Spam Roundup February, 2020

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Cryptic life hacks

Sometimes comments come in that seem like sage advice. Or inscrutably sage advice.

- Cut the full lace wig, re-bond double-sided tape to fit your hairline. [Not sure what that has to do with anything I write about, but OK, I'll do that.]

- Another choice could cute matching couple cushion covers that will show that every night when you sleep you see him or her in your dreams. [Sounds positively marvie. Just curious, though -- was the first choice?]

- You essential just save in persuasion that your job is decriminalize and maintain yourself to protect a colourise cape.[I agree. All colorized capes should be decriminalized.]

"Lumbering along" a spambot fave!

Yes, this is what all the fuss is about.

This month spammers couldn't get enough of this post. The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along isn't my best writing, but who am I to argue? Glad to see this post about a cheap Japanese toy continues to fill a need.

- This post is invaluable. How can I find out more? [Just keep reading. This is part 23 of a 63-part series! ]

- That's what I was looking for, what a material! existing here at this site. [Imagine that!]

- What's up dear, are you really visiting this site regularly, if so afterward you will absolutely obtain good experience. [Eeeew. Now I feel all dirty.]

[And just to make sure all these accolades don't go to my head, there's this:]
- I believed this put up used to be good. [Ouch.]

Tell me a story

[I don't often quote the entire comment, but this one's a beaut.]

- An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch because I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this... Thanks for the meal! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter here on your site.

Seems pretty convincing, except I received this exact same email on 20 different posts, all with different subjects (note how vague the writer is about that). It looks like the year's off to a great start. Let's all work to make 2020 the year colorized capes become street-legal!

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 4

For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples. 

 Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music. For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work. 

 Here were my selections for the fourth and final week of #ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore.

02/24/20 John Corigliano: Three Hallucinations from Altered States

Ken Russell's 1980 sci-fi horror film featured the screen debuts of William Hurt and Drew Barrymore. Corigliano's score was nominated for an Oscar.

02/25/20 Franz Reizenstein: The Mummy

Hammer Film's 1959 feature starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (as the mummy). It would be the first of four movies released by Hammer about this creature.

02/26/20 Arthur Benjamin: The Man Who Knew Too Much

The "Storm Clouds Cantata" was written for a pivotal scene in this 1934 film. An assassin tries to kill a diplomat during a concert in Royal Albert Hall, his shot timed to the music's climax. Bernard Hermann opted to use the cantata for the same scene in the 1959 remake.

02/27/20 Peter Sculthorpe: Age of Consent

The 1969 Australian film was based on a 1934 semi-autobiographical novel by artist Norman Lindsay. It starred James Mason and was the first major role for Helen Mirren.

Early Beethoven cantatas hint at greatness

The Emporer is dead, long live the Emporer.

In 1790 a nineteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas. The first was an elegy for Emperor Joseph II. The second for Leopold II, who inherited the throne. Maestro Leif Segerstam presents both works. It continues Naxos's series of Beethoven choral works.

Apparently, the works were never performed, which is a shame. They follow the patterns laid out for such works. Both works follow traditional forms. Joseph II's cantata opens and closes with a chorus, with soprano and bass recitatives and arias filling ou the middle.

Leopold II's cantata is a celebratory work that picks up steam as it goes. It begins with a soprano solo, then a tenor and bass add their voices. A trio of the three voices then leads to a rousing concluding chorus.

These are interesting works. Though they follow traditional forms, to me they sound heavier than similar works by Mozart or Haydn. Harmonies seem thick and there's a sense of pent-up power in the orchestra.

The final chorus of Leopold II's cantata hints at greatness to come (especially the Ninth Symphony). It features hard-hitting homophony, then breaks into a fugue of satisfying complexity.
Many parts of these cantatas suggested to me that Beethoven looked to Bach for inspiration. Joseph II's cantata, especially at times, sounded like an updated arrangement of Bach rather than original material.

In my opinion, Leif Segerstam and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra always make a great combination. This recording is no exception. This is not Beethoven's greatest music, but the musicians are as invested in it as if it were. That's also true of the soloists and the Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis.

This recording shows a somewhat unusual side of Beethoven -- and provides an understanding of just how deep his talent ran.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Two Cantatas
Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II WoO 87
Cantata on the Accession of Leopold II WoO 88
Reetta Haavisto, Johanna Lehesvuori, soprano;  Tuomas Katajala, tenor;  Juha Kotilainen, Niklas Spångberg, bass
Chorus Cathedralis Aboenis; Key Ensemble; Turku Philharmonic Orchestra; Leif Segerstam, conductor
Naxos 8.574077

Sensitive performances by Laurence Dean and Andrew Lawrence-King

Musik der Empfindsamkeit was a very specific musical genre. Empfindsamer Stil (sensitive style) was primarily a style written in Germany during the late Baroque. Most 18th Century music (including that of J.S. Bach's) was written according to the Doctrine of Affections. Each movement should only express one affection, or emotion.

By contrast, the empfindsamer Stil strove to a more natural expression. This included sudden contrasts within movements and more fluid ornamentation.

The court of Frederick the Great was the center of this philosophy, so it's no surprise that many of the composers on this release are associated with his court. Johann Quantz was Frederick's flute instructor. Franz Benda was his court's concertmaster. Carl Philipp Emanual Bach was a member of his orchestra, and later one of Frederick's chamber musicians.

The release also includes works by two outliers. Carl Friedrich Abel built a solid career in London, working with Johann Christian Bach. George Philipp Telemann was Carl Philipp Emanual's godfather and friend.

While there are stylistic differences between the composers, the overall "sensitive style" is easy to discern. The music lacks the hammering drive of the Baroque basso continuo. Tempos vary within movements, slowing or quickening for best effect. Counterpoint is minimal -- lyrical, flowing melodies are the focus.

These pieces lay the foundation for the Classical style to come, as developed by Haydn and Mozart. And yet they have a charm all their own.

Laurence Dean's playing is beautifully expressive. This music relies on nuance, and Dean delivers. His transverse flute sings with a warm, full tone. Andrew Laurence-King performs equally well. He plays a variety of instruments, which serve to vary the sound of the program.

A beautiful program beautifully performed. 

Musik der Empfindsamkeit
Music of the Sensitive Style for Flute & Harp
Laurence Dean:  transverse flute
Andrew Lawrence-King; harp, cembalo, orgelpositiv
Christophorus CHE 0214-2

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 3

For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples.

Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music. For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work.

Here were my selections for week three of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore. 

02/17/20 Philip Glass: The Hours

This 2002 film's all-star cast included Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman as Virginia Wolf. It was based on Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulizter Prize-winning novel.

02/18/20 Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible

Sergei Eisenstein's 1944 film commissioned by Joseph Stalin. The three-part epic had a troubled history. Stalin banned the release of Part II until 1958, and production of Part III was halted and the footage destroyed.

02/19/20 Arthur Bliss: Things to Come

H.G. Wells wrote the script for this 1936 film based on his own 1933 novel. The characters serve as archetypes, with the real story being about civilization's evolution from 1940 to 2054.

02/20/20 Eric Coates: The Dam Busters

This 1955 film is a dramatisation of Operation Chastise, a 1943 RAF mission to destroy German dams. Coates' march, written for the film, has become a staple of military band literature.

02/21/20 Morton Gould: Windjammer

The film documents the voyage of the Christian Radich from Oslo to New York, then back to Norway. It was the only film to be shot in Cinemiracle, a widescreen format that featured a seven-track stereophonic soundtrack.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 2

For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples. Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music.

For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work. Here were my selections for the second week of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore.

02/10/20 George Antheil: In a Lonely Place

This 1947 film noir starred and was produced by Humphrey Bogart. Originally a modest success, it's since been entered on the National Film Registry. Bogart's performance is considered to be one of his best.

02/11/20 Elisabeth Lutyens: Doctor Terror's House of Horrors

This 1965 anthology film starred Peter Cushing as Dr. Schreck ("terror" in German). Also cast in the five stories were Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland.

02/12/20 Benjamin Britten: Night Mail

The 1936 film is considered one of the most important and influential British documentaries. Britten's score provides accompaniment to verse commentary written by W.H. Auden.

02/13/20 Pierre Boulez: La symphonie mécanique

French film theorist Jean Mitry produced this 1955 movie. Six years earlier, he directed Pacific 231, for which Arthur Honegger provided the score.

02/14/20 Hugo Alfven: Mans kvinna

"Man's Woman" was a 1933 novel by Swedish novelist Vilhelm Mogerg. The film adaptation premiered in 1945.

Peteris Vasks - Works for Piano Trio work for me

What I admire most about Peteris Vasks is his deep spirituality. It permeates all of his music, even his early avant-garde compositions. This release features three of his works for piano trio. All three are quintessentially Vasks.

They radiate an aura of serenity, even during the fastest and loudest passages. The music seems far removed from the concerns of tonality (or lack of it), motivic development, and other musical considerations. It simply is, expressing the intangible.

Three of Latvia's best chamber musicians comprise the Trio Palladio. Their performances of their compatriot's music plumb the depths of Vasks' works. The trio plays not just beautifully, but lovingly. And that makes this an album I'll revisit time and again.

The first selection is Lonely Angel (Vientulais engelis). I described this to a friend as a Latvian Barber's "Adagio." Like the "Adagio," it was originally part of a string quartet. Vask arranged the slow movement for violin and string orchestra in 2006.

Like that version, this 2019 piano trio work is more than just a rearrangement. Vasks uses the instrumental combination to great advantage, shifting the balance of the various melodic strands. The piano, for example, gives prominence to a fluttering figure that to me suggested wings.

The major work on the release is the 1985 Episodi e canto perpetuo. Dedicated to Olivier Messiaen, it uses the structure of his "Quartet for the End of Time" without directly referencing it. As Vasks explains, "“It is like the difficult road through evil, delusion, and suffering to a song of love." And it's worth the journey.

The 2011 Plainscapes (Lidzenuma ainavas) was originally composed for violin, cello, and choir. In this version, the piano does more than just substitute for the choir. As with Lonely Angel, it seemed almost a different work. And one just as evocative of the Latvian plains as night falls and the stars appear.

If you're familiar with Vasks' work, you should own this. And if you're not, let this release serve as an introduction. It's that good.

Peteris Vasks; Works for Piano Trio
Trio Palladio
Ondine

Homilius Christmas Cantatas beat the rush

This release had me scratching my head. Why was an album of Advent and Christmas music released in February? Most folks (even me) have our Christmas decorations dismantled and packed away for another year.

Of course, these cantatas by Gottfried August Homilius don't really have a Christmassy sound. Homilius wrote in the empfindsamer style, which supplanted the high Baroque style of Bach and Handel. With the exception of the texts, the music would have been appropriate for any church service throughout the year.

The empfindsamer (or sensitive) style meant to be a more natural form of musical expression. Counterpoint was minimized. Melodies had a fluid character to them. Homilius was the pre-eminent practitioner of empfindsamer in the Lutheran church. His music remained popular through the mid-19th Century.

The four cantatas in this release were written for Advent and Christmas, 1776. Choruses are mostly homophonic, though the structure for each cantata varies.

"Siehe, der Herr kömmt mit viel tausend Heiligen" (Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of
his saints), features a soprano recitative and aria (matched with flutes).  "So du mit deinem Munde bekennest Jesum" (If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus) opens with the bass soloist declaiming a phrase, then the choir responding in stretto several times.

The Christmas cantata "Merk auf, mein Herz, und sieh dorthin"(Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes) quotes the hymn "Vom Himmel hoch" The alto soloist has a substantial role, with some demanding vocal passages.

The four soloists perform well both together and separately. The Kölner Akademie has a smooth ensemble sound. The basso continuo is kept well in the background, as befitting the empfindsamer style. With the distinctively Baroque elements downplayed, it's easy to understand how Homilius' music retained its popularity. It's tuneful and straightforward music that readily appeals to the ear.

And, I guess if you don't speak German, you can enjoy this music at any time of the year. Even in February.

Gottfried August Homilius: Siehe, der Herr kömmt
Christmas & Advent Cantatas
Hanna Herfurtner, soprano; Franziska Gottwald, alto; Georg Poplutz, tenor; Mauro Borgioni
Kölner Akademie; Michael Alexander Willens, director
CPO

Walter Braunfels Piano Music presents a different face

Capriccio continues its survey of Walter Braunfels' music. This installment features music for the piano -- mostly piano four-hand music. Braunfels was a concert pianist, so these works lay well on the keyboards. And they also demand a lot from the players.

Tatjana Blome and Holger Groschopp perform with distinction. Their interpretation of Braunfels Post-Romantic music leans into the drama and the emotion. And their technical skills ensure the complex counterpoints Braunfels weaves between the instruments is clearly articulated.

The Variations on an Old French Song for two pianos get the program off to a lively start. The tune is simple enough. Through 18 variations Braunfels transforms it, sometimes using the melody as the foundation for entirely new music. At times it seemed as if each performer was playing something different that still managed to blend together harmonically.

Also impressive were Little Pieces for Four-Hand Piano. Blome and Groschopp dial back the intensity, letting the simplicity of this suite come through.

Tatjana Blome takes center stage for the Bagatelles. Baker's defines a bagatelle as "a trifle; usually a short, fairly easy piece." Braunfels' bagatelles are certainly short. And the melodies are easy to follow. But the thick textures and independent lines make me think they are anything but easy. Nevertheless, Blome seems to just glide through these works.

Braunfels was a pianist who achieved recognition as a symphonic composer. I heard both aspects in these works. Braunfels uses the piano effectively, and the four-hands music seemed to have an expansive symphonic quality to it.
A nice edition to Capriccio's series.

Walter Braunfels: Piano Music
Variations on an Old French Song for 2 pianos, Op. 46; Little Pieces for Four-Hand Piano, Op. 24; Bagatellen, Op. 5
Tatjana Blome, Holger Groschopp, piano
Capriccio C5361

Guitar Double Concertos Showcase Spanish Composers

I was a little surprised when this album crossed my desk. I thought it was an album of concertos for two guitars. Not quite. It's an album of concertos for two instruments, one of which is always a guitar.

Each concerto pairs the guitar with a different instrument. Each is written by a different composer, presenting three different takes on how to showcase the guitar plus one. It's a refreshing blend of instrumental timbres and styles.

Miguel Trápaga performs on all three concertos. His guitar technique is virtually flawless (at least to my ears), especially in rapid, complex passages. He also seems at home with the three different styles of these concertos.

Trápaga and accordion player Angel Luis Castano jointly commissioned a double concerto from David del Puerto. Puerto used the complimentary sounds of the two instruments as the basis for his work. Though written in a contemporary style, the work is quite consonant throughout.

What I especially enjoyed was the work's originality. The accordion part doesn't sound like Piazzolla, and the guitar part doesn't sound like Rodrigo. Instead, we get a conversation between two instruments in a cosmopolitan setting.

by contrast, the Concierto de Gibralfaro for two guitars and orchestra doubles down on the Iberian influences. Antón García Abril's 2003 work is based on folk songs, and it's just as tuneful and appealing as any Rodrigo work.

Guitarist Teresa Folgueira joins Trápaga in this work. Their two instruments blend nicely, creating a sound of exceptional beauty.

The Concierto ecuánime for guitar, vibraphone, and orchestra is the newest work on the album. Antón García Abril completed the concerto in 2017. The score begins in a serious, post-tonal fashion that gradually becomes more consonant. It finishes in a modernist jazz style, celebrating the vibraphone's primary genre.

This album wasn't what I thought it would be. It was better.

Guitar Double Concertos
Garcia Abril; Lopez de Guerena; Del Puerto
Miguel Trápaga, Teresa Folgueira, guitars
Angel Luis Canstano, accordian; Fernando Arias, vibraphone
Oviedo Filamonia; Oliver Diaz, conductor
Naxos

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 1

February 2020 Classical Movies For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples. Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music. 

For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work. Here were my selections for week one of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore. 

02/03/20 Heitor-Villa Lobos: O Descobrimento do Brasil

This 1936 film dramatized the discovery of Brazil by Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Its director, Humberto Mauro was an important director in the pre-war years and continued working in film through the 1970s.

02/04/20 William Alwyn: The Fallen Idol

This 1948 drama was nominated for 2 Oscars, including Best Screenplay by Grahm Greene. Greene also wrote the short story the film was based on.

02/05/20 John Cage: Dreams That Money Can Buy

Hans Richter's 1947 surrealist film had several collaborators, including Man Ray, Alexander Calder, and (in addition to Cage), composers David Diamond and Darius Milhaud.

02/06/20 Tikhon Khrennikov: They Met in Moscow

This 1941 Soviet musical-comedy established Krennikov's reputation. Some of his musical numbers were popular hits in WWII Russia.

02/07/20 Robert Farnon: Captain Horatio Hornblower

This 1951 epic starred Gregory Peck. C.S. Forester combined three of his novels (Beat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, and Flying Colours) into the screenplay.

Pivotal Symphonies by Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist

Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist has a musical career that almost makes him an outsider artist. He was a jazz pianist and bandleader. 

He began formal studies but dropped out because he felt the curriculum too confining. Instead, he took lessons from several musicians, each teaching a different aspect of music. One of them was Dag Wiren (for composition).

Lundquist became a film composer and continued to play jazz professionally in spells. He continued to compose classical works, and organize and conduct orchestras. All that experience comes together in his music.

He started composing Symphony no. 2 "for freedom" in 1956. It was a reaction to the Soviet takeover of Hungary. The 1968 Soviet crackdown in Czechoslovakia spurred him to complete the work. The four-movement symphony is massive, yet also tightly focussed.

Lundquist uses just a few motifs to build his movements out of. At times, especially in the first movement, the anger is palpable. As the work progresses, the music transforms into something different. The tightly coiled motifs of the opening have relaxed and expanded, transcending their confinement.

His orchestrations exhibit the film composer's skill in relaying emotion. And yet it doesn't sound traditional. Lundquist has a unique way of blending instruments -- which serves his music well.

The Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stig Westerberg gives an exciting performance. This symphony is all about roiling emotions, and the musicians deliver.

Also included is Lundquist's final completed symphony, No. 9 "Survival." Written after a bout with cancer, this is more introspective work. Lundquist again uses just a few motivic building blocks to express himself. This single-movement work features a number of short instrumental solos, almost giving it the feel of a chamber work.

The Umeå Symphony Orchestra directed Roy Goodman to perform the work. The ensemble sound is a bit constricted compared to that of the Stockholm Philharmonic, making the album a little uneven in its sound.

That's not a deal-breaker for me. These are two live Swedish Radio broadcasts, recorded at different times and in different venues. I'm happy we have these recordings at all. This is the second album of Lundquist symphonies issued by Sterling. I'm hoping in time they may issue the entire cycle.

Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 9
Symphony No. 2 "for freedom"
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Stig Westerberg, conductor
Symphony No. 9, "Survival."
Umeå Symphony Orchestra; Roy Goodman, conductor
Sterling CDM 3006
recorded live

Composer Alfonso Romero Asenjo Transcends Trends

In the liner notes Spanish composer Alfonso Romero Asenjo is described as "trans-avant-garde." I think that's a fair description. The music in this release struck me as a unique blend of pre- and post-atonal elements.

The most recent work on the album, the String Symphony, is only six years old. Asenjo's compositional materials are deceptively simple. The strings move in blocks, section against section. I didn't hear a lot of divisi or blending of say, cellos, and violins.

Most of the music has a strong rhythmic pulse that's almost elemental at times. In some ways, it reminded me of Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a in texture.

The Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra was written in 1996. In this work, Asenjo seems to lean more towards the pre- rather than post-atonal. The music is full of wide leaps and tight chromatic turns, suggestive of twelve-tone music. And yet there seems to be some underlying tonal organization. Soloist Iagoba Fanlo delivers an effective performance. His cello seems to almost weep at times, especially in the slow passages.

According to Asenjo, his 1989 Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra was inspired by Bach's Concerto for Two Violins. It's easy to hear the influence. Asenjo's strong rhythms take on a Baroque-like metronome quality. The music blossoms into complex counterpoint. And there's a large section of Bach quoted in the final movement. But this isn't a pastiche. Asenjo's work uses the elements of the past to make something new and vital.

All of the works receive their world recording premieres with this release. In the 21st Century, classical music is moving in many directions simultaneously. I'd like to further explore the path Asenjo's created.

Alfonso Romero Asenjo: Cello Concerto; Concerto for Two Violins; String Symphony
Iagoba Fanlo, cello; Sergey Teslya, violin
Camerata Orchestra; Joaquin Torre, violin, leader and conductor
Naxos
World Premiere Recordings

Hummel Piano Concertos on original instruments. Hmmm

Brilliant Records continues their traversal of Johann Nepomuk Hummel's piano concertos. It's a worthy project. Hummel was a major figure in the early 19th Century Vienna. He was friends of both Beethoven and Schubert. He was regarded as near-equal to the former, and more successful than the latter.

Hummel was a virtuous pianist (at age 8 he lived and studied with Mozart). His five published piano concertos push the boundaries of the fortepiano. This volume features one of his unpublished piano concertos and a double concerto for piano and violin.

The Piano Concerto in A major (S.4, WoO 24) is an early work. It bears a strong resemblance to Mozart's later concertos. The overall sound of the concerto is light and transparent. The melodies are full, rounded phrases rather than motivic building blocks -- sound to me more like Mozart than Beethoven.

The Concerto for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 17 dates from 1805. Beethoven premiered his fourth piano concerto the same year, and the two seem very similar in style. Both Hummel and Beethoven were pulling away from the restrained elegance of Mozart and Haydn. The orchestral textures are thicker, and the tutti section hit harder.

This series is all about period-instrument performances. And in this case, I think the results are mixed -- but enlightening. For the piano concert, Alessandro Commellato plays a Joseph Bohm 1825 fortepiano. Even though the concerto predates the instrument, it sounded overwhelmed.

Commellato performed with energy. His mastery of the technical challenges -- rapid runs, wide leaps -- was flawless. But to my ears, it sounded like the instrument was holding him back. The action seemed sluggish, occasionally clacking in especially rapid passages.

Comello's performance in the double concerto was also first-rate. Here the pianoforte didn't sound as bad. Perhaps it received an overhaul between sessions?

Stefano Barneschi played an 1830 Giacinto Santagiuliana violin. Its sound an edge to it, but that edge complemented the timbre of the fortepiano. And the instruments seemed to balance each other -- perhaps more so than their modern equivalents would have.

On the whole, I enjoyed this release. The quality of the music and the performances overcame my reaction to the sound of the fortepiano.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Piano Concertos Vol. 2
Piano Concerto in A major; Concerto for piano, violin, and orchestra, Op. 17
Alessandro Commellato, fortepiano; Stefano Barneschi, violin
La Galante; Milano Classica; Didier Talpain, conductor
Brilliant Classics 95894

Paulo Biordi Revives Lyra Viol Music by Ferrabasco

Alfonso Ferrabasco (the younger) was --despite his name -- an English composer and viol virtuoso. He was active in the courts of both Elizabeth I and James I and well-known in the London music scene. His father emigrated to England in 1592 and achieved fame as a madrigalist.

The lyra viol is a member of the viola da gamba family of stringed instruments. Viols superficially resemble modern stringed instruments (which would supplant them). The lyra viola was a small bass viol used almost exclusively in England.

The instrument usually had six strings (although that could vary). The lyra viol also had different sets of tunings, that changed its range and timbre.

The works on this album are all short dance pieces. Ferrabasco specified which tuning to use for each piece. Paulo Biordi has grouped works together by tuning, effectively creating little dance suites.

Biordi is a master of this instrument. His bowings are clean, yielding a pure, sustained tone. The extreme low register never sounds muddy, and the melodies have a singing quality to them.

The album was recorded with two lyra viols; one an original bass viol from 1768, the other a modern reproduction of a 1624 instrument.

What struck me was how great the character of the instrument changed between tunings. The sound could be deep and resonant like a cello, or light and warm like a viola (a modern one, that is). 

All in all, a fascinating recording. Highly recommended for fans of Renaissance music.

Alfonso Ferrabasco (The Younger): Lessons for the Solo Lyra Viol
Paulo Biordi: lyra viol
Dynamic CDS 7652

Spam Roundup January, 2020

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Cryptic life hacks

Sometimes comments come in that seem like sage advice. Or inscrutably sage advice.

- Cut the full lace wig, re-bond double-sided tape to fit your hairline. [Not sure what that has to do with anything I write about, but OK, I'll do that.]

- Another choice could cute matching couple cushion covers that will show that every night when you sleep you see him or her in your dreams. [Sounds positively marvie. Just curious, though -- was the first choice?]

- You essential just save in persuasion that your job is decriminalize and maintain yourself to protect a colourise cape.[I agree. All colorized capes should be decriminalized.]

"Lumbering along" a spambot fave!

Yes, this is what all the fuss is about.

This month spammers couldn't get enough of this post. The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along isn't my best writing, but who am I to argue? Glad to see this post about a cheap Japanese toy continues to fill a need.

- This post is invaluable. How can I find out more? [Just keep reading. This is part 23 of a 63-part series! ]

- That's what I was looking for, what a material! existing here at this site. [Imagine that!]

- What's up dear, are you really visiting this site regularly, if so afterward you will absolutely obtain good experience. [Eeeew. Now I feel all dirty.]

[And just to make sure all these accolades don't go to my head, there's this:]
- I believed this put up used to be good. [Ouch.]

Tell me a story

[I don't often quote the entire comment, but this one's a beaut.]

- An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch because I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this... Thanks for the meal! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter here on your site.

Seems pretty convincing, except I received this exact same email on 20 different posts, all with different subjects (note how vague the writer is about that). It looks like the year's off to a great start. Let's all work to make 2020 the year colorized capes become street-legal!