# Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Set



## jhar26

One box set, 50cd's at the price of about one English pound per disc. All baroque and ancient music. Both lesser known works (for me anyway) and classics such as Viv's "Four Seasons and Bach's "Mass in B Minor" are included. Yesterday I listened to disc two with oboe concertos from Bach. I liked it (or 'I Got It' or whatever ) very much.


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## SPR

jhar26 said:


> [ I liked it (or 'I Got It' or whatever ) very much.


 funny.


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## Elgarian

On the face of it, this is an even more astonishing bargain than the _200 years of music at Versailles_ set: 50 years, and 50 CDs of Baroque-ish music, costing less than £1 per disc.

I'm a complete novice in this area. For far too long I've assumed that I was mostly inclined to late Romanticism, with a preference for English music, but that particular image of my own musical tastes has been blown out of the water by recent discoveries. It'll obviously take years to come to terms with all this music.

I've listened to the first 3 CDs so far, with very mixed results.

The first one (Durante's _Magnificat_, D'Astorga's _Stabat Mater_, and Pergolesi's _Confitibor tibi Domine_) knocked my socks off - most particularly, the Durante. I have never even heard of this fellow, yet he writes music like this: he must have had a pipeline to Heaven. This is the kind of music that gives my agnosticism a good shaking; it has what I can only describe as a _spiritual_ quality, over and above the sheer beauty of it. Only about 12 minutes altogether, but my goodness what an ethereal 12 minutes they are. How to describe it... I'm groping for words, but this music makes me feel blessed. If I have less to say about the D'Astorga and the Pergolesi, that's because they made slightly less initial impact and I've only listened once, compared to three listenings to the Durante. But I can tell that this CD is packed with treasure, and I think I'm going to love it, long and deep.

Breathless, I moved on to the second CD, heart in mouth. I have never been much of a Bach fan. The jangling contrapuntal character of his music starts to make me uncomfortable after 20 minutes or so, but I'm getting used to musical miracles, so I was optimistic. And in truth, this collection of oboe concertos on CD2 was pretty pleasant, on the whole. I'm probably upsetting devoted Bachists by such a bland comment, but in fact, rising to the heights of a merely bland response represents something of a triumph, for me, with Bach.

Unfortunately my optimism was shattered by CD 3 - the Goldberg Variations. The problem here is physiological. The sound of a solo harpsichord makes me feel as if my fillings might fall out. As far as I was concerned, this might just as well have been a set of variations for pneumatic drill. I hadn't a hope of getting anywhere with this. After 20 minutes I could bear it no longer, and switched it off. (I have no idea how to get past this, and suspect I can't. On top of the unpleasantness of the sound, there's that mechanical, almost insectile character to the rhythm of it that makes it seem very alien and inhuman, so the music itself is completely unapproachable.)

So it's a mixed bag. One CD that raises me to the heights; one that I can take or leave; and one that I'd very much prefer to leave. I think this is going to be a bumpy ride.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I liked it (or 'I Got It' or whatever ) very much.


I like a man who knows his own mind and sticks to his guns. Me, I come perilously close to drowning in my own waffle.


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## jhar26

I cut my listening to Bach's oboe concertos in two halves. I played two, then listened to a Mozart symphony (No.25) and then I got back to Bach for the other two concertos. I like the Bach oboe concertos very much but four of them in a row is a bit too much of a (very) good thing. It's so far the only disc I've heard. I already had two of these concertos on a Trevor Pinnock set with the English Concert, and the Pinnock set sounds even a bit better to me. Even so - I'd give the Camerata Koln recording a score of 8/10.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I played two, then listened to a Mozart symphony (No.25) and then I got back to Bach for the other two concertos. I like the Bach oboe concertos very much but four of them in a row is a bit too much of a (very) good thing.


That sounds a lot more sensible than my 'I'll get to the end if it kills me' approach. If I'd listened to just a couple, I think I'd have come away with a happier memory of the exercise. I'll remember that next time.

I wish you'd listen to CD1 - I'd love to know what you think about it. But maybe you know that stuff already?


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> I like a man who knows his own mind and sticks to his guns. Me, I come perilously close to drowning in my own waffle.


Well, I for one admire your writing skills very much. I seek out your posts because you always have something interesting to say.


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## SPR

the goldberg variations can be challenging. I do not have this set (yet... your description of the first CD is *excatly* the sort of musical drug I get addicted to when hearing a new piece that knocks your socks off....) but I do have Glenn Goulds (remastered 1955) version of this. I think it would be more difficult to listen to it on harpsichord.

Im going to monitor this thread for more feedback from that set.... ever since I heard Telemanns Taffelmusik, I have been snooping around this sort of thing quite a bit.


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> I wish you'd listen to CD1 - I'd love to know what you think about it. But maybe you know that stuff already?


No - I don't. In fact, except for Pergolesi I don't even know the composers. I'll listen to that one next. I hope I'll get over there not being any texts with the booklet.


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## jhar26

SPR said:


> Im going to monitor this thread for more feedback from that set.... ever since I heard Telemanns Taffelmusik, I have been snooping around this sort of thing quite a bit.


Well, you have to take into consideration that this set is so cheap that it's almost absurd. So even in the unlikely event that you would only like half of the discs it would still be a bargain.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I seek out your posts because you always have something interesting to say.


You're too kind. I take some comfort from Ruskin's comment: "I am never satisfied that I have handled a subject properly till I have contradicted myself at least 3 times."


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> Well, you have to take into consideration that this set is so cheap that it's almost absurd. So even in the unlikely event that you would only like half of the discs it would still be a bargain.


Heck, the first 12 minutes of the first disc _alone_ is worth 50 quid.


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## Elgarian

Blimey!

I just typed 'Durante' into Amazon and came up with a bunch of mp3 samples from _Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae_ . And I'm just sitting here astounded by what I'm hearing, full of longing, tears welling up. What's going on here?! This composer figures neither in the Gramophone nor the Penguin guides....

There must be something about the kind of tunes he writes, or of the harmonies he makes, that touches all my buttons.


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## SPR

yes... when I got the Mozart set is was $110 US. I see there is one there now ...today...for $104.

That comes out to about 0.61 cents per disk. It really is insane.


alas... so much music... so little time.....


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> Blimey!
> 
> I just typed 'Durante' into Amazon and came up with a bunch of mp3 samples from _Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae_ . And I'm just sitting here astounded by what I'm hearing, full of longing, tears welling up. What's going on here?! This composer figures neither in the Gramophone nor the Penguin guides....
> 
> There must be something about the kind of tunes he writes, or of the harmonies he makes, that touches all my buttons.


I'm listening as I write. Very beautiful indeed.


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## jhar26

SPR said:


> the goldberg variations can be challenging. I do not have this set (yet... your description of the first CD is *excatly* the sort of musical drug I get addicted to when hearing a new piece that knocks your socks off....) but I do have Glenn Goulds (remastered 1955) version of this. I think it would be more difficult to listen to it on harpsichord.


Probably. I love Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" on piano, but I doubt if I would feel the same way if I heard it on harpsichord. Maybe I would enjoy it now in small doses because I'm already familiar with the music.


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## Elgarian

Elgarian said:


> Heck, the first 12 minutes of the first disc _alone_ is worth 50 quid.


It seems I wasn't far off the mark. If you want to buy CD1, from this box set, on its own, it will cost you £116 on Amazon. See here.

You need the box, SPR.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I'm listening as I write. Very beautiful indeed.


Well, I can't resist it. I've just put in an order for one.


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> It seems I wasn't far off the mark. If you want to buy CD1, from this box set, on its own, it will cost you £116 on Amazon. See here.


Wow! I wonder how much the whole set would cost if you would buy each disc seperately.


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> Well, I can't resist it. I've just put in an order for one.


I don't blame ya. Besides - better to buy it now than wait until it costs £116.  
That's another positive thing about box sets like this one and the Versailles set: You get to know about composers you weren't aware of previously.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> That's another positive thing about box sets like this one and the Versailles set: You get to know about composers you weren't aware of previously.


Not half. This isn't a learning _curve_ I'm on. It's a learning _vertical line!_


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> Wow! I wonder how much the whole set would cost if you would buy each disc seperately.


Here's the Bach oboe concertos: £28


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## Elgarian

I need a bit of help with this one.

I decided I'd had enough Bach for a while, and leapt forward to CD 13 (see above). And very nice these two pieces are, too, offering a very pleasant sound with a reassuring feeling of sanctity. But that's the trouble. I quite 'like' them (to use the currently fashionable expression), but no more. I wouldn't be able merely to sit and do nothing but listen to them, because they really don't seem interesting enough. I'm glad to have this CD, and I'm sure I shall listen to it again at least several times, but if I visited the Requiem Shop, faced with a heap of Requiems available to buy, I can't think of any good reason why I'd pick _this_ Requiem, rather than another. It just sort of merges in with my rather vague notion of Requiems in general.

Is this all that one would expect to get from Biber's Requiem, or Steffani's Stabat Mater? I feel as if I must be missing something pretty important, but maybe the intention is indeed to reassure and comfort without making too many demands?


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> The first one (Durante's _Magnificat_, D'Astorga's _Stabat Mater_, and Pergolesi's _Confitibor tibi Domine_) knocked my socks off - most particularly, the Durante. I have never even heard of this fellow, yet he writes music like this: he must have had a pipeline to Heaven. This is the kind of music that gives my agnosticism a good shaking; it has what I can only describe as a _spiritual_ quality, over and above the sheer beauty of it. Only about 12 minutes altogether, but my goodness what an ethereal 12 minutes they are. How to describe it... I'm groping for words, but this music makes me feel blessed. If I have less to say about the D'Astorga and the Pergolesi, that's because they made slightly less initial impact and I've only listened once, compared to three listenings to the Durante. But I can tell that this CD is packed with treasure, and I think I'm going to love it, long and deep.


I've istened to disc one today. Although it hasn't quite made the same emotional impact on me as it has on you it's filled with beautiful music. I have a slight preference for the Pergolesi work after just one listen. The Durante "Magnificat" is beautiful in it's simplicity. I would - based on listening one time only to just twelve minutes of his music - categorize him as a good rather than a great composer though. But you will obviously get a better impression of what this guy was capable of when you get that disc you ordered a couple of days ago. Those Amazon soundbites sound promising, I must admit. I'm a bit curious about what you will think about Bach's "Mass in B minor." I haven't listened yet to the recording from this box set, but it's one of my fave works from Bach (or anyone really).


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I have a slight preference for the Pergolesi work after just one listen. The Durante "Magnificat" is beautiful in it's simplicity. I would - based on listening one time only to just twelve minutes of his music - categorize him as a good rather than a great composer though. But you will obviously get a better impression of what this guy was capable of when you get that disc you ordered a couple of days ago. Those Amazon soundbites sound promising, I must admit.


It's all new territory for me, so I think everything I say is provisional, dependent on further listening. What struck me about the Durante was really the beauty- and simplicity, as you say - of the _tunes_, and what encourages me most about your response is that we're obviously at least roughly talking the same language - most helpful to me. I've found a curiously negative review of the disc I ordered the other day, see here. I'm rather troubled by comments like 'stylistically mediocre and often painfully sentimental sacred settings', and 'if there's a duller Dixit Dominus or Magnificat anywhere, feel free to send up a flare'. Obviously I'm in no position to comment, having heard only 30 second samples, so I'm now particularly anxious for my CD to arrive!



> I'm a bit curious about what you will think about Bach's "Mass in B minor." I haven't listened yet to the recording from this box set, but it's one of my fave works from Bach (or anyone really).


I'll give that a try soon.

Meanwhile, I've been trying a psychological experiment. Let me try out my logic on you.

1. I _love_ disc 1 and think it easily worth paying £50 for, not just for its own sake, but for the doors and windows I think it may have opened for me. Since it would actually cost £116, by buying the whole box, I got this disc at half price - already a bargain.
2. This means that the remaining 49 discs are free - an amazing Christmas gift from Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (thanks chaps).
3. Listening to each CD knowing that it's effectively cost me nothing at all has a curiously liberating feeling to it. It really doesn't matter whether I 'like' it or not - and somehow that seems to take off a certain slight pressure.

Anyhow - today I listened to Couperin (CD17)










and very nice it was, too. (Sometimes, with these period instruments, I get a feeling of one or two players being slightly drunk, as if the notes are being slurred somehow in a maudlin sort of way. Do you know what I mean, at all?) I'd need some persuading that this was _great_ art, but as a free disc I'm more than happy with it. And also I listened to the Gluck disc: _Le Cinesi_ (with von Otter), CD22, which at Amazon would cost you a cool 50 quid or more (see here).

There's too much rather stodgy recitative for my liking (made the more unapproachable for the lack of libretto), but in between there are some fine things, and again it's a CD I'm delighted to have as a free gift. Indeed, every day is like Christmas.


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> It's all new territory for me, so I think everything I say is provisional, dependent on further listening. What struck me about the Durante was really the beauty- and simplicity, as you say - of the _tunes_, and what encourages me most about your response is that we're obviously at least roughly talking the same language - most helpful to me. I've found a curiously negative review of the disc I ordered the other day, see here. I'm rather troubled by comments like 'stylistically mediocre and often painfully sentimental sacred settings', and 'if there's a duller Dixit Dominus or Magnificat anywhere, feel free to send up a flare'. Obviously I'm in no position to comment, having heard only 30 second samples, so I'm now particularly anxious for my CD to arrive!


Well, that review doesn't sound very promising. On the other hand, it's just one man's opinion and critics often disagree as much with each other as other folks do.



> 1. I _love_ disc 1 and think it easily worth paying £50 for, not just for its own sake, but for the doors and windows I think it may have opened for me. Since it would actually cost £116, by buying the whole box, I got this disc at half price - already a bargain.
> 2. This means that the remaining 49 discs are free - an amazing Christmas gift from Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (thanks chaps).
> 3. Listening to each CD knowing that it's effectively cost me nothing at all has a curiously liberating feeling to it. It really doesn't matter whether I 'like' it or not - and somehow that seems to take off a certain slight pressure.


I like your way of thinking.  



> Anyhow - today I listened to Couperin (CD17)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and very nice it was, too. (Sometimes, with these period instruments, I get a feeling of one or two players being slightly drunk, as if the notes are being slurred somehow in a maudlin sort of way.


Yeah, I do actually. When I first got into classical music 25 years or so ago before I knew there was actually such a thing as 'period instruments' I thought that these guys simply couldn't play. I was for example familiar with the superclean Anne-Sophie Mutter/Karajan recording of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", and the first time I heard it on period instruments I thought "who is this awful fiddler making that scratchy noise?"  I learned quickly though, and it wasn't long before I appreciated period instruments too. In fact - in baroque music I nearly always prefer them now 



> And also I listened to the Gluck disc: _Le Cinesi_ (with von Otter), CD22, which at Amazon would cost you a cool 50 quid or more (see here).
> 
> There's too much rather stodgy recitative for my liking (made the more unapproachable for the lack of libretto), but in between there are some fine things, and again it's a CD I'm delighted to have as a free gift.


Indeed. 50 quid is a lot of money for a libretto. Nevertheless - I wouldn't have complained if I would have had to pay £5 more for the box set if a booklet with all of the librettos had been incuded. Especially in the operas it's a serious handicap when you don't know what's going on.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> When I first got into classical music 25 years or so ago before I knew there was actually such a thing as 'period instruments' I thought that these guys simply couldn't play. ... I learned quickly though, and it wasn't long before I appreciated period instruments too. In fact - in baroque music I nearly always prefer them now.


Yes. One reason I bought the Pinnock box set of Mozart symphonies a while back was because I thought I stood a better chance of enjoying Mozart with that more spare, raw 'chamber' sound of period instruments, as against the more sumptuous, full sound of the modern orchestra - which often seems to make Mozart curiously top-heavy. I found it didn't make that much difference, in practice, but then I suppose the difference is less marked because the time gap is smaller. At least, I don't think I detected any drunken slurring in the Pinnock Mozart set!


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## Elgarian

Hmmm. I'm in a quandary. This has arrived:










Do I discuss it here, for the sake of continuity? Or move to the 'recent purchases' thread? I think I'll do it here, because otherwise we lose the context provided by the previous posts.

I listened to _Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae_ three times yesterday, and loved it. There's a curious combination of moments of great beauty, and of really good tunes, with what seem to be occasional idiosyncratic, slightly quirky instrumentation that I personally find quite compelling. I agree with you, Gaston, that it's probably not 'great music'. But there are not so many pieces that attract and interest me so much as to make me listen to them, with complete attention, three times in one day. This, apparently, is the second of three sets of _Lamentationes_; and at the end of the day I ordered another recording, of all three, see here.

The _Vespro Breve_, by comparison, seems dull. It's pleasant enough in the background, but it doesn't seem to me to warrant giving it all my attention. I ended up writing Christmas cards during the second half of it, and it provided a delightful accompaniment for that activity. Incidentally, my copy of the booklet has a serious printing defect on several pages, though since the texts aren't provided (which is a bit disappointing) it doesn't matter much.

I must say, though, this really does give a huge thumbs-up for the DHM 50-year box set. Already it's sent me off in a highly unpredictable direction, and there's no way I'd have ever found my own way to Durante without the initial help of this box.


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## jhar26

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Alan. Glad you like the disc. Yes, I expect that these two box sets will introduce us to quite a few composers that we previously didn't know about, or only knew as names. As for Durante - I had never even heard of him (or Astorga for that matter).


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## jhar26

I just played Gustav Leonardt's recording of the Goldberg Variations (CD 3). I must say that I loved it. On the one hand I guess this music is sorta academic and one must probably be a musician 'to get' rolleyes: ) all of the nuances, but on the other hand it doesn't take that big an effort to get into it IMO. I find this captivating music, though often complicated this music dances - it almost swings at times (silly explanation, but I don't know how else to say it). I wonder if I would like it even more on the piano, because I usually prefer the sound of the piano to that of the harpsichord. I guess I need to check out those famous Glenn Gould recordings sooner or later.


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## World Violist

Regarding the Goldberg Variations and what instrument they're being played on, the only harpsichord recording I have is an old 1950's CD by Wanda Landowska, and that was magic. The jangling of the harpsichord didn't come through so much, so the sound was actually very large and magisterial. The Glenn Gould '55 recordings are very good also, but when you have music at this level I can't bring myself to choose either over the other.


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## Elgarian

I've been listening to this one again:










Looking back at what I said earlier, I now think I was too kind about this disc. Bearing in mind that I'm very, very keen to hear more Couperin, and therefore probably over-inclined to be forgiving, this disc poses me some serious problems. First, there's the note-slurring effect that seemes built into the playing style, as if the players are slightly drunk. I've been listening to a lot of Les Arts Florissants recently, and they never sound drunk - so why is it necessary here? Second, I have the feeling that the players are often not quite in time with each other - as if one is slightly ahead and the others are trying to keep up. (I'm not saying this is actually happening - I'm trying to describe the subjective experience of listening to the music.) Third, while I'm all for a natural, resonant acoustic, in these recordings the acoustic seems more like the sort of thing I'd associate with buskers in the Underground than with period musicians in a concert hall (but also, curiously, the instruments seem too 'upfront' against that background acoustic). Fourth, on some of these recordings the fiddle is apparently a strad. Well, so be it, but I can't say the sound of it does a great deal for me.

I'm aware that all these comments must show me up to be an insensitive ignoramus - but what can I do except report what I hear? On the whole, I'm not finding this 50CD DHM box to be anything like as delectably delicious as the Versailles box.

(Fairness compels me to draw attention to the review on MusicWeb, which describes this as 'an outstanding recording'. See here).


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## jhar26

Elgarian said:


> I'm aware that all these comments must show me up to be an insensitive ignoramus - but what can I do except report what I hear? On the whole, I'm not finding this 50CD DHM box to be anything like as delectably delicious as the Versailles box.


I haven't yet heard enough from the HM set to have a definitive opinion, although I like what I've heard so far. But strange that you come to that conclusion since the Versailles box is filled with music of (mostly) rather obscure composers while the HM set has a lot of music from household names and famous works.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> But strange that you come to that conclusion since the Versailles box is filled with music of (mostly) rather obscure composers while the HM set has a lot of music from household names and famous works.


I think that's may be partly the reason why the Versailles box is working so well. It's as if I seem to have some kind of perverse Baroque sensibility that draws me towards these 'lesser' composers - or maybe it's mostly that I can't cope with Bach. However, that doesn't explain my reservations about this Couperin disc, because he is one of the relatively obscure ones, and I've enjoyed everything by him in the Versailles box. No, this particular case seems to be more a matter of the performance itself, and the (for me) not very pleasant recorded ambience.

It may just be that I've tended to pick the 'wrong' discs from this set, so far. But whereas the Versailles set has let to new bright blooms bursting everywhere, this DHM set really hasn't. There's good old Durante, of course, but not much else, yet.


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## Elgarian

Time to blow the dust off this DHM bargain box, and today I gave this one (CD 36) a spin:










I see it's still available for a few pounds on Amazon, so the box version is a fair bargain (roughly £1 per disc in the box, remember).

I didn't know any of this music before, so came to all of it with no preconceptions. Vocal sections are sung by soprano (Nancy Argenta) and countertenor (Michael Chance). I'm no judge of them technically, and can only report that what I hear seems workmanlike, rather than spellbinding. I didn't encounter any singing so strikingly beautiful as one gets from Sophie Daneman or Patricia Petibon, for example.

From the Purcell suite, the highlight for me was the "Lost is my quiet" duet which is gently beautiful, and full of longing. The two Handel pieces, though, strike me yet again with the thought of what a fantastic tunesmith the man was. There's plenty of I-can't-sit-still fun to be had from the concerto grosso, and the arias and duet of "Il duello amoroso" are eminently listenable, though without ever catching fire.

Overall, and looked at as a CD, it seems a bit of a hodgepodge, and my feelings about it are lukewarm; there's no great impression of coherent unity to the three works individually, or between each other - but that's OK; there's plenty of space for such not-stretching-things-to-the-limits-of-genius kind of works. So, I haven't exactly been bowled over by this, but no one could possibly complain about it for a pound, and I know it'll get more listening.


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## jhar26

I must admit that I've still only listened to the first four cd's so far. Not because of a lack of interest, but lots other stuff is competing with it for my attention and there are only 24 hours in a day. I will get back to it eventually.


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## Elgarian

jhar26 said:


> I must admit that I've still only listened to the first four cd's so far. Not because of a lack of interest, but lots other stuff is competing with it for my attention and there are only 24 hours in a day.


Same for me, really. The box had been sitting quietly in a corner for some time, displaced by the new kids on the block; but I suddenly thought - 'Is there any Handel in that set?' And there was.


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## Herzeleide

Elgarian said:


> The sound of a solo harpsichord makes me feel as if my fillings might fall out.


The sound of a harpsichord has been likened to two skeletons copulating in a dusty cupboard. 

Still, one's piano-conditioned ears get used to it after a while, and come to love it (depending on the player of course).


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## jhar26

Herzeleide said:


> The sound of a harpsichord has been likened to two skeletons copulating in a dusty cupboard.
> 
> Still, one's piano-conditioned ears get used to it after a while, and come to love it (depending on the player of course).


I've learned to like the sound of the harpsichord over the years, but I doubt if I will ever love it as I do the sound of the piano.


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## Mr Dull

I was glad to see this topic come up as I have been looking at this set and thinking about buying it. 

Discovering new music is one of the joys of listening to classical music and I am sure I would find a lot here. I also like the sound of harpsichords so I would enjoy the Bach. Elgarian keep on listening to harpsichords and you will eventually enjoy them. Try Soler's fandango M 1a for harpsichord it doesn't sound anything like Bach. 

Incidentally Wanda Landowska had a specially made harpsichord that is more like a strange mutant piano than a real harpsichord. Since no one at the time was playing Harpsichords that's not surprising.

Just checked on Amazon and the price is £45.98 so I couldn't resist and as a bonus a CD of Fleetwood Mac (The original 60s group) I had in the basket had been reduced by a pound so I will be getting 51 CD for less than £50.

I will be listening to your discoveries with interest.


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## Elgarian

Mr Dull said:


> Elgarian keep on listening to harpsichords and you will eventually enjoy them.


I'm as aware as the next man how important it is to keep on trying things in order to grow, and I've proved the truth of that time and again. But I think with the harpsichord my problem is intrinsically physiological, not musical. The sound of it is simply painful to me - almost unbearable after a while. It's not mere 'dislike'. That doesn't rule out the possibility that one day I shall love it; but I don't think it's going to be any time soon.

I'm sure you won't regret your purchase of this box - it is amazing value; but as I said in a previous post, I think it's a lot more uneven (though more wide-ranging) than the brilliant Versailles box.


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## duy_ph123

I'm a complete novice in this area. For far too long I've assumed that I was mostly inclined to late Romanticism, with a preference for English music, but that particular image of my own musical tastes has been blown out of the water by recent discoveries. It'll obviously take years to come to terms with all this music. 

I've listened to the first 3 CDs so far, with very mixed results.


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## Elgarian

duy_ph123 said:


> For far too long I've assumed that I was mostly inclined to late Romanticism, with a preference for English music, but that particular image of my own musical tastes has been blown out of the water by recent discoveries.


That's a very close parallel to my situation - which makes these two boxes (this DHM set and the Versailles set) particularly valuable to me/us, I think.


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## Mr Dull

Just got my set and am listening to the first CD. The Durante and D'Astorga didn't really grab me but the Pergolesi is. I am not that fond of classical vocal music so I am not to surprised. 
I wont be listening in numerical order but starting with composers I have never heard of (surprisingly few) then moving on to those that aren't to familiar and ending with the famous stuff except the four seasons which I have heard to many times.
A lot to look forward to.

On a slightly trivial note its great to get cardboard sleeves that aren't so tight that you get the CD covered in fingermarks trying getting the CD out.


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## Mr Dull

I have finished listening to the CD's with composers I hadn't heard of which for the record are numbers 1,11,12,18,19,25,28 and 41.
Sadly no earthshaking new discoveries.
I wont bore you with notes on each CD I listened to but confine myself to the ones that grabbed my attention.

CD18 Facco
Music by Giacomo Facco and Antonio Vivaldi

All but one of the pieces of music on this disk is by Facco the reason for the other piece will soon become apparent.
These Concerto have the same kind of vitality and dynamism as the music of Vivaldi which they resemble quite a lot. That is not a bad because if you like Vivaldi's music (and I do) this is a very enjoyable disk.
My only gripe is the way DHM included the Vivaldi track to make sure you didn't miss the comparison. I would rather have another of Facco's pieces instead.

I will defiantly be trying more of Facco's repertoire in the future.

CD25 Literes
Los Elementos by Antonio De Literes.

Apparently this isn't an opera but a kind of a serenade ( for details try this link http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Feb06/LiteresLos_Elementos_74321935502.htm)

I am not a fan of classical vocal music but typically two out of the three disks that grabbed my attention are vocal.
This serenade(?) represents the four elements having an argument apparently. If only all arguments were so musical. The disk is full of great songs. Some of the music sounds like it is based upon dance music (lots of castanets clicking away) some is more the standard operatic aria and recitative. For more informed and detailed commentry see the above link.

I can certainly recommend this as a very enjoyable and not very serious not-opera.

CD28 Knupfer Schelle Kuhnau Cantors at St Thomas before Bach

The first track grabbed my attention straight away with the way the trumpets and drums reminded me of Purcell. The use of the brass instruments and the choir together works very well making wonderful effect. Unfortunately this is the only track on the CD bySebastian Knupfer. If this is anything to go by his music would be well worth listening to.

The other tracks ( 2,4,5 and 7 by Johann Schelle; 3 and 8 by Johann Kuhnau; 6 by Sebastian Kntipfer) sound more like Bach's cantatas. That is probably more due to my lack of familiarity with anything other than Bach for this kind of music. Whilst none of these pieces made the impression the first one did they are all good and kept me listening.

Hearing more of this may make me a fan of vocal music.


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## Elgarian

Mr Dull said:


> Hearing more of this may make me a fan of vocal music.


It's a slippery slope. The Versailles 20CD box changed my attitude to sung Baroque music of one kind or another, to such an extent that for months now I've listened to very little else.

Thanks for the comments. You're way ahead of me with this DHM box - I have a lot of catching up to do.


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## MEDIEVAL MIAMI

Damn, I've never heard of this album. I'm so going to buy when I get my next paycheck.


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## Elgarian

MEDIEVAL MIAMI said:


> Damn, I've never heard of this album. I'm so going to buy when I get my next paycheck.


You really can't go wrong at this price. Even if you only enjoy half of the contents of the box, it's still incredible value. But I do feel duty bound to remind you also of this Versailles box, which for me opened door after door after door. It changed my listening habits completely. It, too, is unbelievable value for money.


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## MEDIEVAL MIAMI

It's 85 $. That's kind of expensive for me (actually veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery expensive) but at least worth the price. This means I'm going to fast for a month after the purchase.


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## Elgarian

MEDIEVAL MIAMI said:


> This means I'm going to fast for a month after the purchase.


I'm familiar with this sequence myself .....


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## MEDIEVAL MIAMI

Aren't we? hahahah Is this a vanity we have or what?


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## Elgarian

MEDIEVAL MIAMI said:


> Aren't we? hahahah Is this a vanity we have or what?


Not vanity. Just a desire for more music than we can afford!


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## Herzeleide

Elgarian said:


> Not vanity. Just a desire for more music than we can afford!


I have about fifty CDs that I'd like to buy. I buy one of them and I discover another one to take its place. Then I remember I already have a fairly large collection anyway. It's a never-ending cycle...


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## Elgarian

Herzeleide said:


> I have about fifty CDs that I'd like to buy. I buy one of them and I discover another one to take its place. Then I remember I already have a fairly large collection anyway. It's a never-ending cycle...


Yes, like the washing up, it's never done. Sometimes, though, my list of 'wants' contains things so desirable that it becomes siren-like: it becomes almost a source of anxiety deciding which to choose. I think at that point a sensible person would either tear up the list and go to the pub, or read a philosophy book. Maybe both.


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## MEDIEVAL MIAMI

I know what to do in those extreme desperate cases.

Buy the cheapest then get some money later on and add them with the money left to buy the second album. Be sure not to listen to new music until you buy your second album, because your list will only grow.

Buy the most rare one or the one that is going out of print/ sale first then wait till you get more money to buy the second album.


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## bongos

I.m listening to the Durante previews too .Wow i love it to bits


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## Saturnus

The two Deutche Harmonia Mundi CDs I've heard are out of this world awesome. I'm buying this set as soon as possble.









Tracks 6 & 11 on this CD are the best.


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## Mr Dull

Thought I might add some more comments now I have listened to more CD's.

I agree with Saturnus The Zelenka is very good. 

CD 14 Boccherini Cello concertos
This is typical classical period music very pleasant and enjoyable but lacking any depth (I was pleased to see that I am not the only member of the forum who felt that way about the classical period) good to listen to when you just want to sit back and relax.

CD22 Gluck Le Cinesi 
I am not an opera fan or expert on it but if you said what would you expect 18th century opera to sound like I would suggest listening to this CD. That is not a criticism as the arias at least are very enjoyable (Recitative I find boring) with Son lunghi e non mi brami being my favorite.

CD27 Machaut Messe a Notre Dame
This is unique in my experience by being so annoying I that I never want to listen to it again. There is no logical reason for this it just irritates for no obvious reason. When I first put it on it seemed interesting with the voices almost sounding like an instrument. But then the irritation set in. The constant ah ah AH ah oh oh OH oh is annoying. The way some of the singers seem to prominent in the recording was annoying though the latter my have been my being over sensitive because it was so irritating. Finally I kept on expecting them to burst into summer is a cumming in because that's what the music kept sounding like.
Has anyone else listened to this CD? I would be interested to hear what other people think of it as I am sure I am being irrational.


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