Word: continuo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...sense of ensemble among the players was extraordinary. Vigeland did not conduct (in a hand-waving sense) once through all three movements. The attention given to the continuo part by cellist David Simpson was a pleasure to hear. Far too often the bass line is simply grunted out by bored, inattentive players who can ruin the most stunning effects of soloists...
...only wish for more variation in dynamics. It was a mistake to use a harpsichord against the full string body: Gerald Moshell pushed the instrument as much as possible and all it produced was a distracting non-tonal jangle. With smaller forces, though, it was quite adequate; and the continuo playing included some appropriate ritards...
Raymond Murcell as Polyphemus displayed a perfect combination of grotesque rage and pathetic impotence. His love aria--with an amusing piccolo obbligato solo--was especially well-ornamented and had a healthy rhythmic bounce supported by the continuo. A Scotch snap rhythm (more formally known as inverted dotting) was used for the aria. Though this is missing from some recordings of Acis, the obbligato solo clearly calls...
...rehearsed his orchestra well, and put together a tight performance. Miner is an enthusiastic conductor whose beats are impossible to follow as his arms go flailing through the air (in one particularly violent tutti, his cufflink flew off and hit me on an upbeat). He has the orchestra and continuo well under control, and the singers cued in well...
...Schutz Lobe den Herren is a marvelous piece, done by the chorus and continuo. The University Choir did a thorough job on it, obviously responding well to Ferris's direction...