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Norman, thanks for the links, not yet had a chance to open them but will have some time tomorrow afternoon.  But, I just need to tell you that I love your con belto, made me giggle....

Norman, do you like tonight's tenor? I'm afraid that the violinist did not set the Thames on fire, IMHO [:(] Now for the jollities.....

Ooh, Lully, lovely [:D] I have some of his ballet music somewhere...probably a tape rather than a CD, have had it so long. Just so that we don't forget that orb in the sky, here is something that conjures up all that period: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMvpvDjFvHA

Norman, apologies for not having returned here.  I have been combating the heat and it seems to have taken up a lot of my time.  I am not adapting at all well to the canicule but I don't wish to distract you with my woes. Just want to say that I hope you are enjoying the proms nightly on French radio direct from London.

[quote user="NormanH"]IThe Don Ottavio is magnificent however, and if you don't have time to listen to the other clips I urge you just to hear this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibbPaRa1S4 Dalla sua pace la mia dipende; Quel che a lei piace vita mi rende, Quel che le incresce morte mi dà. S'ella sospira, sospiro anch'io; È mia quell'ira, quel pianto è mio; E non ho bene, s'ella non l'ha. [/quote] En fin, I am back with you. The computer objects to the heat and keeps shutting down thus making life even more difficult.  However, I have now found a basement room where it's considerably cooler and I have it on a metal table that feels coolish, well less hot. I agree,  this is definitely one of the most enjoyable recorded versions that I have heard.  And it's nice to have the words...[:D] I have a new Anne Sofie von Otter CD.  I will have a look at the details and post them in a little while.

And this is not without charm, don't you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ92i188gXc

Norman, I am having supreme difficulty trying to include a couple of clips for you in my PM.  What with computer over-heating, phone calls, calls from OH, barking from the dog, "coucous" from the French neighbours wanting me to go walking, me laid up with mal aux pieds so that I can't even put on any shoes, I forgot to mention Parish Alvars whom I heard about for the very first time last Friday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPudt7erOjU  

Thank you so very much for the clip:  such purity and beauty in the music. I love your friend's remark about Beethoven, sums him up quite well, I think! Here is what I have just read about Beethoven "Beethoven is the exemplar of a composer whose works simultaneously break into new territory and fix it in a way that seems unsurpassable."  In other words, you could try and imitate it but you'd be on to a hiding for nothing!  That was from my "bible" for this summer, the BBC Proms Guide![:D] I wanted to remind you also that you should still have time to catch Bach's B Minor Mass on your iplayer....at least I hope I am not too late.  Fabulous choir and one of my favourtie counter tenors. Have not visited the Forum for several days...too many local distractions, not least the Baroque Festival that I have so looked forward to and the programme of twice-weekly guided walks, not to mention the Olympics on TV. Hope you are keeping well and that you are catching all the live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 that you are interested in.

Norman, because I know you have been enjoying Barenboim at the proms, I am making sure that you also watch the programme straight afterwards that was broadcast last night.  It was called "Barenboim on Beethoven".  It featured many of the players, as well as Barenboim pere et fils, talking about the music, what it says to them, how they feel playing it, etc. There were one or two remarks made (not by the orchestral players or Barnboim himself) about Beethoven's life that I didn't agree with and thought they weren't quite factually correct or substantiated but that contituted the tiniest niggles.  And I only questioned because I have read so much about Beethoven as he was a bit of an obsession of mine in my youth and, of course, I thought I knew best![:D] As for that last movement last night, I was moved beyond measure. Id, if you are reading this (and I noticed that you commented on another thread) I can only say that it was a pity you didn't stay on to listen to the last movement! 

And here's an article that made me smile and frown and feel hope and despair and agree and disagree with the contents all at the same time! http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr/25/daniel-barenboim-boulez-beethoven-proms

Thank you, that is indeed very beautiful. Broadly speaking, I can't quite make up my mind whether I do prefer period instruments even though the sound is obviously more "authentic".  I think more modern instruments can often bring out more colours and more subtleties. I enjoy some pieces and I enjoyed this piece very much but, for a whole concert, I do prefer more "modern" instruments. In the meantime, I have been highly entertained by Barenboim and his Beethoven interpretations at the proms; not so keen on the Boulez.  Barenboim was on the Andrew Marr Show this morning and I just had to watch even though it wasn't for many minutes and Marr was not the person to interview a great musician like Barenboim.

Norman, I'm going to be listening to, reading, your clips later. In the meantime, here's a bit of Sarasate for a warm, sunny afternoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ufBxGC_mI&feature=related Pacha, if you are out there looking in, I think you'd like this as well.

How glad I am that you enjoyed the programme, Norman.  I had a feeling that you'd want to watch it! I, too, thought what sense Papandreo spoke. As for English, I am beginning to think that almost everyone else speaks it better than the indigenous peoples![:)]

[quote user="sweet 17"] I think I know exactly what you mean about  "an inner life".  I remember an interview I heard with Aung Yang Soo Kyi and she was asked about being under "house arrest".  She said that she might have spent the last x number of years in her own home but that her mind and spirit had travelled all over the world. Indeed, one's inner life is there to be enjoyed, whatever one's immediate circumstances. [/quote] Norman, I don't know where to post this and I realise that this isn't about music but I did mention Aung Yang Soo Kyi here (as evidenced by the above post) and I so wanted to tell you that there was a very interesting interview this morning of her by Fergal Keene on the Andrew Marr Show. Difficult to describe the interview but listen out for how clever she is at never incriminating herself, a skill learnt under all those years of house arrest, I would imagine. Also, on the same show a very clear explanation by Papandreo (sorry, it's all Greek to me...yes, dreadful joke) but listen to what he says about the eurozone. I'd post this on a whole new thread but I don't seem able to engage many people on the Forum and I think that this is something that you'd latch on to and possibly give me your own angle on?

I have just found the music for this lovely Swedish folksong  (OH commented on how nice it sounded, such a kind remark!) to be played andantino which is just about manageable for me! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXPPMYyJl-g

Thank you so much.  I am only now catching up with the clips. I wanted to listen before replying. Nice programmes for our local Baroque concerts and it's a matter of choosing the venues as well as the concerts!  For example, Bach in the abbey of St X or Purcell in the eglise of St Y? And, no, we can't afford to go to more than one or, at most, two. This retirement situation when there is only the fixed income and the necessity to make difficult choices is not a great deal of fun [:(]

I know, I was thanking you for the link.  But, we always got Arte on the TV in the other house.  So much better, bigger screen and I could hook the Bose up to the TV and get incredible sound. Just got crotchety because I wanted to hear Ann Sophie von Otter properly.

Thank you so very much. The worst of it is that I did know about the programme but alas we are still unable to get Arte here.  Don't bloody know why because we certainly had it in our other house (sorry for the swearing but it's one of those things that truly bugs me). I asked a question about it on the Forum soon after we moved here and I tried all the possible solutions suggested but still we remain Arte-less.  Will have to get someone who is au fait with these things to twiddle some knobs, I guess. All the equipment is new-ish and cost lots of dosh so no reason that I can see as to why we can't receive Arte. OTOH, there is a barogue season starting around here next month so I suppose you win some and you lose some.  

Oh, how I agree with your point about commentors talking over the music.  I often wish I could strangle them [6] Mind you, I feel the same way when I am watching an interesting documentary and I am concentrating on what is being said and they play some music which is sometimes entirely the wrong music or music from the wrong period (anachronistic)......gggggrrrrrrrrrrr[+o(] (and an icon for the grinding of teeth here) When I want to listen to music, that's what I want, MUSIC, and when I want to listen to a verbal commentary, that is also what I want, WORDS. Is that too much to ask? (icon for total exasperation here)

Norman, this evening BBC4 TV, interesting programme about Delius. Unfortunately, I only caught about the last third.  Trouble is now we have light evenings all of my village seem to be out and about so that, when I come out of the Keep-Fit, I have to run the gamut of kisses and greetings. By the time I have had a word or two with each one, I am easily 20 to 30 minutes later walking home. But, I saw enough to think that you might enjoy it. 

Oh, I'm so pleased that you have now watched the programme. Yes, I remember the limerick but I couldn't think in which polite society I'd be able to quote it![:D]  

I think I know exactly what you mean about  "an inner life".  I remember an interview I heard with Aung Yang Soo Kyi and she was asked about being under "house arrest".  She said that she might have spent the last x number of years in her own home but that her mind and spirit had travelled all over the world. Indeed, one's inner life is there to be enjoyed, whatever one's immediate circumstances.

[quote user="NormanH"]There are a number of lovely clips of her on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_IS6sg_0Nw&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHZhkvu1ojk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLUyY8m3dPA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_1CKyZVSc&feature=related Those are all great pieces of music, but she could even infuse a spurious potboiler with warmth and feeling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF5eKVTzubc&feature=related or a simple folksong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjvHg9cBriw [/quote] Just fabulous, Norman, and thank you for posting them. I've had a long rando in the rain with complete strangers in a village I didn't know and then had lunch and now I am home with a very acceptable glass of merlot and Kathleen Ferrier

It's all part of the dumbing down of society.  It's not just classical music, it's in all spheres of artistic life, literature, painting, radio, TV, you name it. I am constantly horrified by some of the things that come to my attention.  Only a couple of days ago, I read an article which says that if you are running a book club, then you must never recommend that the members read Middlemarch because it would "turn people off"![:-))] Why, I re-read Middlemarch only a few months ago because I wanted to remind myself what a superb novel it is. Depressing?  Utterly, and I do not see any reversal of this terrible phenomenon.   It's been happening over many, many years now and those of us who still enjoy these things have come to be looked upon as dinosaurs.     

[quote user="NormanH"]Was that TV or Radio? I will try to find it on iPlayer [/quote] Sorry, Norman, got carried away.  I meant TV.  She had such a "warm" voice; full of expression.