Johann Sebastian Bach: Variations Goldberg (Blandine Verlet)
Review
Auvidis/Astree has been releasing at mid-price some of their excellent catalog items. One such recording is Blandine Verlet's version of Bach's Goldberg Variations, recorded in 1993.
One thing about the reissue I admire is the fine packaging and full booklet notes. There's even a cover which you can keep or discard depending on how cramped you are for space.
Verlet's performance is very good, although I did have a few problems with it. The inital aria sounds like Verlet had to catch a fast moving train, but she couldn't run at a consistent pace - too fussy. Things improve thereafter. Her subsequent speeds are moderate, even a little slow at times. I do wish she had done a better job with the flow of the work, and I didn't care for some of her note emphasis decisions. There were many times when I wanted a strong emphasis on a particular note, and Verlet didn't provide it. I thought she knew what I wanted.
Anything good to say? Well, I'm nitpicking quite a bit. I'm using Hantai, Tipo, Rousset, and a few others as references. That's tough competition. The Astree recording is excellent, but not in any way possessing subtlety. That's probably good since Verlet possesses none either, except in the final "repeat" where she takes a 360 degree turn and provides all the subtlety you could want. She sounded like Tureck at that point - that's good.
I think I may have become too particular concerning this work. That's the danger of intimate familiarlarity and purchase of many versions - standards get somewhat unreasonable.
Overall, I think the Verlet, at mid-price, is an excellent choice for those with at least a few versions, even though I've been taking some jabs at it. I'll likely keep Verlet in my cd-rom for a few weeks. I've been finding that playing a particular disc continuously for some weeks while at the computer yields an interesting result: no matter what I initially thought of the music, I eventually am converted. This just happened with the Le Roux harpsichord disc on Harmonia Mundi. My initial reaction was, "why would anyone want to perform this guy's music?" Now, after dozens of listenings, I think it's great stuff.
Auvidis/Astree has been releasing at mid-price some of their excellent catalog items. One such recording is Blandine Verlet's version of Bach's Goldberg Variations, recorded in 1993.
One thing about the reissue I admire is the fine packaging and full booklet notes. There's even a cover which you can keep or discard depending on how cramped you are for space.
Verlet's performance is very good, although I did have a few problems with it. The inital aria sounds like Verlet had to catch a fast moving train, but she couldn't run at a consistent pace - too fussy. Things improve thereafter. Her subsequent speeds are moderate, even a little slow at times. I do wish she had done a better job with the flow of the work, and I didn't care for some of her note emphasis decisions. There were many times when I wanted a strong emphasis on a particular note, and Verlet didn't provide it. I thought she knew what I wanted.
Anything good to say? Well, I'm nitpicking quite a bit. I'm using Hantai, Tipo, Rousset, and a few others as references. That's tough competition. The Astree recording is excellent, but not in any way possessing subtlety. That's probably good since Verlet possesses none either, except in the final "repeat" where she takes a 360 degree turn and provides all the subtlety you could want. She sounded like Tureck at that point - that's good.
I think I may have become too particular concerning this work. That's the danger of intimate familiarlarity and purchase of many versions - standards get somewhat unreasonable.
Overall, I think the Verlet, at mid-price, is an excellent choice for those with at least a few versions, even though I've been taking some jabs at it. I'll likely keep Verlet in my cd-rom for a few weeks. I've been finding that playing a particular disc continuously for some weeks while at the computer yields an interesting result: no matter what I initially thought of the music, I eventually am converted. This just happened with the Le Roux harpsichord disc on Harmonia Mundi. My initial reaction was, "why would anyone want to perform this guy's music?" Now, after dozens of listenings, I think it's great stuff.
Donald Satz (June 30, 1999)
3 comments:
Originally posted by Marcelproust in Feb 2008, all credits to him.
PW: iceshoweronfire
http://narod.ru/disk/64194386001.785c1584fe3ff57dc535b98d4c4378d7/JSB.VG.BV.rar
http://www.embedupload.com/?d=2HNPBPYGJX
Happy listening!
I like to listen Blandine Verlet from time to time, there is something appealing in her 'drive', and have her CDs in the attic, but not this one. Thank you very much for this share!
You are welcome!
...and I forgot:
other Bach CDs of her
6 Partitas for Harpsichord BWV 825-830
http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3151826
The Well-Tempered Clavier BWV 846-869
http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3133404
Inventions & Sinfonias BWV 772-801
http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2550604
Post a Comment