What are you listening to? October 2022

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Bruno Cocset & Les Basses Reunies - Barriere: Sonatas For Cello & Bass (comp. 1731-40, rec. 2017)

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Yesterday:

Simone Kermes, Il Complesso Barocco (Alan Lewis, cond.) - Handel: Rodelinda (comp. 1725, rec. 2005)

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Handel's 7th opera was apparently a big hit in its day. It tells the complex story of Rodelinda, the Queen of Lombardy, her sister (Eduige), her husband (King Bertarido), a usurper (Grimoialdo, Duke of Benevento), the king's counsellor and the usurper's counsellor (the latter confusingly named Garibaldo). The music and songs are all uniformly exciting, moving the plot forward to an emotional climax. Special props to Simone Kermes for a stunning job in the demanding title role.

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Tommy Hooker - Texas In My Soul (2007)

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Honky tonk stalwart Jake Hooker's dad is no slouch himself in the heartbreak department. This was his first album but Tommy has been around the Texas dance hall scene forever. His eponymous website tells us:

Raised in the west Texas town of Pecos, Tommy recalls following his big brother to band rehearsal after school when he was only eight years old. When he walked in the door and heard Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys on the record player, he was forever hooked. He learned guitar and was soon playing in his brother’s band. He went on to front numerous bands around the Alpine and Fort Stockton Texas region in the 70’s and 80’s. Tommy then migrated east, and his music became a staple to north Texas and Statewide. He was the cornerstone performer at Fort Worth’s premiere honky tonk, Pearl’s Dancehall and Saloon. Located in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, crowds gathered to enjoy the Tommy Hooker Band, every Wednesday night and solo acoustic Thursday for a monumental 560 shows in seven years!

No surprises here, just ten solid pieces of Texas music with plenty of fiddle and steel.
 
Chorus Alea, Solamente Naturale (cond. Didier Talpain) - Hummel: Music For The Esterhazy Family (2010)

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel had the best middle name in classical music. He was named after the patron saint of the Czechs, John of Nepomuk.

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel


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Nepomuk
 
Rudolf Buchbinder - Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Live From Salzburg Festival (rec. 2014, DG comp. 2021)

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Amazon tells us:

Few musicians have engaged with Beethoven's music as intensively and over such a long period as legendary Austrian maestro Rudolf Buchbinder. He has performed the 32 piano sonatas 60 times in cycles all over the world and developed the story of their interpretation over decades. At the Salzburger Festspiele in 2014, he was the first pianist to ever play all 32 Sonatas in one festival season. Previously only available on DVD, the whole cycle is now available in a 9 CD set w/ booklet.

The top customer review says:

全ての曲の出来映えがほぼ揃っている。ピアノの音色は春の小川のさざ波が陽光に煌めく様な感じでどちらかと言うとモーツァルト向きである。バックハウスの様な節くれ立った音だけを求める人はやめたほうが良い。
然し演奏そのものは紛れもなくベートーベンであり、こう言う表現もあって良い。圧巻は『テンペスト』、よくもこんなに指が動くものだと呆気に取られる。31番と32番の内容が他に比べてかすかに落ちる様に感じるが大きく差があるわけでは無い。全曲が芸術性豊かな名演である。
この調子でモーツァルトのピアノソナタ全集も欲しい。

:judge:
 
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette ~ The Cure (1991)



No, as far as I know, Robert Smith never named an album after this trio's live outing. Why do you ask?


Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette ~ Bye Bye Blackbird (1991)



A tribute to Miles Davis who had passed two weeks prior to the date of this recording
 
Delphine [band] ~ We're Sleeping Better Now [EP] (2001)



Review on Allmusic.com
This album screams passionate in many ways. Sounding like a cross between Pedro the Lion, Michael W. Smith (vocally), and Red House Painters, Delphine showcases heartening vocals, diverse guitars, and a standard rhythmic section to make for a seven song EP that comes out to be almost 30 minutes in length. The beauty of this project lies in the manner in which lead singer and guitarist Todd Belcher is able to go from humming a soft simple tune with his guitar and vocals one minute and the next be on edge in a staggeringly painful display of emotion. All in all, however, We're Sleeping Better Now stands as a raw example of one man sharing a story of pure sentiment and belief in building a better soundtrack with the use of subtle track echoes, minor feedback, and hoarse, demanding vocals that reek of beauty. ~ Kurt Morris
 
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