to me? And she sings the words “Lascia la spina cogli la rosa” in both. Hmm. I’m puzzled. (Yeah, I should just google the darn thing, but I have work to do here!) Maybe it’s just that one is just a portion of the other? But they are both about the same length. Hmmm and double hmmm.
Here’s the official video about the release. It’s a bit much for me. I’m really not into all this sort of theatrical stuff they’ve got going on. (Go figure #2, eh?) Do we really need all this extra “stuff” to make this beautiful music appeal to us? I don’t think so.
There are a few moments when I do think, “Hmmm. Self-indulgent?” But what do I know? I’m only an oboe player! 🙂
*Yes. For free. We are supposed to make this clear here in BlogLand™ according to the FCC. Why reviewers who get free tickets to performances they attend don’t have to state that in their reviews in papers seems weird to weird old me. We, who aren’t doing this as a job have to state “Hey, I got this for free!” Why don’t they have to state that, I wonder?
I found this nearly understandable.
Well, okay, maybe not all that understandable for this old brain … but closer than I’ve gotten before. And since I’m interested in how our ears work these days (or in how my left ear doesn’t quite work right any longer) it was a good find.
Now if only someone could find a way to cure this tinnitus and hearing loss my left ear has suffered. (Whine, whine, whine!)
In case you are wondering if the video is perfect, it has one error from what I read at the actually YouTube page. So I’ll share that with little conversation with you (
Comment: Awesome video, very well explained! But there is an error. The video showed nerve impulses firing? from the 3 rows of outer hair cells in the organ of corti. Action potentials are only transmitted to the second order neurons synapsing with the INNER hair cells. Still a great video though
Reply from the maker of the video: You are absolutely right – a very good observation. Of the literally hunderds of viewers’ feedback I’ve gotten, you are only the? second person to notice.
So now you know even more than you knew before.
Unless, of course, you already knew all of this.
[name here] is frantic!!! My baby needs to see an oboe doctor tomorrow, he is really unwell and not playing Es and Fs very well!!! It always happens when i have a rehearsal tomorrow night for a concert on Saturday… Crap!!!
Another Masterclass video for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. These can be helpful to many, not just the YouTube auditionees.
… and what kind of oboe is this, please?
Earlier posts:
Diana Doherty (Tchaik 4)
Two takes on the Mozart Oboe Concerto
Diana Doherty (oboe: Rossini & Strauss)
Christine Pendril (English horn: Dvorak)
Just successfully made three oboe reed blanks. Hopefully they’ll materialize into reeds before my lesson tomorrow…
Most people never get to go inside a recording studio. I rarely do studio work myself, but some of my colleagues do quite a bit up at Skywalker Ranch. The one and only time I was there was to do the recording for Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème. It was great fun, but still a bit stressful; you don’t want to be the one to make a blunder that stops things!
Skywalker Ranch was incredible. I’ve been in a few other studios that weren’t nearly so grand. But oh how grand they all can make us sound! It’s pretty amazing, really.
I’ve just located this YouTube Channel that will take you into a recording studio in the UK. I thought some readers might find it interesting. Below is a sample video. (And yes, that’s how we state string numbers 10-10-8-6-4 — this is the order: violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, bass.)
