Felicity (1978)

Raymond Leppard, English Chamber Orchestra - Handel Edition Vol. 4: Messiah; Samson; Arias [6CDs] (2008)

Raymond Leppard, English Chamber Orchestra - Handel Edition Vol. 4: Messiah; Samson; Arias from Rinaldo and other operas (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 2.06 Gb | Total time: 7h 30'33'' | Scans included
Classical | Label: Warner Classics | 2564 69568-6 | Recorded: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1994

The performance here of Samson is definitive. It is lively, colourful and highly dramatic. There is no comparison with the tedious performance by the Sixteen on Coro. The performance of the Messiah with limited modern instrumental forces of the English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus with very good soloists doesn't sacrifice grandeur nor does it go to the other extreme of over-blown pomp. It is a very good performamce on modern instruments under the direction of the Baroque music specialist conductor Raymond Leppard.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus musicus Wien - Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1996)

Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus musicus Wien - Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1996)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 212 Mb | Total time: 49:32 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Teldec | # 0630-12319-2 | Recorded: 1977

This is one of Handel's most inspired and invigorating works. Relatively short (50 minutes), it is an ode to music itself, with arias and choruses in praise of the attributes of various instruments, from the "trumpet's loud clangor" to the "soft complaining flute", of course featuring solos for those players. It also has one of Handel's most rousing final choruses, depicting the end of the world, when "music shall untune the sky".
George Guest, St John's College Choir, Roger Norrington, Schütz Choir - Pergolesi, D.Scarlatti, Bononcini: Stabat Mater (1995)

George Guest, St John's College Choir, Roger Norrington, Schütz Choir - Pergolesi, D. Scarlatti, A. Bononcini: Stabat Mater (1995)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 645 Mb | Total time: 141:57 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 443 868-2 | Recorded: 1966, 1973, 1977, 1978

This anthology of devotional music from 18th-century Venice and Naples offers an interesting and varied programme. Best known is Pergolesi’s Stabat mater, but the settings by Domenico Scarlatti and Bononcini stand well in comparison. The motets by Lotti, Caldara and Alessandro Scarlatti are real discoveries; Norrington’s performances of the latter are particularly fine. Guest’s Pergolesi suffers from a focus of sound which makes the interpretation seem somewhat generalised. However, all these performances give pleasure, while the music is melodically fresh and rhythmically vital.

Michel Corboz - Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (1978/2022)  Music

Posted by Fizzpop at June 24, 2022
Michel Corboz - Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (1978/2022)

Michel Corboz - Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (1978/2022)
WEB FLAC (Tracks) 501 MB | Cover | 02:02:07 | MP3 CBR 320 kbps | 288 MB
Classical | Label: Warner Classics

One of the most beautiful recordings of the St. John Passion.
Bach’s sacred music was a constant preoccupation for Michel Corboz, who recorded the main works of the Leipzig Kantor throughout his career: masses (no less than three times for the one in B minor!), cantatas, and of course oratorios including the Passions. The St. John Passion from 1977 with his fellow Lausanne ensembles feature some of the most brilliant soloists such as the inimitable Evangelist of tenor Kurt Equiluz, Felicity Palmer or Philippe Huttenlocher.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Handel: Saul, Alexander’s Feast, Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, Te Deum, Apollo e Dafne, Giulio Cesare (2008)

Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Vienna - Handel: Saul, Alexander’s Feast, Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, 'Utrecht' Te Deum, Apollo e Dafne, Giulio Cesare (highlights) [6CDs] (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 1.55 Gb | Total time: 06:31:38 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Warner Classics | # 2564 69567-7 | Recorded: 1978, 84, 86, 88, 90

This is the sixth set in this comprehensive and excellent Handel edition from Warner. This volume deals with an important oratorio in the shape of "Saul" as well as the "Utrecht Te Deum" and the famous "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" and "Alexander's Feast", another splendid cantata. The recordings date from the early 1970's to 1990 and come from the prolific Teldec stable under the indefatigable Nikolaus Harnoncourt who conducts in his exemplary no nonsense fashion. "Saul' is a fine interpretation although I still feel that John Eliot Gardiner comes to the core of the work better. "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day' is also given a pomp and circumstance treatment whilst the Utrecht Te Deum is winningly done. The team of soloists is also very good and the recordings are fine and well balanced in proper Teldec tradition.

Felicity  Movies

Posted by at June 10, 2023
Felicity

Felicity (1978)
Young Felicity lives in a monastic school. The only way to live out her sexual fantasies is together with her girlfriend Jenny. But then she receives an invitation to her sister in Hong-Kong and can't wait to finally do the real thing.
Drama  Romance 
Trevor Pinnock & The English Concert - Complete Recordings on Archiv Produktion [99CD Box Set] (2023)

Trevor Pinnock & The English Concert - Complete Recordings on Archiv Produktion [99CD Box Set] (2023)
MP3 320 Kbps | Run Time: 96 hours 16 minutes 32 seconds | 14.4 GB
Genre: Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon

On 100 discs (99 CD & 1 DVD), this box presents the complete oeuvre of Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert on Archiv Produktion. Purcell, Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, Haydn and Mozart are the focus of the repertoire. Numerous recordings such as the Brandenburg Concertos, Corelli's Concerti Grossi or the symphonies of William Boyce are among the milestones of recording history. A Bach album from the ensemble's early days is released for the first time on CD, as well as the never-published Dead March from Handel's "Saul". A 184-page booklet with essays by Trevor Pinnock and Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, the director of the Royal Academy of Music, as well as numerous photos and documents complete the extensive portrait.

The Night, the Prowler  Movies

Posted by at May 17, 2022
The Night, the Prowler

The Night, the Prowler (1978)
Felicity Bannister is a young woman living in the shadow of her overpowering mother. Her oppression is her worst enemy until the day she is attacked by an intruder who breaks into her bedroom and forces Felicity into action. The tables are suddenly turned and Felicity transforms from the helpless victim into a ruthless renegade in search of trouble, driven by the anarchic thrill of malevolence.
Drama  Comedy 
Gustav Mahler - The Complete Works (150th Anniversary Box) (2010)

Gustav Mahler - The Complete Works (150th Anniversary Box) (2010)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks, cue, log, scans) - 4.5 GB
19:00:40 | Classical | Label: EMI

For Gustav Mahler's 150th birthday, EMI has assembled a 16-disc box set of his complete works, including not only the ten symphonies, Das Lied von der Erde, and the song cycles, but also the early cantata, Das klagende Lied, and the extant movement from the Piano Quartet in A minor, two works which arguably can be called Mahler rarities. Having all these pieces together in one large collection is undeniably a great convenience, and many will consider buying this set not only for that reason, but also for the historic nature of the recordings. The roster of conductors features such legends as Sir John Barbirolli, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, George Szell, and Jascha Horenstein, along with later Mahlerians, Klaus Tennstedt, Sir Simon Rattle, and Carlo Maria Giulini, all of whom left remarkable recordings that still are essential listening.
Ensemble MidtVest - Vagn Holmboe: Chamber Music, Vol. 1:  Primavera; 'Gioco'; Sonata per flauto solo; Ballata; Quartetto (2011)

Ensemble MidtVest - Vagn Holmboe: Chamber Music (I) (2011)
Primavera; "Gioco"; Sonata per flauto solo; Ballata; Quartetto

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 288 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Dacapo Records | # 8.226073 | Time: 01:12:21

This recording marks the beginning of a new series devoted to previously unrecorded chamber works by the Danish composer Vagn Holmboe (1909-96). The music was written from the 1950s to the 1980s and ranges wide, all the way from the playful to the serious. Holmboe's inexhaustible wealth of ideas and his mixture of lightness and ingenuity run through all the works. As does his 'metamorphosis' technique, which makes the music breathe and grow like the Nordic landscape of which Holmboe felt himself to be a part.