HiRez Poll Juritz, David - Vivaldi The Four Seasons [DVD-A]

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Rate the DVD-A of Vivaldi (David Juritz) - THE FOUR SEASONS

  • 6:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Bad Mix, Bad Sonics, Bad Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    7

JonUrban

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Let's start the year off with some Classical titles! Thanks to Brian Moura for these suggestions! PLEASE, as always, do not vote in this poll unless you have these discs. (i.e. Do not vote a '1' because you do not like classical music)

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - David Juritz, London Mozart Players (Naxos 5.110001) – DVD Audio
 
The surround mixes of the Concertos on this disc are sensational..!!

Two orchestra's - one in the front speakers, the other in the rear speakers (y)

Totally essential for folks who like discrete surround Classical music (and let's face it, there's not much and we're pretty much the target audience!).
 
What is most exceptional about this particular Naxos DVD-A is not the Four Seasons (its nice enough) but that the entire "Concertos For Double Orchestra" afterwards do just what they say on the tin and are in the most wonderful discrete surround, with one orchestra across the front channels and another across the rears!


the liner notes explain that the soloist (David Juritz) was recorded standing right in the middle of the two orchestras.. now the producers/mixers/whoever didn't take the brave/foolhardy decision to actually try and sit the soloist right in the middle or even in the centre channel so it diffuses the effect a little but it's still very very neat to have two orchestras at once in front and behind you!


its a real departure from the norm for Classical music in surround but if this is the way the two orchestra's and soloist were arraigned then why not. Its terrific!
 
The surround mixes of the Concertos on this disc are sensational..!!

Two orchestra's - one in the front speakers, the other in the rear speakers (y)

Totally essential for folks who like discrete surround Classical music (and let's face it, there's not much and we're pretty much the target audience!).
Thanks a lot for the info! Although, I was a bit confused first, since The Four Seasons actually also is violin concertos. :)
 
This is a very good version of the 4 seasons and the surround mix is indeed very good, but (for me) it was spoiled because I was fortunate enough to stumble across an old cassette tape of this by the Academy of Ancient Music (Christopher Hogwood being the musical director) that was based on a 1725 manuscript version which is the version that would have been familiar at the time, and it is like hearing a brand new piece of music with the unfortunate side-effect of making all the modern readings sound almost strange in comparison. One of these days I will digitize this, as I am reluctant to play the tape too often in case I damage it as to the best of my knowledge it has never been reissued.

That aside, Naxos do this kind of thing ever so well - I have a fair number of their releases now and they never disappoint me. This one gets a solid 7 based on the following breakdown:
Sonics - 9/10, Mix - 8/10 & Content - 5/10 (why add the Assumption material? The religious overtones for me spoil the (delightfully pagan) mood and I always have to get up & turn them off - they feel like filler, as they simply do not belong alongside the 4 seasons for me. It would definitely have scored higher without the past 2 pieces for me.
 
The Four Seasons is alright (a bit ordinary, imho) but if you can get beyond the material of the "filler" it's just that Double Orchestra stuff added on to the main event of the Four Seasons that is the real multichannel draw for Quaddies.. one orchestra in Front L&R and another in Rear L&R..! True Discrete-o Classic-o Music-o! WOW!
 
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