Customer Reviews

Luigi Boccherini - Stabat Mater (Jubilaeum Collection 2000 A.D.)

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

 

 

Unless it's another Amazon imbecility mixing-and-matching reviews of different things as _they_ think they should go, all the reviewers below reviewed a wrong record. The record here is Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. Pergolesi! Not Poulenc or Boccherini. "The singer"? "The choir"? This is two singers (soprano and countertenor alto) accompanied by a five-piece band and a conductor on continuo. A very good record, btw.

There's no other video performance to compare this disk with, but I think most music-lovers would be better pleased with a CD. The cinematography is arbitrary at best, distracting at worst. The singer, whose style is uninformed by the Early Music revolution of the last 30 years, is also decidedly hard to watch.

Two other reviewers of this DVD seem to have intended their comments to apply to other performances in the same series, perhaps of music by Poulenc. As usual, "classical" gets scant respect from amazon.com!

Not only does this piece contain a wonderful performance of Boccherini's Good Friday mass, it marks a vast improvement over some of the other DVDs in this series. The camera work here is stellar compared to some of the other static examples in other installments. The audio and the performances are vastly improved as well. Dragoni is clearly deserving of her acclaim.

Based on reviews I've read on other sites, I'm pleased that Amazon's reviewers are substantially better educated in this genre. No, this is NOT a music video, so if you are easily bored by a musical performance that lacks pyrotechnics and dancers, move along. But in terms of "documenting" a classic performance of sacred music, this is among the best.

Then, this is the DVD for you.

Take heed of what the other review says, as its going to be quite an experience. In a way, this is as inspiring as Bach's music and as it is composed in modern time so the mediacy is stronger. And you just have to listen for yourself to see how good these Choirs from Cambridge are singing. Other than the sound, the sights are spectacular and the photography is excellent.

Poulenc's Stabat Mater, Litanies a la Vierge Noire, and Quatre Motets pour un Temps de Penitence are performed by beautifully prepared English choirs (plus the BBC Philharmonic in the Stabat Mater). The performances are first-rate; picture and sound quality are excellent. The disc includes an interesting documentary on Black Madonnas and a virtual visit to Rocamadour (where Poulenc underwent a religious experience relevant to the music on this program). Get this one.

This is an excellent performance of essential Poulenc; I would enthusiastically recommend it were it not for one inexcusable flaw: there is so much audio compression/limiting of the peak levels it completely spoils the experience, for me at least. Ruins the dynamics, squashes the larger crescendos into mush; you can actually hear the compressor shamelessly kick in and release, like the mix engineer set it on autopilot, clicked OK, and went out for a beer. Really sad, that music like this would get the kind of treatment you'd expect in some dime-a-dozen top-40 pop song. I'd love to hear the unprocessed audio, 'cause it's easily a four-star performance and a good overall recording (btw, I can speak only for the stereo mix, not the Dolby Surround, which I'm not equipped to hear).