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MP3 J J Bergan & Jerry McPhail - If It Isn't Baroque, Don't Fix It, Vol. I
24 MP3 Songs in this album (52:22) !
Related styles: Classical: Baroque, Classical: Chamber Music, Instrumental
People who are interested in Bach Couperin Scarlatti should consider this download.
Details:
Italian Baroque composer Domenico Zipoli is remembered as the most accomplished musician among
Jesuit missionaries. His volunteer work in the Reductions of Paraguay allowed him to give of his
musical expertise, which greatly influenced the natural musical talents of the Guaranis as well as
later composers. He studied under Alessandro Scarlatti in Naples, and was later made the organist
of the prestiguous Church of the Gesù, in Rome. His works became well known from Paraguay to Peru
and he continues to be well known today for his keyboard music. Recently, some of his South American
church music was discovered in Chiquitos, Bolivia. Unfortunately, his dramatic music, including two
complete oratorios and portions of a third one, has been lost to history.
Italian-born composer and lutenist Diomedes Cato, who lived and worked entirely in Poland, is known
for his instrumental music that mixed the styles of the late Renaissance, the emerging Baroque, Italian
idioms, and Polish folk music. Cato wrote both sacred and secular vocal and instrumental music, but he
is most famous for lute music. The selection on this album is one of his few pieces for solo keyboard.
The remarkable Father Antonio Soler (1729-1783) wrote hundreds of works in his lifetime. as well as
an important mathematical treatise on currency exchange rates. Soler''s own words best describe his
outlook on life, "What good does it do if a work is well written but stirs no feelings in the listener?
Many people judge music on the basis of its notation and do not know how it sounds. Such people claim
this right for themselves although they would do better not to practice it."
(From the "Llave de la Modulacion.")
Harpsichordists: J. J. Bergan, Jerry McPhail
Recording Engineer: Kermit V. Gray
Producer: Kermit V. Gray
Arrangements: J. J. Bergan, based on work by
Ray Izumi and Leonardo Collinelli.
Recorded on location by KVG Laboratories Recordings, https://www.tradebit.com
TECHNICAL NOTES
Both the harpsichords and the recording system incorporated several experimental aspects. The
objective was to ease the recording of harpsichord by reducing the instrument''s mechanical noise
without sacrificing the inherent tone and resonance of a period harpsichord. The nature of the
instruments complicated the recording because of the necessity of playing the selection into a sequencer
which then activated the modified harpsichord through piezo-electromechanical actuators. Because of
portage limitations, a vintage Nakamichi 550 analog recorder was used along with three widely spaced AKG
D-190E dynamic cardioid microphones. Final editing and CD preparation was undertaken on Logic Audio and
other proprietary audio software. All monitoring was through KVG Laboratories L-81G Spatial Image
Reference loudspeakers.
Those unaccustomed to listening to harpsichord will be struck by the lack of dynamics; all selections
seem to be about the same loudness. This is normal, and it is dissatisfaction with audiences toward this
imitation of the harpsichord that led to the subsequent invention of the piano. Nevertheless, the
harpsichord is capable of beautiful music that is intricate yet at the same time delicate.
The recording, despite the lack of dynamic range, is challenging to playback equipment; with inferior
stereos it may sound harsh or tinkly, but a fine stereo will reveal the rich resonances and crisp attack
of the harpsichords. The spatial imaging is subtle; finer quality systems will allow the listener to hear
the position of individual strings, whereas lesser-quality systems reproduce the stereo panorama vaguely,
creating only a sense of fullness. The final four selections are of duets; these tracks reveal the
differences among a stereo''s ability to reproduce the stereo panorama. This album makes a good demo of a
stereo''s midrange performance.
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