Interesting! I just happened to hear the Private Musicke and Kozuna just before the talks here. They happened to have the opening concert here in the "Helsinki Festival": Love Madrigals of the 17th century. Great! Clearly the first time "early music" gets that much attention in this festival.
I happened to hear the beginning of the concert's direct broadcast on my car radio: on that time she was singing the "Odi Euterpe" by Caccini that I know well. Something was wrong there... Then to home with better audio. The program continued. Here is the list of all: Filippo Vitali: O bei lumi Sigismondo D’India: Cruda Amarilli Claudio Monteverdi: Si dolce è il tormento Giulio Caccini: Odi Euterpe Luis de Briceno: Caravanda Ciacona Tarquino Merula: Canzonetta Spirituale sopra alla nanna Gaspar Sanz: Canarios Sigismondo D’India: Ma che? Squallido e oscuro Biaggio Marini: Con le Stelle in Ciel Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger: Felici gl’animi Giovanni de Macque: Capriccio stravagante Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger: Aurilla mia Sigismondo D’India: Torna il sereno Zéfiro Giovanni Paolo Foscarini: Ciaccona Barbara Strozzi: L’Eraclito amoroso Ruiz de Ribayaz: Espanioletta Tarquino Merula: Folle è ben si crede I knew most of the pieces. And have accopanied nearly all of the songs many times. I really was happy that to me so dear repertoire got so important place in the festival, and I was as much unhappy that the performance was not good - well I heard only the 3/4 of the concert and on radio broadcast... But I got the feeling that the singer did not know the meaning of the words, and so she couldn't perhaps so much express the message of the text. And she did not always sound very pure and clean... And to me the band did not make a very good impression either: If Merula's "sopra alla nanna" is made to sound "flamenco", I do not want to hear it. Not to speak of one of the greatest pieces by Barbara Strozzi, "L’Eraclito amoroso". That was the biggest flop in their performance; just singing the notes and improvising kitchen flamenco around -- no idea of the story and text, even no idea of the sober(?) passagaglia in places. Rubbish in that piece, spoiled possibilities... But when that repertoire is taken to the wide public, perhaps there will be more gigs also to a tiny theorbist with a big theorbo... ;-) All the best, Arto On Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:53:05 +0100, "Monica Hall" <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > I am also a fan of Private Musicke and have several of their CDs. > Magdalena Kozuna is not one of their regular singers as far as I am > aware. > > > > I suspect that she was co-opted for commercial considerations - in > order to sell more tickets. She is well know whereas Raquel and > Stephan van Dyck and Marco Beasley are not - at least over here. All > them are very accomplished singers in this repertoire. So is Kozuna > in the right repertoire - but the announcer did make the point that she > is better know for doing other things. > > > > Monica > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: [1]jean-michel Catherinot > > To: [2]Martyn Hodgson ; [3]Monica Hall > > Cc: [4]Vihuelalist > > Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 12:39 PM > > Subject: Re : [VIHUELA] Re: Foscarini on Radio 3 > > I'm quite surpised by this, because that is not at all usually their > stuff: and that's one of the reason why I like this band so much. Is > that Magdalena Kozena's choice? They played this type of programm few > weeks ago near my house with Raquel Andueza, and it was a quite > wonderful concert, with both very elegant swing and dignity. Pierre > Pitzl is really a preeminent baroque guitar performer on my opinion, > who makes with his incredible sound easy to understand why the guitar > seduced so much people during the 17th. > --- En date de : Ven 27.8.10, Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> a > ecrit : > > De: Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> > Objet: [VIHUELA] Re: Foscarini on Radio 3 > A: "Martyn Hodgson" <hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk> > Cc: "Vihuelalist" <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu> > Date: Vendredi 27 aout 2010, 11h00 > > Dear Martyn > Yes - I agree with everything you say. I haven't listened to the > whole > concert yet - I got as far as the "Foscarini" piece and gave > up. Maybe I > will have time for the rest this weekend. > I am quite often sent CDs to review of this early Italian repertoire > and the > unsuitabilty of the singers in general is a problem especially we are > not > encouraged to say what we think! > I suppose the "tin-pan alley" approach is adopted to try and make the > music > appeal to a broader audience. In the end musicians have to earn a > living. > Just performing the songs with a single plucked string accompaniment, > which > may have been the norm, is just not going to attract many to the cause. > Regards > Monica > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Martyn Hodgson" <[5]hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk> > To: "Stuart Walsh" <[6]s.wa...@ntlworld.com>; "Monica Hall" > <[7]mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> > Cc: "Vihuelalist" <[8]vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu> > Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 8:06 AM > Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Foscarini on Radio 3 > > > > Dear Monica, > > > > I very much agree about Kozena's singing: there's a fashion for > well > > known sopranos to try their hand at small scale 'early music' but > few > > seem to be able to make the transition succesfully (somewhat like > > similar rather wincing attempts at Broadway musicals). > > > > In addition to problems evident in her rendition of 'Si dolce > > tormento', what I found particularly disturbing was a frequent > > inability to get the pitch quite right - whether this was because > she > > was trying to control her (pitch) vibrato or because she was unused > to > > being accompanied by a relatively small band (with relatively soft > > instruments - bear in mind we're not hearing the performance but > the > > performance tweaked by sound engineers so don't really know what > the > > actual balance was). Perhaps she's happier with orchestral > > accompaniment - I understand her Handel and Gluck opera roles have > gone > > down well in the past. > > > > I ought to say this doesn't just apply to Kozena: I recently heard > > Blow's Venus and Adonis with Venus sung by the operatic soprano > > Rosemary Joshua which had similar pitching problems - not just me, > > acquintances also remarked on it. Presumably producers judge that > the > > fame of the name will ensure recording sales..... > > > > M > > > > PS I also agree about the kitchen sink - but again I largely blame > the > > producers and sound engineers who I suspect encourage bands in this > > manner of delivery, thinking it will be more 'exciting' and the > novelty > > will thus generate more listening/sales. > > > > > > > > --- On Thu, 26/8/10, Monica Hall <[9]mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > > > > From: Monica Hall <[10]mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> > > Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Foscarini on Radio 3 > > To: "Stuart Walsh" <[11]s.wa...@ntlworld.com> > > Cc: "Vihuelalist" <[12]vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Date: Thursday, 26 August, 2010, 19:42 > > > > Thank you for that! I was listening to the concert on the Radio > 3 > > website but I couldn't recognise it at all. It sounded a bit like > > Piccinini's Chiaccona Cappona alla vera Spagnola. Maybe it's just > > something they have made up themselves and attributed to > > Foscarini. His book does include a different Chiaccona of > > Piccinini's. > > I dont really like these arrangements with everything but the > kitchen > > sink in them. That's one of the few things I agree with Lex > about. > > Baroque guitar music is meant to be played on the baroque guitar. I > > didn't particularly like Magdalena Kozuna's singing either - what > I > > heard of it. I think she completely spoiled Monteverdi's Si dolce > > tormento. > > Maybe I will find time to listen to the rest of the concert before > they > > wipe it off. Meanwhile - leave it on you website. If I listen > to it > > a few more times I might trace it. > > Cheers > > Monica > > --- Original Message ----- From: "Stuart Walsh" > > <[1][13]s.wa...@ntlworld.com> > > To: "Vihuelalist" <[2][14]vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:41 PM > > Subject: [VIHUELA] Foscarini on Radio 3 > > > > > > The whole concert by Private Musicke (and brief description of > it) > > can be heard here. > > > > > > The songs and pieces were played uninterrupted in each half. > This, > > presumably, is the Foscarini: > > > > > > [3][15]http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Ff.mp3 > > > > > > > > > Stuart > > > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > > [4][16]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > -- > > > > References > > > > 1. > [17]http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=s.wa...@ntlworld.com > > 2. > [18]http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vihu...@cs.dartmouth.e > du > > 3. [19]http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Ff.mp3 > > 4. [20]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > -- > > References > > 1. mailto:jeanmichel.catheri...@yahoo.com > 2. mailto:hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk > 3. mailto:mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk > 4. mailto:vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu > 5. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk > 6. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=s.wa...@ntlworld.com > 7. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk > 8. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu > 9. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk > 10. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk > 11. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=s.wa...@ntlworld.com > 12. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu > 13. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=s.wa...@ntlworld.com > 14. file://localhost/mc/compose?to=vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu > 15. http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Ff.mp3 > 16. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html > 17. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=s.wa...@ntlworld.com > 18. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu > 19. http://www.pluckedturkeys.co.uk/Ff.mp3 > 20. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
