I like this new site, though I'm still finding my way around it as I figure out how best to integrate it into what I do. For a start this has included putting it as one of my home tabs in Firefox to make sure I check it regularly.
On the listening front, for the sake of the performances I've been listening to CDs which overdo noise reduction - "Cavalcade of English Singers" volumes 1 and 2 from Dutton, which feature performances from singers I love (Frank Mullings, Heddle Nash, Dennis Noble, Miriam Licette, Isobel Baillie, Norman Allin and many more) but as usual the noise is far too squashed down, and resonances in the middle range aren't damped down very much, distorting the sounds particularly of the female singers. I've also very much enjoyed the 10CD Richard Strauss box from Membran - Strauss as conductor of his orchestral works, piano accompanist, conductor of his own vocal works and conductor of the works of others. It's particularly his Mozart and Beethoven that grab me - there's an intense dynamism in the performances, together with surprising flexibility of tempo, showing a wonderful control of his orchestras. On the vocal side, there are numerous German radio recordings with Strauss accompanying such singers as Lea Piltti, Anton Dermota, Maria Reining, Alfred Poell and Hilde Konetzni.
At the other extreme is a Pearl CD from 1989 of Malcolm Sargent conducting choral works around 1930. The performances may not match modern tastes, but are still wonderful. For more modern performance practice I've been listening to a couple of Claudio Abbado's Pergolesi discs, which have given me great pleasure, particularly the opening of the Stabat Mater.
A vocal recording of a different style and era has recently entered my collection - a private single-sided 78rpm recording from Star Sound Studios, with a handwritten label, featuring Ted Andrews (step-father of Dame Julie Andrews) and his Canadian Singers. They perform two numbers, including a rather more swinging version of Easthope Martin's "Come to the fair" than he recorded with his step-daughter for Columbia. I'll probably get this onto my website fairly soon, though I'm still undecided on which other restorations to tackle next, but I hope that it will not take as long as my previous update. I certainly have something festive in mind for Christmas, so I should probably start that or I'll not complete it in time. However, there are many records transferred to my hard drive, waiting for my attention, as well as many more still to transfer. I just have to see what grabs me as a specific project. Failing that, there'll be a mix of odds and ends!
Damian
