Major Field Test

As the pre-eminent forerunners to Chopin’s works in the same genres, the Nocturnes of John Field have few rivals for music well known by history but so seldom heard. They were largely inspired by the slow movements of Classical concertos, Mozart above all, as well as opera arias. From them, Field evolved his own firm concept of a form with rich harmonies and gentle dynamics to suggest the night and dreaming, though in fact he began by giving these pieces traditional names such as Pastorale, Serenade and "Romance. He wrote the 18 works not as a set, but over the course of 15 years, rarely completing more than one and never more than three in a single year. Liszt observed in them ‘The total absence of everything that looks to effect'.

Les compositions de FIELD sont consacrées au piano et préfigure 30 ans après le choix ultérieur de CHOPIN de se consacrer à cet instrument. Les oeuvres de l'Irlandais reflètent fidèlement les principales caractéristiques de son jeu, Spohr, Hummel, Glinka et Liszt témoignèrent de sa délicatesse et de sa vitesse perlée, de son jeu langoureux et apaisant qui remplaçait la vacuité d'une virtuosité à la mode.

This is the best version I have come across. John Field is a forgotten composer who deserves to be listened to. He was the first to exploit the full tonal qualities of the pianoforte and introduced European "classical" music to Russia. He taught Glinka and is regarded by some as the father of Russian music.

Recently there seems to be an increasing interest in the music of Johann Michael Haydn. For a long time he was only mentioned as being the younger brother of Franz Joseph, and a good friend of Mozart, but his music was almost completely ignored. From time to time a record with sacred music or chamber music was released, but he was't appearing on concert programmes and in the record catalogue frequently. 2006 was the bicentennial of his death, and this apparently led to a number of new recordings with his music. One must hope this isn't a temporary wave, but the beginning of a thorough and serious exploration of his oeuvre.

The first volume of this series (Naxos 8.550761) mixed the first two sonatas of Field's Op. 1 with the first nine Nocturnes. The Sonata Op. 1 No. 3 in C minor logically appears on this second volume, in a most successful performance. Dedicated to Clementi, the first movement shows distinct tendencies towards 'Sturm und Drang'. Neither movement is fast: the concluding Rondo (marked Allegretto scherzando) is bursting with wit and charm to balance the stress of the first. This piece alone justifies the modest outlay for this disc. The remaining tracks, the next nine Nocturnes in the series, demonstrate Frith's sensitivity. Importantly, he shows a laudable restraint with the sustaining pedal. His sweet cantabile is the result of an acute musical sensitivity, and he never overblows the scale of these miniatures.

Jenny Scheinman - Crossing The Field (2008) {Koch Records KOC-CD-4590}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 339 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2008 Koch Records / Jenny Scheinman | KOC-CD-4590
Jazz / Modern Creative / Avant-Garde / Modal Music / Violin

Violinist Jenny Scheinman's instrumental companion recording to her eponymously titled vocal-emphasized effort of the same time period in 2008 is both an opposite reaction to pop styles and an extension of orchestral music with modern-day twists and turns. It reflects her time working with electric guitarist Bill Frisell, who appears on this date, and also gives a bigger picture of her classical influences via a huge string ensemble, while hinting at the modern creative jazz where her violin voicings take a firmer grip at the core.

Even if one always has doubts about Simon Rattle conducting Mahler - doubts about his sincerity and his seriousness - even if one has always questioned his radically wrong tempos in the Second and Fourth and his amazingly uncomprehending interpretations of the Sixth and Seventh - one has to admit that Rattle has over time gradually been getting better at recording Mahler.