Many a great record and uncountable hours of enjoyment came from the variety that came forth from the Nonesuch label. Many thanks again for this unknown treasure.
I can imagine that the label was great and not very expensive in the US if I'm correct. William Neil Roberts was quite a character. I think he was the first one to connect ragtime (Joplin) with the harpsichord and one of the first who recorded Fischer, which is an important but late detected composer.
@@HarpsichordVinylGallery Nonesuch was $2.98 in the USA (a bargain compared to Columbia et al), however, as my father would say I didn't know the value of a dollar and wouldn't know this until "I grew up." Well maybe that was a few years ago (I am in my mid 60's), when I figured hours worked, minimum wage (something conservative politicians are against in general and raising in particular. In 1970 an albulm aka LP, that cost ($2.98 USD let's simplify the math) to $3.00, a comic book was worth 15 cents, and mininum wage was $1.45, lets raise that to $1.50. It took two hours (before tax deductions and deductions for Social Security in the never neverland of retirement) to purchase a Nonesuch which would purchase 30 comic books, of any title...including the best sellers. Let's use $5.00 for the 2023 comic book ("graphic novel''). I could for Federal Minimum wage purchase ($7.25) only one comic with some change, and $15.50 would be two hours to purchase two. However based on the comparision of 2 hours worked purchased 30 comic books multiplied by $5 dollars (2023), my two hours work should be worth $150.00 with one hour for minimum wage being worth $75.00 USD. Or in other words that Nonesuch LP was worth $150.00 in todays' money. But If refer to The US Federal Govt. Inflation Calculator this translates into 2020 dollars=1970 $0.15 equals $1.02 or 30 (comics) times that equals 30.60 ergo minimum wage should be $15 per hour or 1/5 comparable value for hours worked.
Sir, I thank you for posting this. I had this record many years ago, and yet, somehow, it got separated from my belongings. In any case, I value it because, not only is the instrument used sublimely well-suited for this repertoire, (a dry, closeted, clothey, and oaken timbre) the musician strikes a fantastick balance in the musick between the affect of moving forward, whilst standing still - an effect most important and necessary to the peculiarly unique rhetorick of Jean Henri- D'Anglebert, which is not very often gotten so well by the performer. Thank you ,again!
As always the pleasure was all mine. It might have been that the 'oaken timbre' was rather influenced by the association with the cover of the recording ;-) I experienced a similar association when I heard the firm way of playing and the timbre of the instrument.
@@@HarpsichordVinylGallery ... I've thought about your comment for a while, Dear HVG, and, no, I think the oaken timbre I am hearing is the results of the tuning of the harpsichord, bridge, ribs, and soundboard, when blended with the Delrin plectra and these particular strings! If this instrument had been quilled in crow's feather it would have been even more splendid than it is.
@@beasheerhan4482 OK it was only a thought because I always associate the cover as some sort of atmosphere or entrance for the music. I once had the choise for a Sébestyén-recording between the interior of a Roccoco house or a modern graphical design in the notion that the choice would influence the approach of the music which I did not hear yet. Of course it is silly but we can be influenced easily. It was good to wait a while to judge it by yourself at a later date. It gives some objectivity and distance I suppose.
William Neil Roberts's interpretation of D'Anglebert is that of Kenneth Gilbert, only Roberts, by small details here and there, outdoes Gilbert at his own game. Scott Ross would attempt to outdo Roberts's version of Gilbert's version of D'Anglebert, but, outside of the preludes, failed, because he tried to iron the little dips and peaks in the phrases to make even long lines and played too quickly. In my view, William Roberts's version of D'Anglebert is the best, and, yes, I've heard them all, as D'Anglebert is my favourite harpsichord music.
I know you are very fond of d'Anglebert as I am of William Neil Roberts for his choice of repertoire (he was the first one who recorded Joplin I believe, and his Fischer). It is indeed a perfect cadence of tempi for me too, to let the music breath in a natural way.
*_Rest of the documentation 1/1_* In this light, then, it is not surprising that Jean-Henri d'Anglebert, retained by the Sun King as ordinaire de la chambre du Roy- pour le clavecin, sought permission in 16~9 to publish some suiites of his own along with (and prominently advertised as such) transcriptions of popular dances and airs by Lully, mostly taken from that composers.phenomenally popular operas. D'Anglebert did not misjudge the potential market for such music; a dance-crazy public required a second printing of the publication. The key. to understanding these pieces .as music is found in the knowledge of their performance as dances. For example, the II Sarabande of the Premiere Suite in C Major has of necessity a lilting, fluid quality. In the dance, the first beat of each of the triple-meter bars calls for a lift onto the toes, the second beat a sudden strong descent, and thell an immediate gliding through the third beat back to the lift. Thus the prolonged second beat, with its strong accent, literally guides the peiformers through their steps. (D'Anglebert relaxes the intensity of this accentuation somewhat in the second half of the dance, when presumably the dancers are secure in the tempo.) Vying in gracefulness with the "Sarabande" is the "Menuet." The piece heard on this record was originally scored for woodwinds and . played at the King's bedside as a soporific-hence, its slow tempo and gentle melodic contour. In marked contrast to the intimacy of the "Menuet" is the "Chaconne Rondeau." Its grand design suited it to spectacular promenades of costumed dancers during the ballets which so prolonged the operas. Here the principal theme, the "rondeau;' comes around five times, interspersed with new sections, called "couplets;' The whole is gracefully unified by the technique known as "chaconne" -a repeating pattern of notes in the left hand. b'Anglebert's art consists in changing the bass pattern in the "couplets" from that found in the soonjamiliar "rondeau"; each "couplet" contains a variant of a descending scale, over which new music is composed. The "Chaconne" from Lully's Phaeton was undoubtedly selected by D' Anglebert for both its exotic appeal-a scenic procession ofEgyptians: Ethiopians, and Indians took place to this music during the actual opera -and its ingenious use of the patterned bass. Here melodies four measures long are underpinne.d by a changing elaboration qf the bass notes "G" "D" "E" and "D" each 01' which takes up a sinale , ') } ~ 0 measure of the unit. Halfway through the dance the bass begins to run faster, in a slightly accented pattern of eighth notes. The tripping effect is a result qf a fascinating performance practice, unnotated in the music but difined by many composers of the period as "notes inegales;' By alternating longer and shorter note values, a pattern qf stresses. is set up in an otherwise smoothly flowing line. The juxtaposition of this gentle rubato with unpredictable climaxes in the melody line, highlighted by a stunning variety of ornaments, creates a fascinating rhythmic texture, complex and yet still "danceable;' Ornamentation makes a crucial contribution to the effectiveness oj any Baroque music; D' Anglebert was intensely interested in conveying to the public his ideas on how his dances and transcriptions might be embellished. He is credited, in fact, with establishing several new ornaments and codifying a systematic table of ornaments which was imitated for several subsequent generations. just how crucial this art of "good taste" can be, may be heard in the charming "sommeil;' (dream scene) from Lully's opera, Aly.l. In contrasting the gentle "songes agreables"(pleasant dreams )with those that are 'Junestes" (tragic), Lully used an orchestra of recorders and strings. In D' Anglebert's transcription, ornaments make the piece interesting, giving prominence to the irregular phrases and simple ascending melody. The opera's audience probably didn't mind the simplicity oJ the music; the unusually ornate se! (an engraved depiction of which may be seen in the article on Lully in the new Grove's DictionarY-21Music) featured massive, billowing clouds, out oj which dancers floated and descended to the sleeping Atys. These pieces were souvenirs in that remarkable age. Designed to be played privately (though by a harpsichordist of no mean accomplishment), they reminded their listeners ofsplendiferous courtly evenings, and fuelled anticipations of events still to come. Betsy Hanger
Unfortunately I don't have them in my collection. In Europe she was not that well-known and her recordings are hardly available here. But I can try to ask in my humble network if they have a copy. Only at an older age I have noticed the significance of her as a player. Last May I was at a Symposium The Contemporary Harpsichord PRIX Annelie de Man 2018, a competition for harpsichordists in the modern repertoire (since I also like modern hpschd) and I was very pleased with a lecture the 24th of May including some slides about Sylvia Marlowe since there is not yet a biography: 14:30 - 15:00 Christina Edelen, lecture about American harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe (1908-1981). She was touring in Asia, tried to activate the interest of children in music and played Boogie Woogie so a musician with lots of interesting aspects I did not know.
Still found two recordings of Sylvia Marlowe in my collection. Sylvia Marlow plays Francois Couperin Vol 1 & 2. Will publish from Vol 1 only the 4 pieces for two hpschds (with Kenneth Cooper) because the rest is for ensemble (Apothéose de Lulli and Le Parnasse ou L'Aphothéose de Corelli) and not very intersting for this channel.
Many a great record and uncountable hours of enjoyment came from the variety that came forth from the Nonesuch label. Many thanks again for this unknown treasure.
I can imagine that the label was great and not very expensive in the US if I'm correct. William Neil Roberts was quite a character. I think he was the first one to connect ragtime (Joplin) with the harpsichord and one of the first who recorded Fischer, which is an important but late detected composer.
@@HarpsichordVinylGallery Nonesuch was $2.98 in the USA (a bargain compared to Columbia et al), however, as my father would say I didn't know the value of a dollar and wouldn't know this until "I grew up." Well maybe that was a few years ago (I am in my mid 60's), when I figured hours worked, minimum wage (something conservative politicians are against in general and raising in particular. In 1970 an albulm aka LP, that cost ($2.98 USD let's simplify the math) to $3.00, a comic book was worth 15 cents, and mininum wage was $1.45, lets raise that to $1.50. It took two hours (before tax deductions and deductions for Social Security in the never neverland of retirement) to purchase a Nonesuch which would purchase 30 comic books, of any title...including the best sellers. Let's use $5.00 for the 2023 comic book ("graphic novel'').
I could for Federal Minimum wage purchase ($7.25) only one comic with some change, and $15.50 would be two hours to purchase two. However based on the comparision of 2 hours worked purchased 30 comic books multiplied by $5 dollars (2023), my two hours work should be worth $150.00 with one hour for minimum wage being worth $75.00 USD. Or in other words that Nonesuch LP was worth $150.00 in todays' money.
But If refer to The US Federal Govt. Inflation Calculator this translates into 2020 dollars=1970 $0.15 equals $1.02 or 30 (comics) times that equals 30.60 ergo minimum wage should be $15 per hour or 1/5 comparable value for hours worked.
Merci. 🎹🎶✨😌💜
Gorgeous instruments, wonderfully performed.
The Harpsichord Tone is what inspires me.
Me, too - kind of a mix of mandolins, 12 string guitars, viola da gambe and hurdy-gurdys...
Sir, I thank you for posting this. I had this record many years ago, and yet, somehow, it got separated from my belongings. In any case, I value it because, not only is the instrument used sublimely well-suited for this repertoire, (a dry, closeted, clothey, and oaken timbre) the musician strikes a fantastick balance in the musick between the affect of moving forward, whilst standing still - an effect most important and necessary to the peculiarly unique rhetorick of Jean Henri- D'Anglebert, which is not very often gotten so well by the performer. Thank you ,again!
As always the pleasure was all mine. It might have been that the 'oaken timbre' was rather influenced by the association with the cover of the recording ;-) I experienced a similar association when I heard the firm way of playing and the timbre of the instrument.
@@@HarpsichordVinylGallery ... I've thought about your comment for a while, Dear HVG, and, no, I think the oaken timbre I am hearing is the results of the tuning of the harpsichord, bridge, ribs, and soundboard, when blended with the Delrin plectra and these particular strings!
If this instrument had been quilled in crow's feather it would have been even more splendid than it is.
@@beasheerhan4482 OK it was only a thought because I always associate the cover as some sort of atmosphere or entrance for the music. I once had the choise for a Sébestyén-recording between the interior of a Roccoco house or a modern graphical design in the notion that the choice would influence the approach of the music which I did not hear yet. Of course it is silly but we can be influenced easily. It was good to wait a while to judge it by yourself at a later date. It gives some objectivity and distance I suppose.
William Neil Roberts's interpretation of D'Anglebert is that of Kenneth Gilbert, only Roberts, by small details here and there, outdoes Gilbert at his own game. Scott Ross would attempt to outdo Roberts's version of Gilbert's version of D'Anglebert, but, outside of the preludes, failed, because he tried to iron the little dips and peaks in the phrases to make even long lines and played too quickly.
In my view, William Roberts's version of D'Anglebert is the best, and, yes, I've heard them all, as D'Anglebert is my favourite harpsichord music.
I know you are very fond of d'Anglebert as I am of William Neil Roberts for his choice of repertoire (he was the first one who recorded Joplin I believe, and his Fischer).
It is indeed a perfect cadence of tempi for me too, to let the music breath in a natural way.
@@HarpsichordVinylGallery Well said, Dear HVG - Roberts does let this musick 'breathe', something which, if you do not do, hurts it badly.
@@beasheerhan4482 In complete agreement with you.
*_Rest of the documentation 1/1_*
In this light, then, it is not surprising that Jean-Henri
d'Anglebert, retained by the Sun King as ordinaire de la chambre
du Roy- pour le clavecin, sought permission in 16~9 to publish some
suiites of his own along with (and prominently advertised as such)
transcriptions of popular dances and airs by Lully, mostly taken from
that composers.phenomenally popular operas. D'Anglebert did not
misjudge the potential market for such music; a dance-crazy public
required a second printing of the publication.
The key. to understanding these pieces .as music is found in the
knowledge of their performance as dances. For example, the II Sarabande
of the Premiere Suite in C Major has of necessity a lilting,
fluid quality. In the dance, the first beat of each of the triple-meter
bars calls for a lift onto the toes, the second beat a sudden strong
descent, and thell an immediate gliding through the third beat back to
the lift. Thus the prolonged second beat, with its strong accent, literally
guides the peiformers through their steps. (D'Anglebert relaxes
the intensity of this accentuation somewhat in the second half of the
dance, when presumably the dancers are secure in the tempo.)
Vying in gracefulness with the "Sarabande" is the "Menuet." The
piece heard on this record was originally scored for woodwinds and
. played at the King's bedside as a soporific-hence, its slow tempo and
gentle melodic contour.
In marked contrast to the intimacy of the "Menuet" is the
"Chaconne Rondeau." Its grand design suited it to spectacular promenades
of costumed dancers during the ballets which so prolonged the
operas. Here the principal theme, the "rondeau;' comes around five
times, interspersed with new sections, called "couplets;' The whole is
gracefully unified by the technique known as "chaconne" -a repeating
pattern of notes in the left hand. b'Anglebert's art consists in
changing the bass pattern in the "couplets" from that found in the
soonjamiliar "rondeau"; each "couplet" contains a variant of a descending
scale, over which new music is composed.
The "Chaconne" from Lully's Phaeton was undoubtedly selected
by D' Anglebert for both its exotic appeal-a scenic procession ofEgyptians:
Ethiopians, and Indians took place to this music during the
actual opera -and its ingenious use of the patterned bass. Here melodies
four measures long are underpinne.d by a changing elaboration qf
the bass notes "G" "D" "E" and "D" each 01' which takes up a sinale , ') } ~ 0
measure of the unit. Halfway through the dance the bass begins to run
faster, in a slightly accented pattern of eighth notes. The tripping effect
is a result qf a fascinating performance practice, unnotated in the music
but difined by many composers of the period as "notes inegales;' By
alternating longer and shorter note values, a pattern qf stresses. is set up
in an otherwise smoothly flowing line. The juxtaposition of this gentle
rubato with unpredictable climaxes in the melody line, highlighted by
a stunning variety of ornaments, creates a fascinating rhythmic texture,
complex and yet still "danceable;'
Ornamentation makes a crucial contribution to the effectiveness oj
any Baroque music; D' Anglebert was intensely interested in conveying
to the public his ideas on how his dances and transcriptions might
be embellished. He is credited, in fact, with establishing several new
ornaments and codifying a systematic table of ornaments which was
imitated for several subsequent generations.
just how crucial this art of "good taste" can be, may be heard in the
charming "sommeil;' (dream scene) from Lully's opera, Aly.l. In
contrasting the gentle "songes agreables"(pleasant dreams )with those
that are 'Junestes" (tragic), Lully used an orchestra of recorders and
strings. In D' Anglebert's transcription, ornaments make the piece
interesting, giving prominence to the irregular phrases and simple
ascending melody. The opera's audience probably didn't mind the
simplicity oJ the music; the unusually ornate se! (an engraved depiction
of which may be seen in the article on Lully in the new Grove's
DictionarY-21Music) featured massive, billowing clouds, out oj
which dancers floated and descended to the sleeping Atys.
These pieces were souvenirs in that remarkable age. Designed to
be played privately (though by a harpsichordist of no mean accomplishment),
they reminded their listeners ofsplendiferous courtly
evenings, and fuelled anticipations of events still to come.
Betsy Hanger
REQUEST : Dear HVG, will you post the recordings of Francois Couperin, made by Sylvia Marlowe?
Unfortunately I don't have them in my collection. In Europe she was not that well-known and her recordings are hardly available here. But I can try to ask in my humble network if they have a copy.
Only at an older age I have noticed the significance of her as a player. Last May I was at a Symposium The Contemporary Harpsichord PRIX Annelie de Man 2018, a competition for harpsichordists in the modern repertoire (since I also like modern hpschd) and I was very pleased with a lecture the 24th of May including some slides about Sylvia Marlowe since there is not yet a biography: 14:30 - 15:00 Christina Edelen, lecture about American harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe (1908-1981). She was touring in Asia, tried to activate the interest of children in music and played Boogie Woogie so a musician with lots of interesting aspects I did not know.
Still found two recordings of Sylvia Marlowe in my collection. Sylvia Marlow plays Francois Couperin Vol 1 & 2.
Will publish from Vol 1 only the 4 pieces for two hpschds (with Kenneth Cooper) because the rest is for ensemble (Apothéose de Lulli and Le Parnasse ou L'Aphothéose de Corelli) and not very intersting for this channel.
Fascinating to hear the Atys pieces after following William Christie's ground-breaking recording of the complete opera from 25 or more years ago...
I guess you are enjoying harpsichord recordings as much as I do ;-)
Indeed. The instrument has been a central part of my life for almost all of it :-D
good to see there are no orientals and OTHERS playing like in modern recordings
Bit of a racist, "Mr." jasonfleece9449???