Customer Reviews

Baroque Trumpet Concertos

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally purchased this disc as an EMI Classics Red Line release (I think I paid $5.99 for it). It was a steal then, and remains so today on the Seraphin line (simple a reissue of the same EMI Red Line release).

Maurice Andre is a fantastic trumpet player, and he simply shines on this recording (featuring the Academy of St. Martins on the Field under Sir Neville Marriner). Bargain-priced CDs tend to get the proverbial bum rap, but Seraphin (as usual) offers a first-rate recording that can compete with any full-priced release. I've listened to this disc at least 20 times, and I never tire of it. Andre and Marriner bring to life these works, some by lesser-known composers (like Stolzel, Telemann and Torelli). I can't think of a better introduction to these underrated Baroque artists (with the exception of Sony's 'Baroque in Italy' CD, which sadly is now out-of-print, too).

This recording, as with so many others, will not be available forever. Given the quality of the recording and beauty of the pieces, I strongly recommend purchasing this disc before it, too, goes out-of-print. It's a great disc at a great price, and would be a welcomed addition to any Classical music collection.

This is a great feel-good record. Music to reign by.

The Stölzel concerto for four instrumental choirs is a particular gem, a great piece to cue up and wake up in the morning to. There is nothing particularly deep or heavy here. All of these pieces are light, in major keys. They are well recorded and well played.

This CD is just a delight. If you enjoy Baroque, you will find this CD one of your favorites. It has a pleasant register and a lightness that is a pleasure to any ear. An excellent value.

... but this performance of baroque concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann, Stölzel, and Torelli is ready to be honorably put out to pasture. Maurice André was a master of his instrument, but that instrument was not the baroque trumpet. It was a modern valved trumpet, an instrument that acme into use in the 19th C, a hundred years or more after these concerti were written. In 1983, when this music was recorded, there may have been nobody who could have played the pieces as well on an authentic instrument as André did on his modern one, but that situation has changed with the generation of baroque trumpet virtuosos, like Niklas Eklund, who have recorded most of the same compositions in their original key, usually a step higher, and with the support of highly skilled period instrument ensembles. The Torelli, Telemann, and one of the Vivaldi concertos are all available on Eklund's 5-CD "Art of the Baroque Trumpet" collection.

And I know I'll get death threats when I declare that all of these pieces sound immensely more musical and exciting on baroque trumpet than on valved trumpet, given players of roughly the same skill. André's performance here exposes why. He can't keep his tone clear in the highest passages, even transposed down for his comfort. The valved trumpet takes more air pressure, so he can't float through the extended passages as he should. His trills are rudely flappy; one can hear the valves pumping. His and the other trumpeters' tone, especially on the Telemann, is blatty and growly. But his fame was solidly deserved; he could rip off fast arpeggios and scales faster than anyone of his era. If I'd reviewed this performance in 1984 or 85, when I first heard it, I'd have been "blown away" by his sheer athleticism and given the LP a five-star rating.

But even in 1983, the orchestra of the "Academy of St. Martin in the Fields", conducted by Neville Marriner, was an over-rated ensemble, a British Boston Pops, closer in style to Mantovani than to Harnoncourt. On this re-released CD, Marriner's tempi are podgy and slodgy, the orchestra is legato to the point of rumbling like the London Tube, and there's really more smudged tuning than any crack authentic chamber orchestra would try to sell today. The surprising exceptions are the two concertos by G.H. Stölzel (1690-1749), which are performed with a good deal more grace and taste, and which have not to my knowledge been available on any other recording. Those two pieces make me not sorry to have heard this CD, which I bought specifically for comparison to the Eklund performances.

I love this CD. The music is very uplifting. If you love Baroque Music then you can't go wrong with this CD. Great Price and Value.

For this price you cant go wrong. It has all styles, allegro, largo, slow and fast paced with the trumpet and background instruments. Vivaldi and Telemann's pieces are my favorites on this CD, but the rest is great as well. This soothing music that makes you feel great to live at the same time is impossible to pass up. All it took was one sample for me to buy it, and no regrets!

From the financial side this cd, at $6.00 - $7.00, is an excellent bargain for its price. Excellent rendition of music for this price range. However, it is defintiely not up to par with, say, Deutsch Grammophone productions which are two to three times this price. Thus a good purchase for the price conscious consumer but definitely not a buy for the fine conneisseur of classical music.

It arrived on time, and was so enjoyable a friend of mine wanted his own copy (so it was ordered).